Scottish Thrillers

Struggling with long-buried family secrets and her own recent heartbreak, artist and pet portraitist Susie Mahl hopes her brief sojourn as an art tutor at a Scottish country house will prove a distraction. But Susie soon realises she has bigger problems than teaching her eclectic mix of students to draw a Highland cow. Beneath the beautiful landscapes of the Scottish Highlands and the grandeur of the Auchen Laggan Tosh estate lie hidden secrets. Can Susie work out what exactly is going on before it’s too late? And can anyone be trusted?

Just as his partner Sandra is due to give birth, DCI Alex Warren is sent to lead a difficult and sensitive investigation. Why has a young Asian girl been sexually assaulted and murdered in the home she shares with her Scottish boyfriend? Families are brought under intense scrutiny as Alex and his team look for answers. Potential motives of racism, Islamophobia, hate, jealousy, and honor killing all have to be considered. But who is behind the killing...and what is the real reason?

When a fire ravages the local bookstore late one evening, Liss immediately fears the worst for owner Angie and her two young children. After the terrible blaze dies down, however, the family is nowhere to be found among the ruins. It's as if the three just vanished into smoke. Or, even stranger, like they never existed at all.

Helen Carter has just landed her first case as a detective: a murder in an abandoned cinema. A mysterious clock-like symbol is drawn on the wall...in blood. Stranger still is what the killer left behind: the business card of an ex-cop. Since being promoted from WPC, Helen is having trouble making her mark in the male-dominated Edinburgh CID, working under Inspector Jack Craven. He’s not happy about having a woman on his team. Witnesses won’t talk to her; her colleagues don’t take her seriously.

Delaney McPhearson is back in the second edge-of-your-seat novel in the best-selling Belial Series. Over decades, evidence of an incredible treasure, hidden in the forests of Ecuador, had been gathered by a Roman Catholic priest. The rumors of the treasure date back to the Conquistadors and tales of storehouses filled with Incan gold. But Professor Delaney McPhearson believes the treasure is older than the Incans. Much older. Rumor has it that as Atlantis was coming to an end, three libraries of knowledge and artifacts were hidden across the globe.

From the dramatic Highlands to bustling cities, the unique landscapes and locales of Scotland have enthralled and shaped generations of mystery writers. This new collection presents 17 classic stories, spanning a period from the 1880s to the 1970s, by a host of Scottish authors alongside writers from south of the border inspired by the history and majesty of the storied country.

If you ever thought the life of a hairdresser was tranquil, then think again. This is no ordinary hairdresser. Viv Fraser, PhD, and stylist to the Edinburgh establishment, has a double life as an investigative journalist and finds herself involved in some hair-raising, not to mention explosive scenes, as she trawls the seamier side of her city.