Today I’m joining the blog tour for Crucial Black. I’m sharing an extract from the book with thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me on the tour and to the author for providing the extract.

Blurb:

A brace of corpses. A bone-crunching machine. A new recruit

Now employed by an Inverness organised crime gang, former petty thief Relic Black is teamed up with hitman Ali McKay, the man he almost killed a few weeks earlier. As the team tidy up the loose ends after the shooting, gang member and bent cop DI McKenzie must investigate the disappearance of two people, knowing Relic and Ali have already disposed of the bodies.

Meanwhile, Rebecca’s unpopular colleague DI Swinney, suspects her of involvement in the shooting. Knowing one of the bodies currently taking up space in the mortuary remains anonymous, he discovers the man’s identity. Can Swinney uncover the truth, dig the dirt on McKenzie and regain his former status with the DCI, or will the gang step in to stop him?

Warning – strong language and adult situations throughout.

Crucial Black is book #2 in the Relic Black Thriller series set in Inverness, Scotland. NB book #2 is not a standalone – the series must be read in order.

Extract:

Seafield Road, Inverness 1:25am

The in-house training part of Relic Black’s new job isn’t going well. Aside from the fact that his companion is the man he almost killed a few weeks earlier, and even allowing for the expected awkward settling-in period, Relic didn’t expect his new role would involve the disposal of dead bodies. 

To be fair, gang boss Chrissy Ridley had referred to the bodies in question as ‘items of no further use,’ so Relic might be forgiven for imagining for one second that the task would entail nothing more than emptying the bins or taking a load of cardboard boxes to the recycling centre.  Unfortunately, as Relic now knows, Chrissy Ridley has a habit of referring to all sorts of things in non-specific terms. 

‘He’ll be awa in a wee minute,’ says Ali McKay, lowering the night-vision binoculars.

‘Who will?’

Mckay swivels his head towards Relic. ‘The fuckin night watchman, ye dunderheid.’ He lets out an exaggerated sigh. ‘Hae ye no been listenin?’

‘Aye. Just…not lookin forward to it, that’s all.’

McKay laughs and adjusts his eye patch. ‘Take it from me, there’ll be a load of stuff ye’re no lookin forward to, I can tell ye.’

Relic shuffles around in his seat. The car they’re in is an old one, though in decent working order. He can’t even remember what make it is—something Japanese, maybe. Staring out of the passenger side window, he gazes at the closed-down burger van on the corner, visualising a bacon buttie with plenty of mayonnaise. ‘Aye, I guessed that.’ Pushing the image out of his mind, he turns to focus on the factory opposite. 

Having parked down the side of an industrial unit, their car is fifty yards from the massive processing plant opposite. Not quite out of sight from its one lighted window, they can be seen easily enough if someone is inclined to gaze across at the darkened factory unit. But no-one does. 

‘How d’ye know he’s going to leave?’

McKay lets out another sigh. ‘Cos he’s been paid to leave, ye numpty.’

‘Oh.’

McKay glances at his watch. ‘Five minutes.’

‘I’m not sure I’ll be able to—’

The other man looks at him. ‘Did ye hae anythin to eat afore ye came out?’

‘No.’

‘Then ye’ll be fine.’

‘It’s just…I’ve never done anythin like this before.’

McKay sniffs, seems about to sigh again but turns it into a smile. His voice is almost gentle. ‘Dinnae worry. Ye’ll be fine. It’s always a bit bowkin the first time, but when ye’re onto yer ninth or tenth, it’ll feel like mincin sausages.’

***

Crucial Black is available from Amazon.

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