A Fine House in Trinity – Lesley Kelly

‘I enjoyed my first day at primary school. Of course, I didn’t know then that this was the first day of a suffocating friendship with a psychopath, a friendship I’d still be trapped in thirty years later.’

Joseph Staines left town with a stolen tallybook, but two suspicious deaths and a surprise inheritance have lured him back home to Edinburgh. No-one is pleased to see him. The debtors want him gone. The Police have some questions for him. And a mysterious stranger has been asking about him in the pub.

To survive, Staines has to sober up, solve the murders, and stay one step ahead of the man who wants him dead.

 

My thanks to Keara at Sandstone Press for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

Joseph Staines is one of the most realistic lead characters I have encountered for ages. He is flawed, cowardly in the face of danger and generally not as well liked as he may like to believe. He is also strangely endearing, frequently amusing and has a really well developed back story which makes A Fine House in Trinity a really fun read.

‘Stainsie’ had left Edinburgh was a pocketful of money and the ‘tallybook’ of debtors names who owed money to one of Edinburgh’s more notorious debt collectors, Isa Stoddart. But now he has returned after just a short time away and finds himself bequeathed something rather unexpected. Unfortunately for Stainsie there are not many people pleased to see him return and those that are looking for him are people he would rather avoid.

A Fine House is a story which pans out over the course of a week (with frequent flashbacks to give us the wonderful backstory which allows us to see how Staines finds himself in his current predicament). The narrative is really well paced, I liked Staines, then I didn’t like him and then liked him again – flawed but a great ‘loveable rogue.’ There is loads of great dialogue to enjoy – Lesley Kelly does a fine job of allowing Edinburgh’s finest to shine through.

One of the strengths of A Fine House in Trinity is the supporting cast. Staines has a few allies to help him along the way and, through the flashbacks, we can get a glimpse of past acquaintances and how they shaped his life.

A Fine House in Trinity is a cracking debut from Lesley Kelly, it is definitely a book which merits your attention.

 

A Fine House in Trinity is published by Sandstone Press and was released on 21st April. It is available in paperback and digital format.   You can order a copy of the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fine-House-Trinity-Lesley-Kelly/dp/1910124958/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461282636&sr=1-1&keywords=a+fine+house+in+trinity