We're beginning to think the BBC are saving us the trouble of reading Iain Banks's books. Admittedly there's been a big gap between 'The Crow Road' in 1996 and this, his penultimate novel before his untimely death in 2013. However, there are similarities strong enough to stir memories across the intervening years. A cheeky-chappy average Scots lad, here played by Christian Cooke, returns to the small town where he grew up for the funeral of someone he loved, and suspects foul play. There's also a love interest, who is ever-so-perfect, and a more suitable and human girl lurking nearby. It's not bad, but it feels like Banks' point is that men never mature mentally beyond their teens. The less charitable opinion is that Banks himself didn't move beyond this one narrative, and maybe just wrote well enough to enchant readers regardless. On television, it's not an advert for 'Visit Scotland', on the plus side, but more of an extended 'Taggart' episode with a voice-over. Has there ever been a drama that has been improved by a narrative voice?
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