Published by Olida Publishing
A successful career as a senior detective has given Bill Gillis, a Dumfries-based crime writer a wealth of memories to draw on in his role as an author.
Having attracted enthusiastic national acclaim for his first novel, Stable of Touts, two years ago, his second thriller is McBurnie’s Awakening. “It is purely a work of fiction and none of my characters are based on actual individuals I’ve come across, but I’ve included a mix and match of elements of people and events I’ve known or experienced during many years in the police,” said the author.
The first book followed the fortunes of fictional detective Jimmy McBurnie, fighting crime in a large town in rural Scotland in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is not long in the police when he recruits informants – touts – and sees himself as their ‘trainer’ in a plot that touches on several worlds, including racing. The tips he
receives lead him to success in solving serious crime while his determination to push the boundaries land him in hot water with the force disciplinary code and police politics.’
This book picks up a decade later, with McBurnie having reached the rank of Detective Inspector. His caseload covers a gamut of serious crime ranging from travelling criminals, drugs and an abduction and he faces the emotional and traumas of a job where some of the most horrific aspects of life and death have to be faced.
The latest book is part of a planned trilogy, and while it’s purely fictional, the retired Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary Detective Chief Inspector, who headed the region’s CID for six years, admitted he has the advantage of not needing to research the police and criminal world.