Thankyou to Rachel from Rachel’s Random resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Bad Blood by Heather Atkinson, the second book in her Gallowburn series, set in Glasgow, Scotland.
Bad Blood
If you can’t trust your family, who can you trust…?
Glasgow gangster Jamie Gray and his fellow Blood Brothers rule the Gallowburn Estate with an iron fist. No one messes around on their turf without consequences.
But when Jamie’s erstwhile dad, Jason Gray, reappears after many years away – some of them spent behind bars – the Blood Brothers are drawn into the murky and dangerous world of the toughest gangster of them all – The Queen of Glasgow, Toni McVay.
Toni is the head of the most powerful organised crime family in Scotland and, as the psychotic leader enjoys scooping out the eyeballs of those who displease her, Jamie has no option but to do her bidding.
With the love of his life Allegra still missing, his enemies closing in, and his family’s safety at risk, Jamie Gray faces the battle of his life. But with his father’s bad blood running through his veins, and the bravery and brains he has inherited from his mother Jackie, Jamie has all the tools he needs to survive.
My thoughts:
Last year I reviewed Blood Brothers, the first book in Heather Atkinson’s gritty gangland thriller series set in a fictional area of Glasgow called Gallowburn scheme. If you a fan of the genre and would like to read the series, it is better to start from the first book, where we first got introduced to the four friends,who call themselves Blood Brothers-Jamie, Logan, Gary, and Digger. I will try to keep my review as spoiler-free as possible.
Jamie Gray’s life has never been easy. His Dad Jason used to hit his wife Jackie and his son, until Jackie got pregnant with their second child, took a good stock of her life and decided to kick her good for nothing abusive husband. Jason disappeared from their lives for a good chunk of time, but nowhe is back and would like to make it up to Jamie (his youngest one Charlie has never met him) by…getting Jamie into a new illegal business. Jamie and his friends cleared Gallowburn from drug dealers to make it safer for the inhabitants, but too many powerful criminal families are looking at this area as theirs to take and this includes Toni McVay. Jamie is also about to give evidence in the trial of Cameron Abernathy, Allegra’s rich, creepy, and violent father. Allegra, Jamie’s feisty, outspoken girlfriend disappeared in Book 1, and it is feared that the fact that Allegra’s body has never been found will make it difficult to put Cameron in prison and so the justice will never be done.
The title of the book says it all-Jamie is afraid that since he is his father’s son, he might have inherited at least some of his father’s treacherous personality. The video of Jamie going berserk in the epic battle that ended the first book has gone viral and has even served a good purpose of warning Jamie’s enemies off Galowburn and its inhabitants. But what if at some point he himself turns against the people he loves? This is Jamie’s dilemma in this book. Luckily, his frinds point out that not only he is loyal and caring, he is also his mother’s son, and Jackie Gray has made sure that her sons know what is important in life and have their hearts in the right place.
If you like gangland thrillers, you know you can expect an action-packed plot (with a fair bit of grit and violence) and colourful characters. The book is as gripping as the first one and Heather Atkinson’s fans will be happy to read this new addition to the series.
Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources and Boldwood Books for the review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.
Author Bio:
Heather Atkinson is the author of over fifty books – predominantly in the crime fiction genre. Although Lancashire born and bred she now lives with her family, including twin teenage daughters, on the beautiful west coast of Scotland. Her new gangland series for Boldwood, set on the fictional Gallowburn estate in Glasgow began with Blood Brothers in December 2020.
Social Media Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/booksofheatheratkinson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherAtkinso1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercrimeauthor/
Newsletter Sign Up Link: http://bit.ly/HeatherAtkinsonNewsletter
Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heather-atkinson
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