Stonemouth by Iain Banks (Little, Brown)
by Patrick O'Connor
YOU should never go back could be the morale of this novel.
Stewart Gilmour has a successful career in London as a lighting designer but revisits his home town, the fictitious Stonemouth, positioned somewhere 'north of Aberdeen', for a funeral.
He has come to pay his regards to Joe Murston, patriarch of a local family with long established roots in a business empire, both legal and illegal.
Trouble is, Stewart had to flee the town five years previously when his impending marriage to Ellie Murston collapsed when he was guilty of a very serious lapse of judgement. Joe's son and grandsons ran Stewart out of town which was just as well because if they had got hold of him, then this story would have never got off the ground.
But now Stewart, who was close to Joe, has been granted dispensation to return for the funeral – as long as he promises to steer well clear of Ellie.
However, once he sets foot in Stonemouth, he becomes embroiled in the Murston's murky family history, including the apparent suicide of one of the Murston boys, the precocious other sister Grier and a very volatile group of local yobs.
Banks' skilfully draws you into life in Stonemouth. The action is set over one weekend but it is an action-packed few days!