Undiscovered Scotland

 

"To the Shades Descend" is the third in Allan Gaw's series of novels featuring Scottish pathologist Dr Jack Cuthbert and set in the London - and in this book Glasgow - of nearly a century ago. You don't need to have read the earlier books in the series, "The Silent House of Sleep" and "The Moon's More Feeble Fire" to thoroughly enjoy this book, though there is more of the central character's back story that you will probably want to go back to if you start with this third in the series.

While the first two books took London in 1930 as their main setting, "To the Shades Descend" sees Dr Jack Cuthbert invited to Glasgow in early 1931 as a potential candidate for a prestigious post at the university. His life in London has stagnated and the idea of travelling north, if only to break his routine, seems attractive. As he is about to leave Glasgow to return to London, a bombing takes place at a political rally in the city. Dr Cuthbert is called upon to lead the forensic investigation and identify the victims. This is made no easier by the need to navigate a political as well as a pathological minefield, with the involvement of British fascists, the city's Jewish community and Glasgow's notorious razor gangs. To find out what really happened, and why, Dr Cuthbert needs to call on help, but in a strange city, who can he trust?

The two earlier books in the series were outstanding and "To the Shades Descend" is a worthy successor, adding the interest of a fresh location to many of the ingredients readers of the earlier books will recognise. I found myself drawn into the story and caring about the central characters.

With historical fiction, the reader need to really buy into the world the author is creating and Allan Gaw's 1931 Glasgow, like the 1930 London of his earlier books, feels absolutely believable. The three Dr Jack Cuthbert novels published to date have appeared in quick succession, and a fourth is due to follow.