The Blurb
The body on the mortuary slab wasn’t who Glasgow PI Charlie Cameron was looking for.
But it wasn’t a stranger.
Suddenly, a routine missing persons investigation becomes a fight for survival. As Charlie is dragged deeper into Glasgow’s underbelly he goes up against notorious gangster Jimmy Rafferty and discovers what fear really is.
Rafferty is so ruthless even his own sons are terrified of him.
Now he wants Charlie to find something. And Jimmy Rafferty always gets what he wants.
There is only one problem…Charlie doesn’t know where it is.
My Thoughts
A dead body, missing money and Glasgow gangsters result in what could be Private Investigator Charlie Cameron’s most difficult case yet…not least because the dead body is that of an old friend and it has become personal!
Old Friends and New Enemies is the second book in the Charlie Cameron series. Initially I felt I had missed out as I have not read the first book The Games People Play and it took me a little while to get into the characters and the setting as I didn’t have the benefit of the backstory that had gone before in the previous book. However, as the book progressed I settled in, got to know the characters better, and it worked well as a standalone novel.
Charlie Cameron is a great character who I really warmed to. He has the right combination of being straight-forward with hidden depth which makes you want to get to know more about him. Mullen has created a great cast around Charlie in his friends which results in the reader feeling fully involved in their lives. I really liked the dynamics portrayed in the Rafferty family and Mullen has made the ‘bad guys’ gritty and two-dimensional with insights into their family and personalities. This always adds extra to the story as I always love to know more about the villains and their motivations.
Fast-paced with ‘Oh my God’ moments, Mullen writes well keeping up the momentum until the very end. With two investigations running concurrently, Mullen effectively keeps the reader’s interest with both until they reach their conclusions. There are also moments in the book in which Mullen writes about Charlie’s thoughts and feelings with a depth and sensitivity I wasn’t expecting.
A thoroughly enjoyable read, Old Friends and New Enemies is a great book with a protagonist I look forward to seeing more of. The Charlie Cameron series is set to become a firm favourite and I will definitely be reading The Games People Play, the first book in the series.
A huge thanks to Owen Mullen for my copy in exchange for my fair and unbiased review.
Old Friends and New Enemies is published in paperback on 6 February 2017 and Ebook on 21 February 2017 by Bloodhound Books.
#AroundTheUKIn144Books Challenge Book 3 – County: Glasgow
I really liked the first book in this series so I’m looking forward to reading this one. Great review!
Thanks Amy. You will definitely enjoy this book then. I’m going to have to read The Games People Play. I really liked Charlie Cameron.
The more I read about this author, the more I believe I need to read his books! I think I’d better get the first one before diving into this one, but definitely adding both to the list! I am a sucker for OMG moments! Great review!
I wish I had read the first book before Old Friends and New Enemies (I seem to have a habit of reading books out of order!) but it is definitely on my TBR list.
Sounds like a good one. I just finished Blood Tide which was set in Ireland with an interesting MC and a dense backstory so I can relate. Glad this one was good, it does sound like a very fast paced read. It’s always good when an author can keep two concurrent plots running well, and I think I’d like the Scottish setting as well. Nice review!
Thanks Greg. I really enjoyed it and have to admit that I do love books set in Scotland. Blood Tide looks really good, I adored Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton so will definitely be adding Blood Tide to my TBR list.