Saturday, 2 December 2017

One Man's Opinion: COLD CUTS by DOUGLAS LINDSAY



Bastei Entertainment is a publisher with several fingers on the pulse. In case you missed out on their recent publications, there have been new novels from Anthony Neil Smith and Keith Nixon.

Another of their current crop of talent is Douglas Lindsay. His work, Cold Cuts (US), is the opener for a police series involving the characters Pereira and Bain.

Cold Cuts tells the story of what happens when human flesh is discovered as the filling in a sandwich served up by a small sandwich shop. The press kick up a storm and the pressure is on to solve the case.  

There are plenty of leads to follow as well as the responsibility to contain any further incidents of people entering the food chain.

The theme itself is pretty dark and you might think it couldn’t become any more sinister than cannibalism. If you’ve read any Douglas Lindsay in the past (and I hope, for your sake, that you have), you’ll realise that he’s able to delve much further into the disturbing than that. The final lines are enough to chill the warmest bones. The dish is served up with a Scottish twang and dashes of humour to add seasoning to the entertainment.  

This one’s a quick and gripping read. As bait for the follow on, it should lure many a fish to the hook. Put another way, the flesh of Kevin Moynes' thigh is the perfect appetiser for the main course.