Edinburgh-based Tariq Ashkanani was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger – and won the Bloody Scotland Debut Award – for his debut novel ‘Welcome to Cooper’, a dank and rather gory thriller set in small town America. Next up was ‘Follow Me to the Edge’, another twisty, US-set thriller that didn’t flinch away from the dark stuff. His latest also sees him in the States, this time in the greater Nashville metropolitan area. It begins with Nathan Cole examining the details surrounding the death of his father, Lucas Cole, who has committed suicide in a run-down motel. Lucas was something of a celebrity in his small town, due to the fact that he published a series of pulpy novels. He was also – unbeknown to most – a serial killer of children. From 1994 until 2008 he murdered thirteen of them. The press dubbed him the ‘Music City Monster’ but he was never caught. His son Nathan, however, knows the truth but he’s always kept his secret. Lucas was, after all, his dad. Nathan then finds an unpublished manuscript ‘The Midnight King’, which looks like it contains a fictionalised account of Lucas’s deeds. Nathan begins to read it – we also get a look – as he searches for answers. While this is all going on, the police – and a detective who knew Nathan from his school days – are worried about an eight-year-old girl who disappeared only days before Lucas’s death. Ashkanani’s latest thriller is fast-moving and compelling, and walks that tightrope between twisted and twisty with skilful aplomb. RM

Published by Viper