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The Sudden Arrival of Violence

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The Sudden Arrival of Violence

By: Malcolm Mackay
Narrated by: Angus King
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About this listen

The stunning conclusion to the Glasgow Trilogy from the celebrated author of The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter and How a Gunman Says Goodbye.

He's touching the front of his coat, feeling the shape of the gun. Should have got rid of it. On any other night, any other job, he would. This isn't any other job. This, he intends, will be his last...

It begins with two deaths: A money-man and a grass. Deaths that offer a unique opportunity to a man like Calum MacLean. A man who has finally had enough of killing. Meanwhile two of Glasgow's biggest criminal organisations are at quiet, deadly war with one another. And as Detective Michael Fisher knows, the biggest - and bloodiest - manoeuvres are yet to come...

The stunning conclusion to Malcolm Mackay's lauded Glasgow Trilogy, The Sudden Arrival of Violence will return listeners to the city's underworld: A place of dark motives, dangerous allegiances and inescapable violence...

©2014 Malcolm Mackay (P)2013 Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd Anthologies & Short Stories Crime Crime Fiction Crime Thrillers Fiction Genre Fiction International Mystery & Crime Modern Detectives Mystery Short Stories Suspense Thriller & Suspense Urban Thriller

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Critic reviews

"Two superb trilogies reach finality. The Sudden Arrival of Violence follows the young hitman quasi-hero Calum MacLean as he attempts to quit his lethal occupation and disappear. The Byzantine intricacies of Glasgow’s gangster community obstruct his plans. Much blood flows; betrayals and double crosses multiply. Mackay is a true original, managing to conjure up a gripping new way of portraying city-noir. This, from a writer who has lived his whole life in far-off Stornoway, with only few short visits to the Glasgow he has so vividly created. He’s no longer a rising star. He’s risen." ( The Times)
"His clipped, spare, present tense narrative is urgent, clever and ominous. In a field so crowded as crime writing it is not easy to present an original voice. Malcolm Mackay’s laconic tone is his alone…the Herbrides have produced an author of their own who strides easily into the top division" (West Highland Free Press)
"Not many crime writers can claim to have created a truly original style. Mackay has done so in his Glasgow Trilogy (of which this is the last), a feat all the more remarkable for a native of Stornoway who has rarely visited the big city…The plot’s good, but what grabs even more is his unique way of telling it." ( The Times)
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Gritty Scottish crime novels are an attractive genre and, having just finished the latest Rebus, I was still in the mood. The Sudden Arrival of Violence was one of those 'people who bought this also liked this' scenarios. The algorithm was right on the money.

The style in which this novel is written is completely different to almost any other book I can think of and it brings the listener into intimate contact with all the characters. It is well paced, thoughtful, interestingly different and violent - although the violence itself is one of the characters.

I thought it was brilliantly written and perfectly narrated.

Startlingly Good

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When I read the first in the Glasgow trilogy The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter I wasn’t at all convinced I liked the style of the novel or the story to be honest. The only thing that kept me reading was the narration by Angus King!!! I am so glad I stuck with it because with the second book How A Gunman Says Goodbye I was hooked. Once you get used to the very different style of the book the story unfolding is just brilliant. How will he get out of this, who is the leak etc etc. I finished this book the last in the trilogy last night and I can’t believe I was actually rooting for a gunman who had killed many people but that’s the way the plot takes you. Thank you to Angus King once again for an outstanding performance. He’s the only reason I kept with the first book. He’s such a star.

Wow what a journey this trilogy was

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the author gives lots of detail from the characters perspective all good stuff. shame it's come to an end.

Good 3rd part to the story

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Would you consider the audio edition of The Sudden Arrival of Violence to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version so it would be hard to tell?..

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Sudden Arrival of Violence?

The active description and tension that the main protagonist goes through in preparing for his "jobs"

What does Angus King bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Active and very engaging way of delivering dialogue. Added to story rather than detracted.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Preparation is only the start to living, working and surviving as a Hitman

Surprisingly Engaging

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