The strikingly written In the Silence was an indication that the Scottish writer MR MacKenzie was a name to watch. Seemingly, the author’s writing identity arrived fully formed, with a particularly keen command of dialogue. But anyone feeling that the dreaded second novel syndrome might afflict MacKenzie’s latest, Cruel Summer, will quickly be disabused of the notion; the new book turns out to be every bit as accomplished as its predecessor. As well as being a fast-moving thriller, the new novel addresses such notions as problems within the justice system – but never at the expense of keeping the pages turning. The eponymous cruel summer is being experienced by Zoe Callahan, marooned in a job that has no future and stuck in a stultifying relationship. When a prostitute is attacked by Dominic Ryland, a political figure on the rise, she finds that she has been handed a life-affirming purpose: it is, she decides, her job to nail the apparently unblemished Ryland. Unsurprisingly (this is a crime novel, after all), the consequences of her actions are dangerous –there is a reputation to be protected, and – if necessary – blood to be spilled.
This second instalment in what the author has described as the Kelvingrove Park trilogy has all the assurance of its predecessor in terms of plotting and incident. A novel such as this stands or fall on the characterisation of the hero or heroine, and with Zoe Callahan, MacKenzie passes this test with flying colours. While a driven protagonist taking on dangerous enemies is hardly a new notion, it is handled with real assurance here, and MacKenzie is particularly good at the orchestration of tension. English readers may find they need to adjust to the fastidioulsy realised Celtic dialogue, but (as in such books as Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange), we are rapidly thinking in the argot of the characters – whatever our backgrounds.. And if MacKenzie can only bring off the third part of the trilogy with the panache of the first two, this will be a particularly memorable sequence of books – and hopefully will bring a talented novelist the recognition he deserves.
Cruel Summer by MR MacKenzie s published by Madhouse
