Why a Booktrail?
1950s: It’s always the quiet ones you have to watch out for…
The Quiet Death of Thomas Quaid
What you need to know before your trail
Quiet Tommy Quaid is one of Lennox’s few friends in Glasgow. Lennox appreciates Tommy’s open, straightforward personality – even if he is a master thief.
When Tommy is flung to his death from a factory roof in front of Lennox’s eyes, Lennox discovers just how wrong he was about Tommy’s quiet life.
It seems Tommy knew a secret, and it cost him his life. But for once, Quiet Tommy didn’t go quietly. His secret concerned people above the law – people in some cases who are the law – and so now, from beyond the grave, he leaves a trail for Lennox to follow to ensure justice is done. For once, Lennox is on the side of the angels. But he is an avenging angel, and in brutal Glasgow, justice has to get bloody.
Travel Guide
1950s Glasgow
1950s Glasgow is still getting back normal after the war. Glasgow is a central character in itself in this book – the streets, the pubs, the communities – everything down to the red telephone boxes which used to be common features – there’s history,heritage and regret in this city. As well as a thirst for revenge.
The mood of the city, and not just Tommy, is one of excessive drinking and womanising, using the city as your playground for all manner of vice. The novel starts with an infamous and gripping intro – the hanging of the so-called beat of Birkenshaw – Peter Manuel a murderer who killed at random.
There’s some interesting history at Saracen Street
Most red phone boxes had been cast at the Saracen Foundry, The romance of this particular cultural icon had faded for me over my years in Glasgow, mainly because of the locals’ custom of using them as a public conveniences.
Possilpark
Possilpark was a part of Glasgow that had been created out of the green fields of some toff’s estate and built over with tenements exclusively used as housing for the foundry’s workers. Medieval serfdom had simply been replace with a newer, post-Industrial Revolution version. At Possilpark’s heart and surrounded by a highwall, the foundry buildings themselves covered acres of land.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Quiet Death of Thomas Quaid
Author/Guide: Craig Russell Destination: Glasgow Departure Time: 1950s
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