Nobody sheds a tear when Scott Stevenson, a local troublemaker, is found with an ivory tusk driven through his torso.D.C.I. Alex Warren is tasked with bringing the killer to justice. The case turns out to be more complicated than expected, as they begin to investigate the numerous people Stevenson has harmed. When they stumble upon a web of crimes motivated by sex and greed, it becomes clear that … greed, it becomes clear that there’s much more to the case than they anticipated.
With the body count rising and clues few and far between, can Alex Warren and his team close the case before more lives are lost?
Made A Killing is a gripping noir mystery set in the tough, crime-ridden streets of Glasgow.
Praise from readers:
★★★★★ – “Tight cast of interesting characters.”
★★★★★ – “Mr. Abrams does a great job of bringing the gritty streets of Glasgow to life.”
★★★★★ – “I found it so hard to stop reading that I missed my regular Tuesday TV show.”
★★★★★ – “This book is an intriguing escape. It was dark but not too dark. As a reader, I enjoyed every twist and turn. The setting is made authentic not only by the author’s Glasgow upbringing but his ability to visualize the grey, gloomy Scottish November that is a perfect setting for this whodunit.”
★★★★★ – “The characters were great. The reason for the murder was believable. I can see it happening in real life.”
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DCI Alex Warren is thirty-something going on forty, solving the murder of Scott Stevenson, a robber, cheat and con-artist Warren would rather see dead. Stevenson’s life was ended by the pointy end of a carved elephant tusk. Set in Glasgow, Made a Killing has a strong downbeat, downtrodden vibe, not quite noir but heading that way. Good plotting with lots of twists and turns, and strong characterisation hold the attention. The editing could be sharper. In all a solid detective mystery.
The main character in this novel, Alex Warren, and his sergeant, Sandra, can’t seem to get it together despite wanting to, even while engaged in investigating a series of murders together. It was pretty easy to see that one coming, not so with the final results of the investigation. I liked the story line, I liked the characters though I thought they could stand a little more flesh, but I didn’t like what I thought was excessive descriptions of almost everything, including the names and numbers of the highways. Despite the distraction the book deserves a better rating than first I thought, so a five star award. Good read.
Made a killing: Zach Abrams
I was fortunate enough to win this novel in a competition and it kept me guessing until the last page. This is the second book that I have read by this author and it didn´t disappoint. It is a well-written, detective novel based in Glasgow. After a particularly seedy character, is found dead, DCI Alex Warren and his sidekick, Sandra McKinnon are on the case. After a second murder is connected to the first through blackmail and money laundering, the detectives have to find the killer before he strikes again. There were a few red herrings to throw the reader off the scent, and sub-plots to make the story and the characters more realistic and believable. For example, Alex’s personal life plays havoc with his budding romance, and as we become aware of the reasons for the blackmail, we discover an entire can of squirming worms. This was an ending that I didn´t see coming. A good read.
4.5/5 Gritty, dark and enticing.
This is not my usual cup of tea, or coffee, but sometimes when I’m in the mood for change, I head off to the mystery/suspense area. Sometimes, I pick up a police/detective book.
This one was a mystery / crime and police procedural read, with a touch of humor and the required guess-who-did-it kind of book, and it was done exceptionally well.
The story opens up with a murder investigation – with the dead being the bad guy, killed with an antique elephant tusk. So yes, the bad guy is dead, and from the beginning, we’re wondering if the good guy will turn out to be the murderer.
The story line was gritty, sometimes a little dark, covering heavy topics such as blackmail, prostitution, detailed murder crimes and gore – real stuff real police see a lot in real life; sprinkled every now and then with a romance trying to bud (emphasis on trying) some office humor and family bonding.
I enjoyed the dynamics between the investigative team and the way they were thorough and methodical with the evidence gathering, how things didn’t ‘conveniently’ fall on their laps and make life easier.
I did have a suspicion about halfway through about the killer – I knew the killer would be someone I wasn’t expecting, and I was right, but the killer? I was still surprised.
All in all, it was a great read!
A well crafted plot, very interesting characters and realistic crime drama. Alex Warren is a great lead character that everyone can relate to, a convincing criminal investigator with well developed personal life that readers can relate to. Supporting characters are convincing, interesting and grow throughout the book.
An antiques dealer , Scott Peterson, is found dead in his shop by a young man who worked for him. Glasgow Detective Constable Inspector Alex Warren and his colleagues, including his assistant Sandra McKinnon, must find out why the man was killed and by whom. Photos of people having sex are found and one of the young men involved in several of the photos is murdered along with his mother. The murderer kidnaps Alex’s son from his soccer game and the kidnapping makes the police even more involved. Each time you, the reader, think you know who the murderer is, you find yourself mistaken. I couldn’t put the book down until the murder was finally solved.
Not very interesting, kind of predictable.
Enjoyable read. Characters are well built and you tend to care what happens to them. Story believable.
I’ve been struggling to finish this book; I’m a third through it. It seems to be spending most of it’s time introducing more than is interesting about the investigating group of people. I really don’t care, at this point, who the murderer is.
Made A Killing is the first of another English mystery series my wife and I like. It’s set in Scotland and it’s a bit rougher up there.
Zach Abrams does a great job of bringing you into the community. His detective, Alex Warren, is as tough as they get. He likes taking on the mob.
Was good a lot of English-language words
Kept me guessing until the end. Love that in books
Lengthy segments of family weekends with no bearing on the story. Lack of required punctuation made the narrative hard to follow at times and reading aloud to my group very difficult.
was a great read could not put it down, the characters were believable and the story “flowed” will look for this author in the future
Setting is in Glasgow with Scottish characters and local brogue speak. A bit hard to get into at first, but I eventually got used to their local speak. Quite different than American authors but still interesting
The author tells a good story that keeps the reader entertained. But like so many e-books that lack any professional editing. it would be lucky to receive a C in a college English class.