Sam Bryson
Created by Russel D. McLean

Before Dundee gumshoe J. McNee took on his first case in The Good Son, another Scots private investigator operated out of the offices at 1, Courthouse Square, Dundee. His name was SAM BRYSON, and he was crime writer Russel D. McLean’s first attempt to create a hardboiled detective in a modern Scottish setting.

Sam shares a lot in common with McNee – he’s cynical, world weary and not averse to the odd moment of violence. But unlike McNee, Sam’s darker side is tempered by a loving relationship with his long-term girlfriend – an American philosophy professor called Ros – and a number of close friendships that define his world and stop him from falling deep into the darkness that always seems one wrong step away.

Sam first appeared in the short story, "The Death of Ronnie Sweets," where he was asked to look into a violent assault by the distraught parents of a young student. His second appearance introduced a fictional Dundee underworld, notably the long running rivalry between two sets of brothers – the Kennedy’s (named by their crime-lord father for JFK and RFK) and Omar and Yafit (whose surnames are never known). Sam would encounter both sets of brothers across several stories, refusing to take sides in their turf wars.

Sam is idealistic (perhaps foolishly so), and given to fits of violence when things don’t go his way. It is implied in early stories that he may drink too much, but this is soon tempered (perhaps due to Ros’s influence). He is loyal to his friends and loved ones and will do anything to defend them, as witnessed in "What Friends Are For."

"Davey's Daughter," first published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine in 2008, was supposed to be the final Bryson story. But he returned on 2011 with the story "Flesh and Blood," published in the e-collection Collateral Damage. Further stories are planned with the character depicting the events that would lead to his leaving the Investigation racket.

The author writes for Crime Spree Magazine, The Big Thrill, At Central Booking and Crime Scene Scotland. His short fiction has been published in crime magazines and web sites (including Thrilling Detective) in both the US and the UK. He lives in Dundee, Scotland. Where else?

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE

• Continuity fans will note that J. McNee makes an appearance in the story "Davey's Daughter",  while Sam appears briefly in the first J McNee novel, The Good Son, to metaphorically hand over the keys to the office. This sets the Bryson stories several years before the events depicted in The Good Son (the story, "Flesh and Blood" gives the date of events as being 2006). There are also appearances by characters who would later become part of J.  McNee’s supporting cast in several of the Bryson short stories. Constable Susan Bright is seen to briefly date Bryson’s protégé, Jamie, in the story "What Friends Are For," while DI George Lindsay is namechecked in "Dudman's Word."

UNDER OATH

• "...the stories exhibit such a sharp and honest voice it’s hard to believe they were written by a man in his early 20s. They are dark stories – sometimes very dark – but that darkness is balanced by both a dry Scottish wit and a genuine sense of concern for the people involved"
  -- Sean Chercover (from his introduction to The Death of Ronnie Sweets)

SHORT STORIES

• "The Death of Ronnie Sweets" (June 2004, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine)
• "Dudman's Word" (December 2004, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine)
• "Coughing John" (July/August 2005, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine)
• "Regrets" (December 2005, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine)
• "Like a Matter of Honour" (June 2009, The Thrilling Detective Web Site)
• "What Friends Are For" (April 2008, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine)
• "Her Cheating Heart (Summer 2008, Spinetingler Magazine)
• "Davey's Daughter" (September 2008, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine)
• "Flesh and Blood" (2011, Collateral Damage). Nook it!

COLLECTIONS

• The Death of Ronnie Sweets (2011)... Kindle it!

RELATED LINKS

• Russel McLean
  The author's offical site.
  
  
• My Pal, Sam Bryson
  Russel explains why he decided to bring Sam back...

Report submitted by Russel McLean, with a little minimal poking aroumd by Kevin Burton Smith.