The Stone Gallows [Paperback]

C. David Ingram (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2009

DC Cameron Stone spent three months in intensive care before he could even recall the high-speed pursuit and accident that had not only almost finished him, but also had killed a teenage mother and her child. After the message from Audrey that she had left him and taken their young son, Mark, with her, booze, anti-depressants, and therapy all failed to enable him to resume his old job. Now he lives in a room in the worst part of Glasgow, paying rent by running errands for a private detective agency. He’s also paid by his former colleagues to do their dirty work—like threatening the newly released sex offender who has been hanging around the local high school. Stone is having a bad week. Audrey’s talking of remarriage, knife-wielding kids try to mug him, and there's a message on his front door: Burn in Hell Baby Killer. The one bright spot is his growing friendship with Liz, the sunny Irish nurse on the next floor. But then his apartment is set on fire—and now a stranger has turned up at the school and driven off with his son.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gritty, pull-no-punches realism distinguishes Ingram's debut, the first in a series set in Scotland. One day, while speeding through the streets of Glasgow in an unmarked police car after a high-stakes surveillance target, Det. Constable Cameron Stone hits a teenage mother and her infant, killing them instantly. Stone's career in the force doesn't survive much past his hospital discharge, but a former colleague rescues him from destitution by offering him private investigative work. Stone tries to live down the notoriety of his tragic accident, which leads to the occasional graffiti on his door labeling him a baby killer, and has to fight with his former girlfriend to spend time with their son. Stone gets to take an active role assisting his boss when a client suspects her husband is having an affair with her sister. Though some may not care for the contrived closing twist or the abrupt ending, an obvious setup for the next book, the solid writing will leave most readers wanting more. (Dec.)
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Review

"Gritty, pull-no-punches realism distinguishes Ingram's debut."  —Publishers Weekly

"Wow! . . . A debut that promises to be the start of something big."  —Daily Record

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Myrmidon Books (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 190580220X
• ISBN-13: 978-1905802203
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,142,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Down-on-his-luck former police detective on the gritty streets of Glasgow, October 9, 2010

By 

A. Lee (L.A., CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Stone Gallows (Paperback)

Cameron Stone was a rising young Detective on the Glasgow police force before he accidentally hit and killed a mother and her child while in an unmarked car, tailing a suspect. Serious injuries, being labeled a baby-killer, a temporary but bad period of relying on alcohol, leaving his job... and his wife taking his son and leaving him, brought him to a serious low. Now he's working, albeit, doing the odd dirty job for former colleagues and primarily doing much of the footwork for another former detective who now has a P.I. license. Can things get any worse? Perhaps. Someone seems to be out for his blood, local toughs try to beat him up, someone has painted "baby-killer" across his door, and he still needs to work on several cases and do some roughing up of his own...

The prologue is 40 pages long. It sets up Stone's situation, told from different points of view and in long sections in italics, in some detail. This part should be riveting, and it is in parts, since we know something horrible is going to happen. Fortunately, the main story moves entirely into the first-person with Stone and on to the various mysteries he's involved in, through his work, his contacts and his personal life, and the pace and action move ahead at a nice pace. The characters are well-drawn in that they are morally complex and conflicted and even Stone's rather shallow and ambitious ex- is wholly despicable, and Stone and his boss aren't at all totally admirable, yet remain fairly sympathetic. The number of things Stone needs to juggle keep the pace going and helps flesh out the story wrapped around an adequate central mystery. While Stone's back-story remains more compelling than the mystery, this is still a promising start to a series.