Blue Wicked by Alan Jones

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1.5 days

Publisher - Ailsa Publishing

pages - 302

Blurb from Goodreads

'Blue Wicked' is a Gritty thriller set in the south side of Glasgow. Eddie Henderson finds himself as the unlikely investigator with information that there's a serial killer targeting the substance dependent underclass who inhabit the notorious Glasgow housing estates. The police force ignore his warnings but one young detective believes him and she helps him search for the truth, despite putting her own career at risk. Their desperate search for the truth on their own proves Eddie right and sparks off a massive manhunt, with Eddie and Catherine, the young detective, at the forefront of the investigation. The book contains a fair bit of strong language and Glasgow dialect, and has some very violent passages.


My Review

The prologue sets the scene for the horrors to come, we open with a rather gorey scene of animal torture. Introducing Eddie, a veterinarian who helps out the SSPCA with cases such as this as he specializes in animal abuse and poisoning. Eddie crosses paths with DC Catherine Douglas looking into the abuse cases and soon pair up as the killer branches out from animals to humans. An up hill battle commences to get the police to head Eddie and take notice of his findings to catch a sadistic killer before they can strike again.

You all know I have major issues with animal cruelty, I was forewarned before reading this and therefore I am giving you all a heads up. Sadly, because of the way many killers work it is a necessity to the tale and gives the story realism. The chapters are not too long which is always a good thing in my opinion, it allows the reader to nip in and out, especially if working or don't have time to read in one sitting. As the book is set in Glasgow some of the characters speak in Glaswegian slang, glossary and translations can be found at the back. Some of the language may be very offensive to some readers, the language is explicit and swear words are frequent with some of the characters, the C word being just one of them.

The scenes are pretty gorey, I have read many horrors, crime and thrillers but some moments in this really had my stomach going. The method of killing I found quite unique, the choice of victims fairly smart on the part of the killer. As much as the reader is horrified, you are compelled to go from page to page for the next horrific crime and hope the killer will be brought to justice before they can strike again. The glossary at the back of the book is really helpful however I think it would be better at the front as I didn't find it until after I had finished. Glasgow slang is fine for me however for many readers not familiar with it, this would be beneficial at the beginning of the book. A really good read, also featuring quite a bit of Glasgow which is an additional plus for readers who enjoy reading about other cities. If you like your crimes gritty and your murders cruel you will love this book! This is my first time reading this author & certainly one worth keeping an eye out for, I would certainly read him again just maybe not when eating! 4/5 for me this time, thanks so much to the author for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.