Overview

Resolution is set in Edinburgh in the late 1980s and follows Ray Lennox as a young detective working in a violent and corrupt police force. Assigned to a murder investigation involving sex workers, Lennox is pulled into a world of brutality, cover ups, and moral compromise that will shape the man he becomes.

Writing & Voice

We found the writing ferocious and immersive. Welsh uses raw dialogue and interior monologue to place us inside Lennox’s head. The voice is confrontational and restless, driven by anger, confusion, and a growing sense of unease.

Content & Perspective

The novel stays close to police culture, showing casual cruelty, misogyny, and institutional violence as everyday facts. We follow Lennox as he struggles to reconcile his own impulses with a system that rewards silence and brutality.

Themes

Resolution explores power, masculinity, corruption, and complicity. It asks how violence becomes normalised and what it costs to resist or submit. We were struck by how clearly it traces the roots of later damage.

What Worked

• Unflinching portrayal of police culture.
• Psychological depth in Ray Lennox’s early years.
• Strong sense of time and place in late twentieth century Edinburgh.

Minor Quibbles

• The violence is sustained and confronting.
• Some scenes are deliberately uncomfortable.

Final Thoughts

We found Resolution brutal and incisive, tracing how corruption, masculinity, and violence harden through everyday choices, leaving little room for innocence or escape.

Rating: ★★★★☆ / 5