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A premise that, gratifyingly, delivers the goods in spades and does so with a superbly well drawn cast of characters and a rather unique, well written, often dark narrative. Compelling and wholly engaging reading. Top notch' But Grace is now facing a strange dilemma. She has noticed something in one of the houses she is cleaning which does not seem to belong there. It is similar to an item she found at a previous house-clean. Curiosity leads Grace to a funeral and in turn she heads out of Glasgow to the Isle of Bute. Many years ago the island made the news and Grace has to consider the possibility a long-forgotten story may have a resolution in an untidy Glasgow flat. The plot starts as a creeper and a thinker, as Grace's investigation deepens it twists and loops wildly. There is real tension and threat and we really get into Grace's head, "What do you think you know, and how do you know it?" is a question she gets asked (and asks herself) more than once.
That was two days ago. The cops have gone, what was left of Thomas Agnew has gone too, and only the smell remains. I’m suited up and wearing a respirator mask but there’s still no missing the odour. I got used to it ages ago, I’ve had to, but that doesn’t mean I’m unaware of it. I really enjoyed this novel, set in Glasgow and containing great, realistic descriptions of the city. I will, of course, not spoil of anything however the journey of Grace and her character will live with you for a long time. Wow! What an absolute stunner of a book. This was so different to a lot of the books out there at the moment. Totally gripping and thrilling and I couldn’t stop reading it although I really didn’t want to finish it!’ The author is adept at creating memorable characters who really draw you into a story and grace is no exception. She has a very complicated past, and a troubled relationship with her own father which goes some way to explaining her actions. There is a great deal of empathy with her, but also a whole host of contradictions and her ways of coping with the atrocities she must see are fascinating and yet authentic. I was really drawn to her, keen to see her uncover the truth, even if she was somewhat less confident or outgoing than the typical amateur detective, for that is surely what she is.Original and immersive, this is a book that messes with your head and confounds your expectations. The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill is the story of what happens when Grace McGill thinks she has found a similarity between the most recent houses of the dead that she has cleaned. But one death in particular causes her to sense a connection to the mysterious disappearance of a young girl decades ago on the Isle of Bute. She attends the deceased’s funeral, notes who is there —as seen in a group photograph in the house—and starts to stalk them with intent to search for answers. Because Grace McGill is a specialist cleaner who scours homes after a resident has moved on or a deceased occupant’s body has been removed. One unifying theme in her work is how often those of a certain age especially die alone, unnoticed, unmissed. Grace acts compassionately, wanting to honour their memory. A premise that, gratifyingly, delivers the goods in spades and does so with a superbly well drawn cast of characters and a rather unique, well written, often dark narrative. Compelling and wholly engaging reading. Top notch’ Reading about her thoughts and actions, we feel we understand this eccentric character. I was fascinated by Grace, her unusual life, her essential work, and her empathy for the deceased. Then the story takes a sudden turn, and we learn that Grace has shown herself as an unreliable narrator, not only to the readers but to herself. Her motivations reveal a moral complexity. She finds small clues during cleaning that she believes link a couple of the elderly men who recently died alone. The police do not find her to be credible.
His latest novel is narrated by the socially awkward but empathetic Grace McGill, whose job is to clean homes after people die alone and undiscovered, whether it’s clutter, bodily remains or dark secrets.Dark and quirky - there's just something readers are going to love about meeting Grace McGill' SCOTTISH SUN Her latest job is cleaning up after the death if Tommy Agnew who died 5 or 6 months ago in a tenement in Glasgow. No one seems to have noticed that he had died. Certain aspects of his room intrigue Grace and she decides to investigate more. Before she knows it she is involved in something far darker and more dangerous than she intended. Death cleaning is a sad necessity we don’t want to think too much about. The clearing of the homes of those who die unmourned and unmissed is carried out by local council workers like Grace McGill. It happens every day of the week. It’s something we’re all happy to know happens as long as it’s not talked about. Craig ‘CS’ Robertson has realised there’s a huge potential for a dark and haunting story in this. The reality is poignant but there’s something macabre about it too and Grace’s story conveys both superbly. The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill is a gripping read.
I’ve only been told three things about the man. His name, that he’d lived alone, and that he lay undiscovered for an estimated twenty weeks. The police are appealing for family members to get in touch as there are no known relatives.A STAND-OUT NOVEL WITH A UNIQUE NARRATIVE VOICE AND AN UNGUESSABLE MYSTERY. YOU ARE GUARANTEED TO REMEMBER GRACE McGILL. I absolutely loved this character. So well-drawn, with such a distinctive voice, Grace is unlike any other character I have met. Robertson’s story is a dark, psychological thriller that drops surprise bombs all the way through the narrative. The characters are down to earth and richly drawn and the plot line absolutely riveting. In Mr Agnew’s flat, Grace is drawn to some old photos of a group of friends taken in Rothsey decades ago. Her interest in Agnew is typical of her compassion, her colleague Harry Blair would say.
This has brought her into an odd profession. She is a cleaner – but not of the houses of the living. She is a forensic cleaner. She gets called in, after the police, the emergency services, the investigations of possible crimes have all been, gone, and done their jobs, to those premises where some poor soul has died alone, undiscovered, unnoticed as missing, till decomposition over weeks or months creates complaints from neighbours, responsive to rank and festering odours. It is then Grace will be brought in, clad in biohazard gear, to render premises habitable again.Grace McGill is an insular, friendless woman, living in Glasgow in her 30s. She has her beloved cat, and she has her own business – deep cleaning the houses of Undiscovereds. People who die alone and stay that way until they are found weeks, sometimes months, later.
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