BUTCHER

You can tell from the title that the return of Scots detective Lou Perlman is replete with murder and mayhem. A great plot and a highly proficient reading by James Bryce make this dark and witty Campbell Armstrong offering deeply satisfying. While on sick leave, after having been shot in his previous case, Perlman discovers a severed hand that leads him through the underbelly of the city of Glasgow in search of the perpetrator of multiple grizzly homicides. Several of Armstrong's characters are larger than life, thanks to Bryce. His accents are accurate, and he’s at his best when portraying the killer. When this psychopath looks out over Glasgow at night and says, "This city is mine," you know he's evil. A.L.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 08]