Bastard Verdict by James McCrone
You don't have to win, just don't lose.
High stakes and low politics combine with deadly effect in the new thriller, Bastard Verdict, by James McCrone.
A second referendum on independence looms, and a Scottish official enlists elections specialist Imogen Trager, a by-the-numbers, if rarely by-the-book investigator, to look into irregularities in the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum. Imogen uncovers a trail of criminal self-dealing, cover-ups, and murder leading to the highest levels of power. None but a very few know the truth. And those few need it to stay hidden at any cost.
Imogen will risk what's left of her standing, her career--and maybe her life--to get at the truth.
About the author
James McCrone is the author of the Faithless Elector series—Faithless Elector, Dark Network, and Emergency Powers—“taut” and “gripping” political thrillers about a stolen presidency. Bastard Verdict is his fourth novel. To get the details right for this thriller, he drew on his boyhood in Scotland, and scouted the locations for scenes in the book while attending Bloody Scotland in 2019 and again in ’22.
His short stories have appeared in Rock and a Hard Place; Retreats from Oblivion: The Journal of NoirCon, and in theshort-story anthology Low Down Dirty Vote, vols.2 and 3.
He’s a member of Mystery Writers of America, Int’l Assoc. of Crime Writers, Philadelphia Dramatists’ Center and he’s the vice-president of the Delaware Valley Sisters in Crime chapter. A Pacific Northwest native (mostly), he lives in South Philadelphia with his wife and three children. James has an MFA from the University of Washington, in Seattle.
Bastard Verdict has been calling out to be written for a number of years, and it’s finally ready. He’s also continuing work on the next book, a gritty thriller set in rural Oregon, called Witness Tree.
Review
‘Bastard Verdict’ is a brilliant political thriller which examines the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum vote and whether there was nefarious practices going on! I loved how current this book was with references to where we are with the potential second referendum and even mentions of the late Queen. It makes for an relevant and authentic read. As a huge advocate for independence this book was practically written for me!
Imogen Trager is an FBI Elections specialist who is on study leave at the University of Glasgow. She is asked to look at the 2014 result of the Independence referendum to make sure that everything was done to the right practices. With a looming hopeful second vote the Scottish government wants to make sure that this one runs smoothly. But she soon is aware that the handsome government official might not be what he seems and it also looks like there might be a clean-up operation in place as people start dying! Imogen searches for the truth and she isn't one to give up even if it will end up costing her everything.
I totally fell for Imogen as she is feisty, brave, loyal and determined to get to the truth! This is the first book by James that I have read but I will now be going back to read the ones set in the US as I need to know more about Imogen and her background. I think it was a stroke of genius to use her as the main protagonist for such a Scottish issue as it means she is completely neutral and just looking for the truth.
The story is based on quite a few factual issues which has been brought up since the 2014 vote, like the dip of voters in Glasgow and Dundee, why the ‘Yes’ campaign lost 10 points compared to opinion polls and why there was no exit polls. This gave it such an authentic feel by pulling on these threads. But you don't have to be well-read on the political situation to read this book as the author presents everything so plainly and intelligently that you grasp it instantly. Obviously, to make this a thriller there has to be some movement away from the truth but I loved reading about a topic that I am very passionate about.
Let me know if you pick this one up!
