Scotland Thriller

When a woman's eviscerated body is found on the golf course close to the Fairmont Hotel, DCI Andy Gilchrist and his associate DS Jessie Janes are assigned the investigation. But the post mortem examination uncovers a shocking detail that must be kept from the public. Who could carry out such a brutal murder? And what is the significance of the gruesome trophy? But DNA uncovers links to a murder committed thirty years earlier, and has Gilchrist fearing a killer of old has resurfaced, or worse, a debut serial killer setting out to learn his murderous trade.

When struggling ex-copper Terry Coats was discovered in bed with an air hostess, his excuse that he was 'going undercover' cut no ice with the force - or his wife. But now he's been brutally killed on Hogmanay night, it seems there may have been more to his plea. Dragged from the New Year celebrations, Special Constable Sir Bob Skinner is shocked to find Coats' body alongside that of Griff Montell: his erstwhile protégé and former lover of Skinner's own daughter, Alex. Could there be some dark truth under Coats' cock-and-bull story, after all?

Sherlock Holmes is a timeless character, beloved by many. This is not that Holmes. The year is 1880, 11 years prior to the classic stories that we know, and we step into an alternate universe where monsters are not just under the bed but around every corner. Holmes must use all of his intellectual prowess to sort through this strange underworld of creatures once believed to be only the stuff of lore and children's nightmares.

When Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is sent to investigate reports that the wealthy new laird of the remote Naglar House has disappeared, Scotland is hit by the worst storm in living memory. The road is washed away, phone lines are down, mobile reception is dead and his police radio is out of order. He is trapped with the laird's high-class house guests. Then he discovers the laird's body. Forced to remain overnight at the house, he interviews each of the guests and pieces together an alarming picture of clandestine infidelity, vicious jealousy, deadly revenge, lust, greed and fear.

After a stressful winter, DSI William Lorimer is enjoying some time away from Glasgow. He and his new friend, Daniel Kohi, have retreated to the wilds of the Scottish Highlands to unwind. But what awaits them is far from a holiday. Despite its troubled history, the mountain village of Glencoe is now a popular resort, famed for its close-knit community, its breath-taking scenery and the warm welcome it offers weary travellers. So it's particularly shocking when two bodies are discovered in quick succession on the nearby peaks.

When Foreign Secretary Sir Philip Ramon receives a threatening, greenish-grey letter signed 'Four Just Men', he remains determined to see his Aliens Extradition Bill made law. A device in the members' smoke room and a sudden magnesium flash that could easily have been nitro-glycerin leave Scotland Yard baffled. Even Fleet Street cannot identify the illusive Manfred, Gonsalez, Pioccart, and Thery, the Four Just Men dedicated to punishing by death those whom conventional justice can not touch.

When Amy MacKenzie agrees to attend a meeting at a local spiritualist church, the last person she expects to hear calling to her from beyond the grave is her son. The son whom she'd only spoken to an hour before. Then the body of a young man is found inside a Neolithic stone circle high above the city of Glasgow and forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is soon on the case. The hands have been severed and there is a stone in the victim's mouth with the number five scratched on it. DI Michael McNab is certain it's a gangland murder, but Rhona isn't convinced.

Meet Sherlock Holmes through the eyes of his fellow lodger once again... and meet both through the eyes of the Yard - especially those who saw them the most: Inspectors Lestrade, Gregson, and Bradstreet. From Montague Street to a supposedly straightforward case of smuggling in Cornwall, Scotland Yard saw more than the disconcerting and dazzling private detective: it also saw an admirable and steadfast British soldier who shared their need for justice. Doctor John Watson may call himself unremarkable, but the Yard would disagree...

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.

Two Edinburgh PhD students head to the Phoenix Festival to sell legal highs. When a friend discovers that their Horn-E pills are poison, he faces a race against the clock to make sure that nobody comes to any harm. To complicate matters, the drugs were paid for with a loan from Edinburgh’s infamous Tony Fish. If they don’t have the cash to straighten their debt, there’ll be nowhere for them to hide. Jesse Garon’s obsession with Elvis Presley may be as strong ever, but as his hormones kick in he’s finding he has more in common with Jake Bugg. Jesse’s hoping that a weekend at the ...

When one Edinburgh citizen after another is murdered in the same bloody manner, the newspapers buzz with talk of a serial killer. Smart and capable, but battling disillusionment and loneliness, DS Alice Rice races against time and an implacable killer to solve this series of grisly murders among the professional elite in the city's well-to-do New Town.

In Rebus's Scotland Ian Rankin uncovers the Scotland that the tourist never sees, highlighting the places that inspired the settings for the Inspector Rebus novels. Rankin also reveals the story of Rebus and how he came into being, who he is, and what his - and Rankin's - Scotland is like.

What would it be like to become Idi Amin's personal physician? Giles Foden's best-selling thriller is the story of a young Scottish doctor drawn into the heart of the Ugandan dictator's surreal and brutal regime. Privy to Amin's thoughts and ambitions, he is both fascinated and appalled. As Uganda plunges into civil chaos he realises action is imperative - but which way should he jump?

When Ailsa Reid becomes the subject of a trial by media after an incident at the school where she works, she escapes to the comfort of her grandparents' house in Fife. But she arrives to find her grandmother, Moira - recently diagnosed with dementia - has gone missing, and her grandfather, Rupert, gravely injured. Desperate to ensure Moira's safe return, Ailsa must rely on the help of her estranged mother, Rowan, who abandoned her at birth. Tensions simmer between the two women as they attempt to piece together the lead-up to Moira's disappearance.

It is a serendipitous encounter for the hapless DI Greg Byrne when retired sleuth James Munro stumbles upon his crime scene. And perhaps also for Munro himself, who, his protégé Charlie West having firmly snapped his apron strings, needs other lambs to wean. The day is far less auspicious for the victim in the affair, the unfortunate property developer Rebecca Barlow, who has been trussed up like a scarecrow in her yard. Though occurring off DI West’s Ayrshire patch, the investigation will soon intertwine with one of her own.

This is an excellent, page-turning Sherlock Holmes pastiche by noted author and historian Barry Day. It explores the fascinating "what if" proposition supposing the latent return of a legendary murderer, whose "signature", left upon his victims' skillfully eviscerated bodies, alerts Holmes and Scotland Yard to his unmistakable presence anew in England. To quote the cover of this recently released book: "Sherlock Holmes meets Jack the Ripper, Oscar Wilde, and THE Woman!"

Alice has always been haunted by the women from her husband’s past. As an MP and now a TV personality, George Bell’s reputation as a ladies’ man precedes him. But when Alice falls pregnant, her unease becomes an obsession. And there’s one ex in particular she can’t get out of her head: a beautiful student George dated in his first year, who went missing before they finished university. Ruth. When Alice sees a woman who looks just like Ruth, she can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to her disappearance than George has been telling her.

Left to her own devices, Detective Sergeant Charlie West struggles with the responsibility of a full-blown murder investigation when a man is pushed off a cliff. Not ready to have her apron strings severed so soon, West finds Munro who reluctantly agrees to shed light on the Ayrshire detectives' most challenging case yet. Once the police have discovered the identity of the dead man, and established his demise was the result of foul play, the race is on to hunt down the murderer.

Dorothy Martin and her husband, retired Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt, go on a trip to Orkney in Scotland to visit an old friend and see some intriguing Stone Age excavations. They realize there’s considerable dissension between the archaeologists and the principal donor for the newest dig, a wealthy and abrasive American. When a more recent corpse is found at the dig, various suspects are named, but there’s not enough evidence to bring a case against anyone.

Ex-priest DI Frank Farrell has returned to his roots in Dumfries, only to be landed with a disturbing murder case. Even worse, Farrell knows the victim: Father Boyd, the man who forced him out of the priesthood 18 years earlier. With no leads, Farrell must delve into the old priest’s past, one that is inexorably linked with his own. But his attention is diverted when a pair of twin boys go missing. The Dumfries police force recover one in an abandoned church, unharmed. But where is his brother?