For Those Who Know the Ending

Edgar-finalist Mackay’s intricate follow-up to 2017’s Every Night I Dream of Hell opens with petty crook Martin Sivok, an immigrant from the Czech Republic, tied to a chair in an abandoned Glasgow warehouse. The main narrative reveals what led to Martin’s plight. When Martin and his buddy, Usman Kassar, steal £32,000 from a bookie belonging to the Jamieson crime syndicate, Martin, the more cautious of the pair, wants to take his half and lay low, but the flashier Usman is already planning another job. Meanwhile, Nate Colgan, the reluctant acting head of the crime organization during the prison term of Peter Jamieson, the real leader, plans his revenge. Nate must also manage the everyday flow of the business—it’s a full-time job keeping the operation on its feet while quietly tracking down two amateurs who had the gall to steal from it. As with all of Mackay’s work, the violence is shot through with dark humor, and even the lowest criminals have their fair share of humanity. Tartan noir fans will find plenty to like. Agent: Grainne Fox, Fletcher & Co. (May)