Bastard Verdict by James McCrone
What's It About?
High stakes and low politics combine with deadly effect in new thriller, when a second referendum on Scottish independence looms.Lies, deceit, politics, murder, election fraud. All this and more are what make up James McCrone’s latest crime-thriller, Bastard Verdict (Faithless Elector).
A second referendum on Scottish Independence is looming when FBI Elections Specialist, Imogen Trager is called to action. With a sense that there was something amiss in 2014 and no desire to repeat history, Imogen is asked by Ian Ross, a Scottish government official, to investigate the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum, nine years after it happened.
Was the vote stolen? Was there foul play involved? What deadly secrets will arise? These are all questions that are answered as Imogen dives into her investigation in this fast-paced thriller.
A Notorious Figure
By the time she is asked to take on this investigation, Imogen Trager has already made quite a name for herself.
Having already done a lot of casework back home in the US, Imogen became most recognized for a case in which “she had tracked down and brought justice to those responsible for conspiring to steal the presidency by manipulating the Electoral College.” For her efforts in this case, “Imogen became the public and photogenic face of the ‘Faithless Elector’ investigation, but an exile within the Bureau.”
Now, taking a leave from her work with the FBI, she resides in Glasgow, Scotland, conducting research at the University of Glasgow. It is during this leave that she is called to conduct this risky investigation that could jeopardize her entire career.
A Risky Investigation
In order to ensure a fair vote for the impending referendum, Imogen begins to look into the polls, data and government involvement in the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum. While working alongside special adviser Ian Ross, professor and election specialist “Wee Frankie,” and others, Imogen begins to see that several details regarding this referendum don’t seem to add up.
As she dives deeper into the case, she “worries that what Ian Ross and Wee Frankie wanted from her had less to do with gathering information to ensure a fair vote a second time (if against all odds it somehow came to be), and more about creating a fulcrum to move public opinion towards ensuring that another referendum took place.” And in her experience, this was the kind of political interference that could prove deadly.
By taking this case, Imogen is not only putting her career at risk, but is also risking her own life and the life of others involved. As Imogen continues to dig deeper, she is met with multiple deadly obstacles.
People who know too much will be silenced, and people who seem trustworthy are not always who they claim to be. Imogen plays a dangerous game, yet continues working tirelessly throughout the novel to put the pieces of the puzzle together and prevent history from repeating itself.
A Thrilling Combination of Politics and Crime
Bastard Verdict is told from the perspectives of Imogen and her circle. But it also gives glimpses into the perspectives of those who will do anything it takes to keep their secrets hidden, including their involvement in the 2014 election fraud.
Through his combination of political history and crime, James McCrone crafts a novel that is gripping, thought-provoking, and even educational. Bastard Verdict cleverly combines the facts of the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum with an intriguing, crime-filled plot, resulting in a compelling thriller that leaves readers desperate to know what will happen next.
Was the vote truly stolen? Will Imogen’s investigation succeed in uncovering foul play? Who can she trust and who will prove to be a dangerous obstacle? Only time will tell as she risks her life to embark on this dangerous investigation into the Scottish Independence Referendum.
About James McCrone:
McCrone is the author of the Faithless Elector political suspense-thriller trilogy, featuring the driven, conflicted Imogen Trager, a by-the-numbers, (if rarely by-the-book) FBI investigator, comprising FAITHLESS ELECTOR, which Publishers Weekly calls a “fast-moving topical thriller” and DARK NETWORK which Kirkus Review calls “A rousing and provocative political thriller…” The third book, EMERGENCY POWERS, “so chillingly real, you pray it’s not true,” launched to tremendous success on October 1, 2020!
James’s fourth book, BASTARD VERDICT, is a noir thriller of high stakes and low politics, set in Scotland, against a looming second referendum on Scottish Independence.
His short stories also appeared in the collection Low Down Dirty Vote, vol.2, July, 2020. A third LDDV, vol. 3, published in May of ’22, featured his short story “Nostalgia.” The short story “Ultimatum Games” appeared in January of this year in Rock and a Hard Place magazine Winter/#7. His story “Eight O’Clock Sharp,” appeared in January ’22, in Retreats from Oblivion.
