How a Gunman Says Goodbye by Malcolm McKay

How a Gunman Says Goodbye by Malcolm McKay

This is the middle book of a trilogy, but I haven’t yet read the other two.  This one stands alone and I suspect that’s true of the others, although there are connecting characters, along with all three being set in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter

How a Gunman Says Goodbye

The Sudden Arrival of Violence

Peter Jamieson is a mob boss and like all mob bosses, he runs a large organization, complete with enforcers and gunmen, and held together by loyalty, fear, and violence.  Frank MacLeod is one of the gunmen.  In fact, he is the oldest and best.  Been working for Jamieson for decades. Never failed and hard to see how he ever could.

But nothing lasts forever.

In How a Gunman Says Goodbye do not expect the usual shoot-em-up.  Hardnosed, yes, but this book crawls deep into the organizational and individual psychology of organized crime.  Even in a superb look at the life of criminals, such as The Sopranos, you only get a glimpse of individual minds, the worries and frustrations.  In Gunman, you get a detailed picture of worries, ambitions, loyalties, and apprehensions.  The author must surely have some friends ‘in the business.’

Sociopathic and psychopathic minds are inherently interesting. We have an almost morbid fixation on those who are willing to accept the vicious as normal. Serial killers are at the top of the list and a gunman fits the mold, even if he’s not the one who picks out the targets or gives the order.

Well worth pondering: How does a gunman think he fits into an organization?  How are orders directed and carried out?  What are the jealousies that separate members of the same gang?  Why do some gang members become disillusioned and others grow only more steadfast?  How do girlfriends and lovers fit in?  Is there inherent pleasure in taking a human life, or is the act given no more thought than stepping on an ant, or shooting a squirrel?

In short, How a Gunman Says Goodbye takes you into the inner workings of organized crime and those who choose to live the life. The author narrates, not only day-to-day operations, decisions, doubts, and balances, but also the minds of killers.

Frank MacLeod is a gunman, a killer. He’s has been around a long time.  Longer than most and has more friends at the highest levels than most.  But, when are friendships really friendships and when are they only conveniences?

Questions pile on top of questions and if you’re picking up this book and expecting murders and mayhem on every page, you’ll be disappointed.  If, on the other hand, you want to know what the daily life of a gang member is like and can be satisfied with only punctuations of violence, you’ve come to the right place.  This book is intriguing and fascinating, and built on complexities and the angst of the characters over what comes next and the big and complicated question of how does a gunman say goodbye?

How a Gunman Says Goodbye is deeply absorbing and if it’s not the fast pace you’re used to, it’s still a page-turner that plays on the reader’s mind and rivets you on your journey to the astonishing ending.