Unforgivable by Mike Thomas

This is the second in the author’s DC Will MacReady novels, and if anything, it’s better than the first, Ash and Bones, which I also reviewed. Set against a backdrop of a Cardiff on edge - a white boy has been murdered by a gang of smirking Asian youth, cue lots of EDL types protesting every morning on the court’s steps, Antifa opposing them, the police stuck in the middle - a series of bombs explodes across the city. The first hit’s a souk, an annual celebration of multiculturalism held in one of the city’s parks. The second strikes a mosque. There are multiple casualties at each location, fatalities and maimings. Is this the work of far-right extremists? A cell of bombers or a lone wolf like Anders Breivik, or the Brixton bomber, David Copeland? 

I don’t want to give away spoilers, so I will avoid too much discussion of the plot, but needless to say, everything is not all that it seems. What I will say is that MacReady and the other characters in the novel are well drawn and the book itself is tightly plotted. While this is the second in the series, it can be read as a standalone, though you will miss a little of the back story.

Mike Thomas is a former police officer and as such this novel has a real air of authenticity. While Will is the main character, Thomas is obviously aware that a police investigation is a team effort and consequently the supporting cast play big roles. Some writers aiming for authenticity overwhelm their readers with the minutia of their research but Thomas is careful not to do this, so while the novel does have the ring of accuracy to it, this is not laboured.

Unforgivable is a police procedural and we all know that the bookshelves groan under the weight of such titles. I would say though that the author’s skill as a writer elevates his novel above many of its competitors. For a start this is not a serial killer novel. Also, while MacReady has got a troubled personal life, the author writes well enough to avoid the usual cliche’s. In fact, that’s a feature of the book full stop. Numerous journalists have pontificated in the past over what makes a great book or film, what makes a great crime thriller. For my own part I think it’s a magic ingredient that is difficult to put one’s finger on. So, if one thinks of The Wire, or The Killing, it’s easy to think that it might be a sense of place, or a killer twist. But many books and films have a sense of place or a knockout twist and aren’t so good. Which brings me back to that magic, the elusive fairy dust. Unforgivable is one such novel; while the plot is original enough, there have been books before that have dealt with terrorism and terror-like atrocities, similarly, as noted above, there are innumerable police procedurals with troubled protagonists. But the author writes well and imbues his novel with that something extra.

In short this is a great novel and one that I heartily recommend. Mike Thomas is an author to watch and I look forward to future novels in the MacReady series. But his previous novels (standalones, not Will MacReady novels, and indeed, not police procedurals) are also well worth digging out. In particular, I would challenge anyone to read Ugly Bus and not think it a cult classic. 

5 out of 5 stars