I really enjoyed this one.

Proceedings begin with an ending, Robbie is at a funeral. The deceased was also a defense lawyer who appears to have written the book on sneaky plays in court to use every available twist to get his clients off the hook. His former partner asks Robbie a favour; a political candidate in the Scottish Parliament is accused of using excessive force to attack a housebreaker who entered his home late one night. Could Robbie take his case and ensure the accused isn’t found guilty?

Robbie is also no stranger to sneaky tactics and effective use of legal loopholes, so he takes on the case and promptly finds himself caught up in a venture which puts his family and his freedom at risk. The first shock for Robbie comes when he finds the prosecuting Fiscal is his own wife – drafted in as cover at the last minute. Still confident he can win there are further surprises in store when the attack victim gets into court and appears to have total amnesia over the alleged attack. Something is very strange about this case.

An attack on a family member leaves Robbie rattled so he enlists the help of one of his own dubious contacts to find the attacker. Things don’t go quite to plan and Robbie’s attempts to speak with the attacker find Robbie placed under arrest and sent to prison pending a hearing.

With his reputation and freedom at stake Robbie will need to be at his sharpest to uncover the truth and clear his name. Luckily for him he has expert legal support in the form of his wife and he can call on the vast array of his dubious contacts to provide help when needed. With a Buckfast swilling pugilist and a wannabe porn producer in your corner how can you not succeed?

Bad Debt is a hugely enjoyable read. A clever thriller with some wholly unexpected twists. Robbie Munro is a wickedly engaging lead character – the humour and quips come thick and fast but don’t undermine the tension or Robbie’s predicament.

An excellent mystery, gripping and entertaining.
I loved the humor and the story made me laugh and kept me hooked.
Great cast of characters, a tightly knitted plot and a solid mystery that kept me guessing.
It's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is my first book I’ve read in the Robbie Munro series (there are five before this) and I can guarantee it will not be my last!*

Despite having not read any of the others this didn’t matter. It’s a standalone book which you can fully enjoy whether you’ve read the others or not, but now I have ventured into Munro’s world I do want to go back and see how his character has developed.

Along the way you meet a whole host of characters who all fit seamlessly within the plot and I just clicked with every one of them. The dialogue between them was perfect and I felt at times like I was right there beside them.

What I love most about crime thrillers is the legal side of things, especially all the court room drama and this book provided me with all of this and so much more! It was great to see how a defence lawyer works and thinks, from the ways to explain things in court to loopholes with the system. I absolutely loved it and found it so fascinating.

However, if you’re thinking this book will be filled with pages of legal jargon, do not worry, as the author injected a perfect amount of humour into this too. Robbie Munro’s one liners really had me chuckling at times and definitely broke up any tense scenes.

Overall this is such a fabulous legal / crime thriller, that is full of plot twists, legal drama and hilarious Scottish charm to create the perfect book for all!

*I’m off to start book 1 of the series now.

Not read any William McIntyre before but it won’t be the last. Very sharp, funny and a great read. Plotting is good, not too complicated but intriguing enough, and characters are believable.

Bad Debt sees our hero, defence lawyer Robbie Munro, in serious trouble and in dire need of help from his friends – and perhaps his enemies. His wife is being stalked by a witness in a trial where she has been drafted in at the last minute to prosecute and Robbie is on the defence team. When this witness is found dead, Robbie is charged with his murder.

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Robbie’s latest escapades. For a man supposed to be upholding the law, he sails rather close to the wind when it come to bending it. And this sees him in some rather interesting situations where he needs help from some rather shady characters. It proves something of a dilemma that to prove his innocence in the case, he really needs to give the police a certain name, and yet he can’t because then his life would be endangered in another way!

William McIntyre uses his own extensive knowledge of the Scottish criminal justice system to great effect. The mutual mistrust between the lawyers and the police amused me. At the end of the book, the author explains how some cases inspired this book and that was rather eye-opening to say the least!

One thing I particularly enjoy about the Robbie Munro books is the dry Scottish wit running throughout them. Perhaps unusually for thrillers, I spent a lot of the book with a broad grin on my face (her royal bamishness Stephanie Meek comes to mind, and Robbie’s brother’s intellect or lack of it!). Yet equally there were times when the sticky situations Robbie finds himself in had my heart in my mouth.

Bad Debt is a really entertaining read, fast paced with plenty of twists and suspense along the way. I think the Best Defence series would make a brilliant tv adaptation. Now who would I cast as Robbie…?

William McIntyre is surely one of the finest writers to enter the literary crime scene in the last decade. Is he Scotland's answer to John Grisham? Actually, in my opinion he's better. Much better. Those slick one-liners that permeate nearly every page are right up there with the late, great Raymond Chandler.
Robbie Munro is a great character, whether he is defending someone else or facing a murder charge of his own. All the other characters coming into his orbit are likewise compelling and original.
Great authenticity. Great writing. Great book.

Bad Debt by William McIntrye is the 6th book in his Robbie Munro series of legal thrillers.

It’s the 2nd I’ve read since the fantastic Fixed Odds and I happy to say this is just as good.

When it appears Robbie is being framed for a murder, both his friends and enemies do their best to help prove Robbie is innocent.

These stories are great. Excellent plots, a great protagonist and a backing cast that will constantly keep you smiling as the legal/crime thrillers are not only brilliant capers but they are packed with McIntrye’s wit and humour.

Cracking read and highly recommended.

Thanks to Sandstone Press and NetGalley for my ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Sandstone Press for an advance copy of Bad Debt, the eleventh novel to feature Linlithgow based criminal defence lawyer Robbie Munro.

Robbie’s wife, Joanna, is being stalked by a man who turns out to be a witness in the case she is prosecuting and Robbie is doing his best to track him down. When the witness, Alex McDonald, disappears, leaving behind a houseful of blood Robbie is charged with his murder.

It has been a while (and several books) since I spent time with Robbie so I thoroughly enjoyed my re-acquaintance with his world. The novel is told entirely from Robbie’s first person point of view which is mostly good. It allows the reader to get immersed in events and root for him through all his trials and tribulations. It also allows the reader to follow him blindly into situations no sensible person would entertain, based on his thoughts and justifications. Just as well it’s funny. I love Robbie who is a strange mixture of naïveté and professional guile. He gets himself into tricky situations via the former and extricates himself through a combination of the latter, luck and his wife Joanna’s smarts. This dichotomy plays out in his voice as well, a certain optimism laced with world weary cynicism. It’s a heady, fun mix that made me laugh out loud at times.

The plot bears no resemblance to reality but it’s fun, with trouble, double crosses and political intrigue all playing their part. It’s amazing the way the author weaves what becomes a widespread conspiracy from a single event and it’s all done coherently and logically. Ok, only sort of logically with Robbie in the mix.

I’m a sucker for Scottish crime fiction and this doesn’t disappoint. There is a good sense of location and I feel at home with the characters, getting their references and vocabulary. I wondered at first if it would baffle outsiders but the references become much more general after the first couple of chapters and it will appeal to readers who want a fun read.

I have no hesitation in recommending Bad Debt as a good read.

I first discovered William McIntyre due to the fact that he lives in the same town as me and I wished to support a local author. I'm glad I did as the Robbie Munro thrillers remind me of Stuart MacBride at his finest. Less swearing and not as gruesome but they are fantastically written, with plenty of humor as well as numerous twists and turns.

Bad Debt continues McIntyre's winning streak. Framed for a crime he has not committed, the story finds Munro involved in blackmail, conspiracies and dodgy dealings. I was gripped throughout as the plot is thrilling and filled with edge of your seat moments. Munro's personal life isn't without its share of troubles either. The relationships with his wife, brother, father and children add humour and light heartedness to the proceedings, perfectly balancing the tension of the main plot.

Overall, highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sandstone Press for the ARC.