Scottish Thrillers

Jesse Marley calls herself a realist; she's all about the here and now. But in the month before Prince Charles and Lady Diana's wedding in 1981, all her certainties are blown aside by events she cannot control. First, she finds out that she's adopted. Then she is run down by a motorbike.

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.

Arran went missing in Edinburgh twenty years ago. The last time his parents saw him he was withdrawn and on edge where he’d once been happy and carefree. Still searching for their son, they turn to their last hope, true crime podcaster Cal Lovett. Cal begins looking for answers but is distracted by his sister’s murder trial. He’s so close to getting the justice Margot deserves. Can he finally leave the past—and Margot—behind? As Cal unearths disturbing evidence about Arran’s fate, he suspects the young man’s close-knit group of university friends are keeping secrets to protect each other.

Rachel is no stranger to the darkness in the hearts of men. When the body of a young woman is found, tragically killed in her own home, Rachel is devastated to discover she knew the victim. Gillian helped her when she was at her lowest; now Rachel vows to find her friend’s murderer. When the killer strikes again, frighteningly close to home, Rachel sees a chilling pattern to his victims. As she races to decipher the clues, she unravels a twisted plan years in the making.

I'm a protector of the ley lines, and I'm also the direct link to warlock magic. No wonder I'm amazingly amazing right now. Although, this amount of magic is making me shaky. Is any paranormal creature built to hold so much? Fighting the urge to use my magic every waking hour, I throw myself into the unfinished case of the Scottish mob coven and their poisoned drugs. My ignorance led me to believe I'd wrapped everything up with a bow. And yet, when our original culprit throws blame on the mob leader, we have to find evidence.

It’s twelve years since teenager Peter Ferguson drowned in Loch Ness—on the same night that Stephanie, her mother and her sister, Aurelie, were camping on its shores. In the shocking aftermath, their family and life as they knew it fell apart, and the sisters no longer speak. But now Aurelie is getting married, and Stephanie realises that a reunion might finally bring the truth about that fateful night to the surface…

Eilean Eadar is a barren, windswept rock best known for the unsolved mystery of the three lighthouse keepers who vanished back in 1919. But when a young man is found dead at the base of that same lighthouse, two detective inspectors are sent from Glasgow to investigate.

In the second installment of the Glen & Tyler series, the guys find out what happens when you inherit a Scottish castle, tussle with international crime gangs and host formal balls. Yes, balls - with dancing and everything!

When Karin is taken on a romantic break by her loving partner Aaron, she can’t wait for him to propose. But her surprise weekend quickly becomes a nightmare from which she may never escape. They are staying by the beach at the Midland – a grand hotel where Karin used to work. And where Karin’s dangerous and obsessive ex, whom she has been trying to leave behind for years, is waiting patiently for her to return. Now all of Karin’s darkest secrets are being dragged into the light and her friends are turning against her.

Wren Taggart is no lady. Her life consists of kitchen duties at Newcastle Inn. Mistaken for Lady Anne, the illegitimate daughter of England's Prince Regent, she is kidnapped and forced to marry a man who cares nothing for her or for Britain. Deception and lies is the only way for her to return home. But when her heart softens toward her new husband, she fears she will lose more than the life she's known.

When detectives John Stone and Carmen Dehan who run the Cold Cases Department at the 43rd Precinct in the Bronx choose their honeymoon together, there are three things they are very clear on: there must be good steak and whisky, it must be remote, and for two blissful weeks they must forget about work, about cold cases and about murder.

Long held secrets, revenge, and murder. Eliza Thomson investigates…a suspicious accident, a hand-written note, and an old parish priest. A homecoming doesn’t go as planned in St. Giles; a small village nestled on the east coast of Scotland. Widow, mother, and former beauty, Mrs. Scott once walked away from all things dear to her. She’s a woman with a past, and now she’s back, determined to exact revenge for previous wrongs. But, somebody knows her plans, and they’ll do whatever it takes to silence her.

En Angleterre, de nos jours. Meg et Grace Nichols, ce sont peu les pierres angulaires qui cimentent le petit village de pêcheurs d'Ashford, dans les Cornouailles. Tout le monde aime et aide cette mère célibataire qui a tout sacrifié pour prendre soin, seule, de sa fille Grace, une ado lourdement handicapée et totalement dépendante. Jusqu'à ce matin d'été : Meg est découverte assassinée dans son lit ; de Grace, il ne reste que le fauteuil roulant, abandonné dans le jardin.

When a wealthy local landowner contacts her about a case so sensitive he can’t even discuss it over the phone, Grace is instantly intrigued. Russian collector Sacha Komorov lives out of the public eye, despite his immense wealth and marriage to a famous ex-prima ballerina. As Grace gazes at the ominous silhouette of his Scottish estate, Castle Traprain, with its high walls and thrusting turrets, a shiver runs down her spine. Komorov himself is just as forbidding as he discloses the disappearance of a priceless rose-diamond Fabergé egg from his collection.

The Skelf women are recovering from the cataclysmic events that nearly claimed their lives. Their funeral-director and private-investigation businesses are back on track, and their cases are as perplexing as ever. Matriarch Dorothy looks into a suspicious fire at a travellers' site, and takes a grieving, homeless man under her wing. Daughter Jenny is searching for her missing sister-in-law, who disappeared in tragic circumstances, while granddaughter Hannah is asked to investigate increasingly dangerous conspiracy theorists targeting a retired female astronaut...putting her own life at risk.

1579, St Andrews. A thirteen-year-old boy meets his death on the streets of the university city of St Andrews, and suspicion falls upon one of the regents at the university, Nicholas Colp. Hew Cullan, a young lawyer recently returned home from Paris, uncovers a complex tale of passion and duplicity, of sexual desire in conflict with the repressive atmosphere of the Protestant Kirk and the austerity of the academic cloister.

1942. The war at sea is being lost. One percent of all naval personnel are being referred to as psychiatric casualties. The British Admiralty introduces the Stone Frigate approach.

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.

Three months after the death of her husband, Nora McIntyre is back in her hometown of Moorbank, living with her man-mad mother, Marian James. Homeless, penniless, and hopeless, Nora has to beg for a job, but instead of a fresh start, it’s the start of all her troubles. Before she knows it, unmet blackmail demands lead to accusations of theft. When her accuser is found murdered, Nora is the main suspect, and PC Tom Fergusson is determined to prove her guilt. Luckily for Nora, her mum will do anything to clear her name, even if it’s not entirely legal….

DI Jack Knox's Edinburgh team are busy dealing with a series of violent rapes when a man is found murdered on a residential street. The detective splits the under-resourced squad and follows up the murder himself, quickly establishing that there is no shortage of individuals who would have wanted the man dead. The victim had secured private investments for NewTech, a video games company that fell foul of copyright law. A lot of serious people lost serious money. Whilst Knox treads on eggshells and traces the finances, the rest of the team focus on the rape.