Kenny O'Neill Books in Order

Kenny O'Neill is a Glasgow criminal who has learned how to survive by being feared, prepared, and quicker than the people around him. But he is not written as a simple villain. Kenny has a code, protects the people he considers family, and carries anger that he does not always know what to do with. His stories are linked to the DI Ray McBain books, since Kenny and Ray were once close friends, but Kenny takes center stage in Beyond The Rage and Dog Fight.

The setting matters. These are Glasgow thrillers that move through criminal networks, damaged neighborhoods, gyms, bars, and homes where old loyalties still have real force. Kenny has money and influence, yet neither gives him much peace. He is alert to threats from rivals, but the most dangerous problems often come from the past or from people he cares about.

He is a hard man with a conscience.

Beyond The Rage starts with Kenny under pressure from two directions. His girlfriend has been badly attacked, and his father, who disappeared after Kenny's mother died by suicide, is trying to re-enter his life. Kenny wants answers about both events. His search pulls him through family history, old resentments, and secrets that make revenge feel less straightforward than it first appears.

The book has the shape of a fast crime thriller, but it is also about the person Kenny became after childhood loss and abandonment. He can be violent and frightening, yet his love for the people in his circle is genuine. That tension drives the series. Kenny often wants to fix things himself, even when his methods create new dangers or force others to pay a price.

In Dog Fight, the stakes turn toward family again when Kenny's cousin Ian is drawn into an underground fight scene after trying to help a fellow former soldier. Criminals exploit people who are vulnerable, homeless, or struggling to find a way forward. Kenny decides to go inside the gang rather than leave Ian trapped, even though he knows the job could become a fight he cannot control.

The Kenny O'Neill books are gritty, tense, and laced with dark humor. They work well for readers who like crime fiction from the other side of the law, where the lead character can make terrible decisions and still earn sympathy. Expect family secrets, criminal schemes, physical danger, and a man trying to protect his own without pretending he is innocent.