Douglas Brodie Books In Order

Publication Order of Douglas Brodie Books

The name Douglas Brodie refers to a series of crime novels set in Glasgow, Scotland. Written by Gordon Ferris, the books follow the exploits of a battle-weary reporter who solves crimes.

+The Story

The Douglas Brodie series begins in 1946. Gordon Ferris has become famous for writing stories with post-war settings. The author has often expressed surprise at the fact that only a select few authors ever set their stories in the 1940s.

Gordon believes that the period is especially ripe for storytelling because it was such a chaotic time, an era of upheaval and transformation on the social, political and economic landscapes.

It was during the 1940s that the rigidity of society started to fall away, giving birth to new freedoms. For Gordon, positioning Douglas Brodie in the 1940s made all the sense in the world.

When Douglas Brodie is introduced in ‘The Hanging Shed’, the first novel in the Douglas Brodie series, the veteran has been thoroughly broken by the war. 1946 finds Brodie living alone in London.

A former policeman, Brodie decided to take up Journalism after his service. Ferris does not hide the fact the Second World War left his hero scarred, not just because of all the things Brodie did but also the horrors he witnessed.

However, because of the times, there is little in the way of assistance for people with mental ailments like the ones that assail Brodie. The veteran turns to whiskey to keep his demons in check even as he ekes out a miserable living in the journalism arena.

Brodie is forced to go back home to Glasgow in Scotland when a friend is accused raping and murdering a local boy. Brodie was a dashing kilt-wearing warrior the last time he returned to Scotland.

Those glorious days are far behind him and the prospect of reconnecting with old acquaintances and friends does not appeal to him. But with the life of an innocent man on the line, Brodie has no choice but to put his trepidations aside and enter Glasgow once more.

It doesn’t take Brodie long to realize that, like the rest of Europe, Glasgow has been greatly changed. Its people are cold, poor, and miserable. And the political powers in play are doing a poor job of rebuilding.
Brodie realizes that Glasgow might be exactly what he needs to get his footing and find some purpose. The atmosphere definitely agrees with his demeanor.

The Douglas Brodie books are primarily crime novels. Brodie might be a reporter but he cannot seem to steer clear of criminal trouble. And even after he returns to Glasgow and secures a job as a junior reporter at a Newspaper, the veteran finds that there is always need for his skills as a former policeman.

More often than not, it is Brodie’s journalistic efforts that bring him into contact with crime. The protagonist is designed with a curious personality and a strong sense of justice. And once he comes across a story that doesn’t make sense, a victim whose claims have gone unheard, a suspect whose cries of innocence only ever fall on deaf ears, Brodie will not hesitate to dig until he finds the truth and unravels whatever conspiracies might be in play.

Brodie is joined in his efforts by Samantha Campbell, an advocate he meets in ‘The Hanging Shed’. Brodie and Samantha become acquainted when Brodie offers to help prove her client’s innocence.

Over the course of the Douglas Brodie series, the pair grows close, drawn together by their anti-social mindsets and work-driven personalities. Samantha gives Brodie a new lease on life and becomes the anchor that allows him to settle in Glasgow.

Brodie, on the other hand, becomes a powerful tool for Samantha to utilize whenever she encounters immovable obstacles on the job.

The crimes that Gordon Ferris writes about revolve around the social, economic and political problems that strangled Glasgow in the 1940s. Brodie finds that the chaos, mayhem and the suffering that is rife in a post-war Glasgow acts as a breeding ground for all sorts of criminal activities.

Political corruption is also explored.

Of all the characters Gordon Ferris has created, he has said that he relates to Douglas Brodie the most. The author used many of his own experiences as a much younger man to paint the picture of Brodie’s life and world.

+The Author

Gordon Ferris was born in Kilmarnock, a small town in the West of Scotland. Gordon believes that his mother knew before him that writing and publishing would play a prominent role in his future. Gordon wasn’t so certain.

As a young man, he was too preoccupied with rugby and girls. And life eventually dragged him into the computer programming arena. Though, even after all the work he did with the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense and Price Waterhouse, Gordon Ferris still managed to sneak his way into writing and publishing.

+The Hanging Shed

Hugh Donovan stole Fiona from Douglas Brodie. But you won’t find Brodie complaining. He has since moved on, having fought in the Second World War. Though, life as a journalist living alone in London after the war is hardly appealing.

Brodie would be lost to the demons of his mind if not for the copious amounts of whiskey he consumes.
Brodie is forced to confront his past with Donovan when the old friend asks for his help. Donovan is no longer the handsome man Brodie remembers. He was badly burned in the war and must depend on regular doses of heroin to dull his pain.

When a boy is raped and murdered and Donovan is accused of the crimes, Brodie is forced to return home to defend his nemesis. Brodie doesn’t want to go back to Glasgow but he must overcome his own fears if he is to keep Donovan from the Hangman’s noose.

+Bitter War

Glasgow is in chaos. No one trusts the police. They are either useless or corrupt or both. So Douglas Brodie writes a piece that calls for the people to take matters into their own hands.

And they do just that. The Glasgow Marshals are created, a vigilante group that takes steps to bring order to the streets. And Brodie sympathizes with their cause. So when a man is murdered and suspicion is cast on the Marshals, Brodie investigates.