What an interesting book this is, all about a man who almost escapes his childhood until it catches up with him. Then he discovers who he really is and what a truly corrupt society we all live in.

The tale is well put together and I was thoroughly enjoying the detail, happily turning the pages wanting to know what was next and then the story-telling just ended and I found myself looking at the acknowledgements!!! Pity really as I was expecting it to continue because there was certainly more to be said.

Oh well, maybe there will be a part 2.

My thanks to Canongate for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘To the Dogs’ by Louise Welsh.

The protagonist of Welsh’s latest is Jim Brennan. His career as Professor of Criminology is going well and he is tipped for the top job when the current Principal retires. He has a beautiful and accomplished wife and two healthy children. He’s done well given that his father had been a Glaswegian hard man and Jim had grown up far from the privilege he enjoys today.

Then his son, Eliot, is arrested on drugs charges and it soon appears that he is in well over his head. Jim is approached by the type of men that he thought he had left safely in his past. Soon their demands threaten his family, students and reputation. Jim may have placed distance between himself and his father’s legacy, yet as the pressure increases, he discovers that he is more willing than he imagined to protect the life he has built.

Like many of Welsh’s works I found this primarily a character-led novel; though at times it erupts into moments of shocking action that contrasts with the apparent normality of the Professor’s academic life.

While I didn’t find Jim a particularly likeable lead character, I could appreciate the distance that he had travelled from his childhood to the present day where he finds satisfaction in the intellectual aspects of criminology.

In addition, he clearly loved his son no matter how much he had messed up. His daughter, Sasha, was a lot younger at only eleven though the baddies made a big mistake threatening the girl and his wife, Maggie, as it definitely brought out the Professor’s more primal side.

Overall, I consider that ‘To the Dogs’ is a well written literary thriller that explores the borderlands between the gritty streets and the ivory towers of academia as well as touching on organised crime and political corruption.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

A new author for me and not my usual genre but nonetheless an absorbing story. Professor Jim Brennan is vice chancellor and in line for the chancellorship job. He is involved in representing the University abroad and fundraising and overseeing capital projects. It’s a far cry from his violent and abusive upbringing by a criminal father. There are parallels with the criminal hard men of his youth and the infighting of academia.
When his son becomes involved in drug dealing, Jim Brennan is faced with a return to his old world in attempts to protect his family. Corruption and treachery are present in both Jim’s past and present and his future depends on his ability to act in both worlds. Highly recommended.

Jim Brennan escaped from his humble background & abusive father & has risen to the heights of vice-principal at the university. Happily married to Maggie, a renowned architect they have a son & a daughter. Sasha is eleven & all they could wish for, but Elliot has always been a loose cannon. When Jim arrives back from a visit to Beijing he discovers Elliot has been arrested on drugs charges. All the things & contacts Jim thought he has left in the past, pile in on top of him. How far will he go to protect his family?

This was a good solid read. I was a bit ambivalent towards Jim. I have a feeling I wouldn't have liked him if I met him! As for Elliot- a waste of oxygen & skin; but I suppose blood is thicker than water! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book

A contemporary thriller set in an unnamed Scottish capital, with a really interesting protagonist, Professor Jim Brennan. A man who, coming from the slums, has gone to become a renowned academic criminologist, vice-chancellor of his university. Happily married to a successful architect, father to a girl of 11 and a boy of 22... all seems well until on arrival from a work trip to China he is called to the police station where his son has been arrested on drug charges... From there a rather Kafkaesque (yet believable) story develops in which we follow Jim's attempts to help his son and save his life. Shadows from the past (his violent, low-life father, the milieu where he grew up) and the actuality of the present (his messed-up son, drugs, corruption, university politics...) are shattering the middle class, fulfilled life he has worked hard to build.
I thoroughly enjoyed the narrative arch, the depiction of different environments in the city (from pubs and building sites to university committee rooms), the ethical dilemmas, the dialogues... This is a very satisfying thriller with a strong realistic and believable contemporary setting. I read it in two nights and I know I could re-read it again this summer as knowing the end will not diminish the pleasure of its reading. Recommended!

First of all thank you publishers for such a brilliant book .

wow!! this book had me gripped as most would say a great page turner . I don't want to give anything away so I'm keeping this spoiler free .

the plot overall I thought was very clever put together ,every plot twist had my jaw drop !! totally pulled the carpet from under my feet .i felt i was right there with the main character Jim , at times you felt like you were dancing with the devil . my heart was jumping at times , but in the best way .

I thought Louise's writing was fantastic ,pretty fast paced which i very much enjoy .

i can tell you now if you love a thriller you will be gripped from page one .

i m giving this book 5 heart racing stars

This is a good thriller, with excellent characterisation. How far would you go to protect your child? It started off at a fast pace but slowed down in the second part of the book. I liked the characterisation, especially Jim. A man torn between his career as vice principal of a university in Glasgow and his love for his son, in prison facing drugs charges. I was disappointed with the ending, too many loose ends but it was a decent read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

4.5 stars.
I have read a couple of books by this author before so I was excited to get my hands on this, her latest offering.
In this book we meet Jim Brennan. He is in line for promotion at the university where he works as a criminology professor, he has a good marriage to architect Maggie, and two great kids, Sasha and Eliot. He drives a nice car and has a pedigree dog. So, on the surface, things are going swimmingly for him. Especially when you consider where he came from. His meagre roots. How he pulled himself up practically on his own. But things start to go south when Eliot is arrested for drugs and suddenly, that past, the one he escaped, the one he never wanted to revisit, invades his present and threatens his future...
We then watch as Jim tries to juggle pretty much everything in his life to just try and stay on top of everything. As he tries to save his son, a son that has so much going on that Jim was not aware of. With the ghostly voice of Jim's father forever in his ear, will he be able to sort it all out, to protect his family, or will he fall further into his past and be unable to get out?
This was all things gritty. It's also multilayered and convoluted in parts so it pays to have your wits about you when reading it. Even with his faults, I took to Jim right from the off. Admired how far he had come in his life. How determined he was to leave that past, his father, behind and do the very best for his family. He really does have some difficult decisions to make in this book. Occasional food for thought for the reader too I think. I wasn't that enamoured with Eliot but then I don't think I was supposed to like him!
I does drag a tad in the middle which is why I rounded down, but it does pick up again towards the end which conversely I did find a tad rushed albeit satisfying. I'm now off to check out the rest of her back catalogue.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This was a fascinating story, treading the line between legal and illegal and what a righteous man might do to protect his family. Some great characters and a fsst moving storyline., with a great conclusion.

This is a tremendous thriller from Louise Welsh, well written and with a fascinating array of characters and a beautifully depicted backdrop. Jim comes from a tough background and has fought his way up to the top in the university where he works. However, when his son gets involved in drug dealing, it becomes obvious that there are some who are keen to drag Jim back down again. Wonderful!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a chance t read this book and offer an honest opinion.
Professor Jim Brennan, raised in Glasgow by his criminal father, is now an academic and set to get the ‘big job’ at the university. He is respectable, a high flyer with the world at his feet. That is until he gets the call telling him that his son has been arrested.
This is not the first time that Eliot has been in trouble with the law, but this time it’s serious and he could be in for some serious jail time. The people Eliot has got himself mixed up with don’t mess about and Jim is forced to face old demons, in a place he thought he’d left behind to protect not only his son but his wife and daughter too,
Just how far would you go to protect the ones that you love?
Compulsive. Once you start, you’ll keep the pages turning until you’re at the end.

I haven’t read Louise Welsh before. Her 2002 debut “The Cutting Room” made a big impact and won several awards and led to a sequel 20 years later. In between there has been a trilogy (Plague Times 2014-17), story collections, a non-fiction work on Glasgow and stand-alone novels of which this is her fifth.
Main character Jim Brennan is a criminologist, and Vice Chancellor at the University where he is a professor. We first meet him in 2017 jet-lagged from a flight after a visit to the sister university in Beijing in the waiting room of a Scottish police station where his son has been arrested on drug charges. How much parents are prepared to do for their offspring is a central theme here and Jim finds himself getting deeper into difficult situations as he tries to protect his son.
Brennan is a man who needed to escape his past, academia has saved him from the violent law-breaking of his own father, now dead, but the past has a habit of creeping back and bringing a whole new set of challenges for the ambitious professor.
Plot-wise it is involving enough but I think where it didn’t quite shine for me was because I couldn’t care for any of the characters, in fact, I almost got a sense of guilty pleasure when bad things happened, and that was right from the start. I’m not convinced that was the author’s intention and it seems a bit of a risky strategy. Nobody also had that obvious streak of villainy which can also appeal. I think there’s potentially a point where readers might feel they don’t want to continue reading about these lives until the past and present slot more in synch and we get a more immediately involving situation as the dubious politics of institutions and global influences on cash-strapped educational establishments brings a whole new perspective. This was a solid thriller which certainly has interested me in Louise Welsh’s backlist.
To The Dogs is published in the UK by Canongate on 18th January 2024. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

A bit hard going at times, probably as I took a dislike to the main character (and his son!) from the outset. Overall an interesting storyline with some unexpected twists. Overall enjoyable but only 4 stars as not a pacey read for me

Can you ever really escape your past? Jim finds out that he hasn't when his son Elliott gets tied up with criminal elements. This is finely done Scottish noir in which the city of Glasgow is itself a character. Jim is conflicted but Elliott is his son- his decisions might not be the best but that's his focus. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read .

What a cracking read this is. Just what you would expect from this author. A brilliant storyline, set in Glasgow, gritty, hard hitting and exciting. A one sitting read for me as I didn’t want to put it down! Our main protagonist is Professor Jim Brennan. The son of a tough gangster who mocked his clever and studious son and abused him both physically and mentally. But Jim pulled himself up by the shirttails and is now Vice Principal at Glasgow University and in line for the Principal position, wealthy and married with two children, his is a rags to riches success story. Apart from one thing…

Briefly, Elliot, Jim’s son, is a bad apple. He has been arrested, not for the first time, on drug charges. But this time he really has become involved with some very dangerous people and he owes them money, a lot of money. Jim thinks Elliot should be responsible for the mess he is in but it’s still his son so he has to help… even if that means going back to his roots.

With a number of other storylines involving Jim, alongside the main story about Elliot, this is a fast moving and exciting read. I’ve read other books by this author and this is definitely my favourite. So many dark themes, organised crime, drugs, corruption and a look at just how far someone would go to help someone they love. I loved the internal fight Jim went through with his morals v. his upbringing but which wins out? A fabulous book.

Enjoyable tale of academia and corruption in his Glasgow based thriller which is the first book I have read by Louise Welsh. Some well defined characters make for a captivating read. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Professor Jim Brennan is doing well. Vice Principal at Glasgow University, primus inter pares and it seems, now in line for the soon to be vacated role of Principal. He has a loving wife in Maggie, a successful architect and two children. He’s come a long way from that room and kitchen and his book on that subject tells you all you need to know about his background.

His life is less teaching criminology and more fundraising, steering building projects through to completion, though there is, on occasion, working with students. When we meet him he is wondering whether he can help with a student who seems to have gone missing in China and he is trying to find time to help an excellent student get a prestigious Harvard fellowship.

All that pales into insignificance when his son Elliot is arrested on drug charges. Soon this douce professor is returning to his roots in more ways than one. It doesn’t take much for Brennan to be once more up to his neck in hard men, serious drinkers, the drugs world and the attendant jeopardy that comes with it. Jim Brennan has something that these people want; the question is whether he will give it in order to save his useless brat of a son.

Louise Welsh writes beautifully. Her portrayal of the world of academia with its infighting and idealism is fascinating when it pits the real world of global politics against the very desirable ideology of worldwide human rights. In the end though, is there a huge difference between the cut-throat tactics of academia and those of the criminal fraternity? Louise Welsh’s story deals with questions of morality and identity and her depiction of the academic world is, as you might expect, wholly convincing. I would though have liked a little more depth to Becca, a woman whose presence asks a lot of questions that are never quite satisfactorily answered.

There’s an effortless style to Welsh’s writing that leaves Glasgow feeling both glittering and tawdry. This is a book that works because of its setting. You could take Jim Brennan out of Glasgow, but you could never take Glasgow out of the Professor. Welsh’s compellingly drawn portrait of a man who drops his moral compass at the first sign of trouble is brilliantly conceived. A great read (and what what a brilliant cover!)

Jim Brennan has tried very hard not to be his father's son. But when his own son is arrested, in attempting to help him he manages to dig himself in with the local criminal fraternity. He has troubles at work as well and being blackmailed is just the icing on the cake.
A well thought through tale and very enjoyable.

A fast paced book which showed how your past can catch up with you and you never truly leave it behind as it will always come back and bite you.

The main character had bettered himself and left the childhood where his father was a crime but there were still people who didn't believe him worthy and were trustful. He showed you will put so much on the line for your children even when you know they have done wrong!

Great book.

A well written gritty thriller that kept the drama flowing and the pages turning. From high academia to the back streets of Glasgow. Taking the main characters' back story and weaving it into the present day, this is a great book.