The Low Road

Glasgow gangster Gerry Dochery is threatening the life of Jimmy McPhee, a childhood friend of newspaper editor John McAllister, in Scott’s talky fifth novel set in the 1950s Scottish Highlands (after 2013’s North Sea Requiem). McAllister, who has deep roots in Glasgow, also knew Dochery as a boy, but neither Dochery nor McPhee is easy to find. In his search, McAllister renews contacts at the Glasgow newspaper where he once worked, and meets Mary Ballantyne, a hotshot reporter interested in his activities because of their possible connections with her beat. The alluring woman causes McAllister to ponder his glamorous past as an international correspondent and his staid and complicated future involving his impending wedding, his fiancée in recovery from an assault, and his uneasy position as a prospective stepfather. Implausible developments, the lack of crucial details early enough in the book, and a shortage of action weaken the narrative. Agent: Peter McGuigan, Foundry Literary + Media. (Sept.)