Mr Bill Devlin

The Splinter Man Mr Bill Devlin

The tale is set in the 1960's and turns around a background of drug addiction and crime with a strong psychological focus. It deals with Frankie, a young man who is on the horns of a dilemma. As the tale develops he emerges as a bruised and ambivalent survivor. The Splinter Man is set in a small town in Fife and describes the anti-hero, Frankie, following his addiction to drugs and his incorporation into a local crime syndicate. There he has to make choices between taking part in the violent and profit-making activities of the syndicate or holding true to the prevailing 1960's liberal values that make him the person he is. The story begins with the backdrop of his father's disappearance and a murder. An elliptical transition sees the action shift to Frankie and the seedy drug underworld which is controlled by a local businessman. Frankie is co-opted with mixed motives into the action and becomes a central character. The opening chapters describe life when you are caught up with addiction and street violence while trying to hold down a job. It tries to capture the contradictions which exist when an ordinary young man finds himself metamorphosing through the use of drugs into someone he, himself, does not recognise. Frankie becomes increasingly involved with his community including characters like Scott Galbraith a dominant underworld figure, his opposite number Inspector Jim McManus, Frankie's girlfriend Jennie and the beautiful but tragic figure of Yvonne, Galbraith's daughter. As the violence increases the story sees Frankie drawn into the midnight interment of an unidentified body in the nearby Lomond Hills which triggers an escalation and an ugly unraveling of events. The book races to a finish with murder, mayhem, and Frankie's violent, physical and psychological disintegration. The tale ends desperately and darkly but not without a grain of hope. Will Frankie survive to fight another day? Read on!