A review by raven88
The Deep Dark Sleep by Craig Russell

3.0

The third in Craig Russell's excellent `Lennox' series and I would say one of the darkest so far. Our silver-tongued, justice seeking private eye encounters more than one or two physical scrapes through business and pleasure when he takes on two cases that will test him to the hilt. Is it really criminal mastermind Gentleman Joe Strachan that languishes below the grey choppy waters of the Clyde who appears to be sending messages and issuing death warrants from beyond the grave, or are there other forces at work? And what links an American movie star with an aristocrat's son in a positively salacious incident of blackmail? And how the jiggins is Lennox going to sort it all out whilst still in pursuit of his delectable landlady Fiona, fighting off commando window cleaners and juggling the demands of the Three Kings who rule Glasgow with their iron fists? It's no walk in the park as our battered and bruised hero grapples with his toughest cases yet with a wonderfully violent denouement that sees Lennox dispensing justice in his own inimitable style but with what consequence? This series just gets better and better in my eyes- accomplished plotting, great characterisation melded with a perfect balance of grim violence and wise-cracking dialogue.