Alex Gray Books In Order

Lorimer & Brightman Books In Publication Order

Never Somewhere Else (2002)
A Small Weeping (2004)
Shadows of Sounds (2005)
The Riverman (2007)
Pitch Black (2008)
Glasgow Kiss (2009)
Five Ways to Kill a Man (2010)
Sleep Like the Dead (2011)
A Pound Of Flesh (2012)
The Swedish Girl (2013)
The Bird That Did Not Sing / The Silent Games (2014)
Keep the Midnight Out (2015)
The Darkest Goodbye (2016)
Still Dark (2017)
Only the Dead Can Tell (2018)
The Stalker (2019)
When Shadows Fall (2020)
Before the Storm (2021)

Lorimer & Brightman Book Covers

Alex Gray Books Overview

Never Somewhere Else

When three young women are discovered strangled and mutilated in a Glasgow park, it is up to DCI Lorimer to find their killer. Frustrated by a lack of progress in the investigation, Lorimer is forced to enlist the services of Dr Solomon and Brightman, psychologist and criminal profiler. Together they form an uneasy alliance. But when a homeless man is brought in for questioning the investigation takes a bizarre turn. Soon Lorimer has to scratch the surface of the polished Glasgow art world and reveal the dark layers hidden beneath…

A Small Weeping

The body of a prostitute is found at Glasgow’s Queen Street Station, her hands, pointing towards her feet, placed as if in prayer, a small flower pressed between the palms. Psychologist Solomon Brightman is called to asist DCI Lorimer in the murder hunt, with the hope that his lateral thinking will shine a light on the case.

Shadows of Sounds

The Glasgow Orchestra is rehearsing to perform, but little do they know of the sequence of events happening backstage. When George Millar, the orchestra’s leader, is brutally murdered in his dressing room, his colleagues are shocked. But the show must go on. Enter DCI Lorimer and psychologist Solomon Brightman to investigate. What they uncover is a series of irrevocably tangled relationships between the orchestra members. Up until his death Millar had been involved in homosexual relationships with several other orchestra members and was well known for playing his lovers off against one another but were his controversial dalliances really enough to incite cold blooded murder?

The Riverman

When the dead body of a man is fished out of Glasgow’s River Clyde the morning after an office celebration, it looks like a case of accidental death. An anonymous telephone call and a forensic toxicology test, however, give DCI Lorimer reason to think otherwise. Probing deeper into the life and business of the deceased accountant, Duncan Forbes, a seemingly upright member of the community, Lorimer find only yet more unanswered questions. What is the secret his widow seems to be concealing? Is there any reason to think that the international accountancy firm was facing financial difficulties? What has become of the dead man’s protege who has disappeared in New York? And when the firm’s human resources manager is found dead in her riverside flat these questions become only more complex not to mention more disturbing. And Lorimer is having to cope not only with deceptions devised to hide the facts, but also with suspicions from those far closer to home…

Pitch Black

Could a football supporter be angry enough to put a bullet in a referee’s head? Lorimer deals with this question as well as a tragedy close to home. When Chief Inspector Lorimer returns from his holiday on the island of Mull, he feels a welcome sense of calm but it doesn’t last long. Kelvin FC’s new star midfielder is found brutally stabbed to death in his own home and, with his wife apprehended trying to leave the country, a seemingly straightforward new case begins. But the grisly murder of a referee after a Kelvin match throws light on some dark secrets at the ground. And when the latest signing to the club becomes the latest victim in a string of killings, Lorimer knows there’s a serial killer on the loose one that’s only beginning to show his true colors. As lies emerge and tensions build, the players and managers live under the constant threat of becoming the next Kelvin fatality. Building to a dark and suspenseful climax, this is Alex Gray’s most powerful work to date.

Glasgow Kiss

Eric Chalmers is one of the most popular teachers at Muirpark Secondary School in Glasgow. Gentle and kind, he is the person the students come to when they want to confide in someone. So when precocious teenager Julie Donaldson accuses Chalmers of rape, the school goes into shock. How could a deeply religious family man like Chalmers do anything like that? With some students and teachers supporting Julie, and others standing by Chalmers, life at Muirpark is far from harmonious. And then things get much worse Julie Donaldson goes missing, and the police are called in. For DCI William Lorimer, this is the second missing persons case in a week. He’s been having sleepless nights about a toddler who has been missing for several days with each day, the likelihood of her being found alive diminishes. Julie’s disappearance adds a further burden to Lorimer’s already overstretched workload. With hope fading, it becomes a breakneck race against time to find both missing girls.