Having resisted the temptation to play with puns over the title of Neil Broadfoot’s second book, I am also resisting the temptation to heap too much lavish praise on this unputdownable follow up to Falling Fast.
If you loved Falling Fast you won’t be disappointed with The Storm. In this welcome return to reporter Doug and detective Susie’s world, things are complicated by the arrival on the scene of Rebecca Summers, a friend of Susie’s who gave up a career in the police for PR. The characters are strong, which makes the plot even better and it’s a pleasure to see old friends from Falling Fast reappear.
When Doug’s editor is shot and killed in front of him, he can’t report on the story as he’s a witness. Susie too, is sidelined, so both are forced to work on the murder and following murders, from the side, aided, or not, by Rebecca. Even with first person accounts by the murderer, we are kept on our toes right to the end.
As the action moves from Edinburgh to Skye, Doug has to work out which of his friends, old and new, he can trust. What might seem to be coincidences are not, as this clever plot unfolds, and unfolds and unfolds.
Neil Broadfoot again excels in writing about what he knows, the worlds of journalism, PR and Edinburgh. Welcome to Tartan Noir!
