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In present-day Edinburgh, Billy Blackmore is driving home from a night of indulgence in drink and prescription drugs with girlfriend Zoë and doctor brother Charlie when they run down a pedestrian. Knowing that reporting the accident would have serious consequences for them all, they throw the body off the hillside and drive away. It transpires that the victim was a crime boss, and his death precipitates a war with a rival gang. Billy is gripped by guilt and confusion, but, as a local junior reporter, he remains at the forefront of the rapid cascade of events that follow. These becomes even more personal as Billy forms a connection with Adele, the widow, and her son Ryan, who are in the power of the brother of the dead man. Dropping powerful medications like candy, Billy blunders about on the verge of confession, desperate to halt the chain of calamities he has precipitated, but seemingly powerless to help. HIT & RUN is tightly worded and the pace relentless. The feverish sense of action fits well with the mental state of the protagonist throughout the book. Billy is concussed from the accident and for several days survives on an exclusive diet of morphine and amphetamines, foregoing sleep. In the circumstances it seems hardly necessary to mention guilt and possibly post-traumatic stress disorder as reasons for his disorientation. In fact, the extreme physical symptoms and the several blackouts he suffers seem barely enough - full-blown psychosis would seem more probable - and his level of competence pushes credibility. Wondering whether Billy is likely to drop dead before the story runs its course certainly adds to the drama. Billy's progressive dissolution creates a strong dramatic tension. While there is little attempt to develop character, the cracks in his life start to open up. His relationships with his girlfriend, and with his brother, fall apart under the strain of the event. Little is seen of Adele, but there is enough to suggest that she is unable to provide assistance. Rose, the senior crime reporter at the local newspaper, is the person with whom he comes closest to having a normal human relationship, and their exchanges provide a little light relief in what is overall a pretty dark tale. Especial emphasis is placed on the geography of the focus of events: people with previous knowledge of the Southside neighbourhoods of Edinburgh may find this of interest but for others the stress on street names and local landmarks might well have limited appeal. Doug Johnstone has written four previous novels, and in a postscript to this book says he is working on the next, which will fit stylistically with his last two: SMOKEHEADS and HIT & RUN. It should do well, as Scottish noir remains very popular. § Chris Roberts is a retired manager of shopping centres in Hong Kong, and now lives in Bristol, primarily reading.
Reviewed by Chris Roberts, June 2012
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