Today on the blog, I am celebrating the life of one of Scotland’s greatest crime writers who sadly passed away a week ago at the age of 59. Helping me, is Denzil's best pal, Douglas Skelton.
If Douglas and Denzil had been together aged 5, they would have lived on the naughty step.
It's hard to describe Denzil to people that hadn’t witnessed him in person. He was the both the "kindest heartest" and irracible tempered person you could wish to meet. He was both cynical and
joyous. He was both conservative and liberal, but always stood up for the
underdog. He was basically the sort of guy you could have a really good
argument with and afterwards, still be the best of friends.
Douglas: I had many arguments with him. We were
diametrically opposed on many subjects, although I do think he adopted some
stands just to wind me up, and yet we remained friends. That’s the grown up
way, isn’t it?
Denzil was born in Glasgow but raised in Campbeltown
on the Mull of Kintyre peninsula (much famed by Paul McCartney). My first
interaction with him was him messaging me on Facebook about a campaign to save
the cinema in Campbeltown. I thought he must have known that my uncle had been
the projectionist there – lobster catcher by day, projectionist by night. I
think his next line was something like 'Does your uncle have a drink problem?' to
which I replied, 'If he didn’t before he moved to Campbeltown he does now.'
Douglas: My first encounter was, like you, a message, back in 2016, I think. He’d seen a post of mine in which I despaired about lack of sales (a common complaint among authors) and he said he’d read the Davie McCall books and wanted to help me if he could. Our friendship grew from there, with many calls, messages and finally meeting face to face at the launch of the 5th Daley book Well of the Winds. It took place on the island of Gigha, off Scotland's west coast, and Michael J Malone and I both attended. My grandmother was from the island, so that meant I had Kintyre blood in my veins and that pleased Denzil.
Gigha is pronounced Gee ah. Just in case.
Some people - not me you understand- used to have a little
merriment at Denzil's expense. When he wasn't there.
Denzil suffered from an arthritic condition that affects young men. Rarely heard him complain but he did say this on X recently.
"Nightmare day of arthritis. It’s always lurking, but sometimes it springs, clamps its jaws around you and won’t let go. I’m sure anyone with the condition will unhappily testify to the veracity of this. I feel for you all.”
What’s your best memory of him Douglas? For me, I think it's the cats. And the way the
chair was setup to allow writing, the little radio on the mantelpiece, a man
who wasn’t
going to let his condition get in his way really. Everything was in reach. When we were trying to find the house
which was tucked in the middle of nowhere on the side of Loch Lomond, I phoned him and said 'I think I’m outside your house now.' He replied 'I
assure you, you aren’t.'
Douglas: I think my best memory is the laughter we shared, whether practically every day on the phone, at an event - and I did more with him than anyone else, I believe, whether appearing alongside him or as an author - or on our podcast, Sbooks. He had a wicked sense of humour and was a gifted mimic. I remember when he appeared at the Grantown Crime Festival one year - the year you, Caro, was somewhere that was else - and we did a comedy show with a crime flavour. The second half was a spoof of the Hound of the Baskervilles, which I expanded from an original shorter version I co-wrote a friend many years ago. Denzil played the narrator and at the dress rehearsal…well, the only rehearsal (you know how these things go)…I saw him sitting there wondering what on earth he’d got himself involved with. I assured him that it would be all right on the night, as we say. But I still asked Michael J Malone to collect him from his hotel, in case he decided to make a swift exit.
Caro- he didn't. He turned up and was marvellous!
He wrote the DCI Daily books which are now being
developed for TV. He has a huge readership in Canada. I’m sure of those with Scottish ancestry love reading about rural
policing in a country you can drive across in two hours. His books were
excellent with that caustic humour running through them. I guess a big sadness is that he won’t see it on the screen. But would it have been filmed to his
satisfaction? Only time will tell.
Douglas: I know he did a lot of work for the
series and was proud of the direction it was going. He was rightly very
proprietorial about Daley and he wanted to see it done properly.
Caro; That means it would be done properly.
The most noticeable thing is that since his
passing was announced is the genuine sense of shock and loss in the Scottish population and
nobody, nobody has a bad word to say about him. Very generous of spirit,
generous with his time to new authors. But equally the tributes of those who
knew him wall are happy to relate the quirkiness of his personality. And that’s what made him the character that he
undoubtedly was.
Douglas: He was certainly quirky! His sense of humour didn’t go down well with some people. But a better friend you couldn’t hope to have. He was, as you say, generous with his time and I believe genuinely caring, even though he would deny it. He helped me a great deal, tried to get me to toughen up, made fun of me mercilessly ( Caro; to be fair it's not just Denzil that did that, we all do!), even in some of his books (I did the same with him). His books were loved, my favourites were the Kinloch tales featuring the young Hamish and Sandy Hoynes. He sold really well. He might not have been the genius he always told me he was, but he was unique. There have been attempts by others to recreate his mix of crime, thriller and pithy humour but they haven’t come close. He will be missed by readers. And by me.
Poignant title
I'll leave the last word with his publisher;
"Denzil was known for the skill with which he pinned to the page the reality of life on the streets of Glasgow along with the issues of the small rural communities of Scotland, a talent which caught the attention of a wide reading public across the UK and well beyond.
With his characteristic humour, unwavering determination and his dry personality Denzil was west of Scotland through and through, and he created unforgettable detective and criminal characters."
He was a fine fellow indeed.
Me, doing the Denzil thing at Foyle's bookshop, London.
