Scottish Thrillers

Holly Fenwick thought she had left her nightmare behind. Twelve years ago, she narrowly escaped the clutches of a brutal serial killer. Now, while she films a documentary in Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders, to recover from her ordeal and rebuild her life, she spots a figure eerily similar to her former captor. She rushes in, only to find no trace of the man but a chaotic crime scene–and a missing woman.

A lawyer is found dead at sunrise on a lonely clifftop at Dunnet Head on the northernmost tip of Scotland. It was supposed to be his honeymoon, but now his wife will never see him again. The case is linked to several mysterious deaths, including the murder of the lawyer’s last client—Scotland’s most notorious criminal...who had just walked free. DS Max Craigie knows this can only mean one thing: they have a vigilante serial killer on their hands.

Paranormal Women’s Fiction from #1 Amazon bestseller, J.R. Rain, and New York Times bestseller, H.P. Mallory! Something Wicked to Haven Hollow Comes... At least, I hope it’s not wicked. What is it? A book. But it’s not like any book you’ve ever heard of or seen before. First off, it’s animated, and I swear it acts like a little dog, complete with a wagging red bookmark tail. Secondly, the only person who can read it or see any of the pictures within the ancient and worn leather binding is my thirteen-year-old son, Finn. The book, which Finn names ‘Vellum,’ randomly shows up ...

His Majesty’s Prison BlackRock is where Evil is sent to die. None of the killers imprisoned on the island prison, 30 miles off the coast of Scotland, will ever leave. When Scottish billionaire, social philanthropist, and prison reformer, Ethan Mackay, is murdered during a VIP visit to the island, it becomes dangerously clear that not all the murderers are behind bars. Cut off from the mainland during a ferocious winter storm, the rest of the VIP tour take refuge in the Governor’s residence and patiently wait for the storm to pass. But what secrets lurk beneath the surface? What ...

Heading back to work the day after she returns from her European honeymoon, Delaney Nichols is excited to get back to the Cracked Spine. But as she disembarks the bus and hurries toward the shop, she and another woman collide, sending a stack of books the woman is carrying to the ground. Delaney's hapless victim's name is Mary, and she and Delaney can't help but notice that they bear an uncanny resemblance to one another. According to Mary, they both also look like the long-beheaded Mary Queen of Scots.

I got 99 problems, but the witch ain’t one of ‘em… Right. First problem? Maverick and his bad attitude are going to cause the death of me. Thank God he’s got Taliyah to keep him somewhat sane because otherwise, I’d start pulling my hair out. Not only is Maverick cramping my style big time, but then there’s the fact that I have to pretend that I’ve been turned into a vampire, so going out in the daytime is no longer a possibility. And try being High Witch to your coven when you can only come out at night… Meanwhile, I’m doing my very best to get Imani to join our ranks, and...

DI Rob Marshall is stuck in Gartcosh, leading the new Behavioural Sciences Unit – a staff of one and a third – where he’s executing a fruitless hunt, profiling every single murder in Scotland just in case they’re serial cases. But when a young Peebles woman’s body is discovered in Neidpath Tunnel, disused since the sixties, Marshall is called in to consult on a case on his old home turf. Paired up with his replacement, a cop who’s disinterested in the work, Marshall must tread a line between helping and not jumping to conclusions.

Glasgow is hosting the international climate conference, COP26. Police resources are stretched to their limit. When a delegate is found murdered in his hotel room in a bizarrely staged tableau, DCI Dani Bevan and her team must lead a discreet investigation that won't de-rail the conference but prevents a dangerous killer from striking once again... Bevan has been granted greater resources than for any previous investigation, as the top politicians in the land want the case solved ASAP. But Dani’s murder team are taken far-afield in their search for evidence and the answers they uncover ...

In 2003, a businessman responded to a knock at the door of his remote cottage in the Highlands of Scotland. He was shot dead on the threshold, whilst his dinner guests sat in the next room. The killer was never found. Fifteen years later, DCI Dani Bevan and the heavily pregnant DI Alice Mann, attend a conference on the cold case. It brings Dani into contact with one of the detectives on the original investigation, a man haunted by a case which brought tragedy to those it touched. Can Dani and her team solve the murder after so much time has passed and when the evidence from the original ...

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity… Or, at least, that’s what Albert Einstein said. But I’m not sure I believe it because it seems everything in my life has gone to heck, but I have yet to find an opportunity in any of it. Things are going so bad, in fact, that I’m wondering if I’ve been cursed. Of course, I don’t really have any enemies, so who in the world would want to curse me? Not only that, but Wanda insists I’m not cursed so maybe this bad luck is just exactly that… bad luck? Well, one thing I do know is that life would be a whole heck of a lot easier if I ...

* Newly Edited Version (Sept 2014) * Two women are dead, forty years apart and in identical circumstances. Can Imogen and Hugh Croft discover the link? Following the sudden death of her mother, Imogen Croft returns to her childhood home on the Scottish Island of Garansay. Her brothers have given her the task of deciding what to do with their parents’ farm, which is slowly falling into disrepair. Imogen will not be rushed into passing judgement on the place. When she starts to carry out some research into the history of Kilduggan Farm, she inadvertently sets off a chain of events that ends...

'I read it all day and half of the night. Couldn’t put it down!' - Amazon reader DI Frank Stewart's little cold-case unit has been a bit short of work, so when a hopeless three-year old murder comes their way he's no choice but to be grateful. The unidentified body had been shot in the chest and buried on Salisbury Plain, suggesting a military connection, but Frank isn't so sure. Meanwhile failed barrister turned private eye Maggie Bainbridge and her handsome sidekick Jimmy Stewart are called in to referee a vicious sibling battle over the rights to a lucrative reality show format. Before...

DI Barney Mains blames himself for the grotesque murder of a top banker in France. He's obsessed with the belief that he allowed a near-mythical assassin to escape certain death to kill again. And when a duplicate murder is reported 1000 miles away in Barney's home town in Scotland, the guilt drives him ever closer to the edge. How many more must pay the ultimate price for his failure? But then death comes closer to home. He is left with no choice but to face his demons, before a shocking confrontation which will change everything...

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.

One winter's night, bookseller Delaney Nichols and her coworker Hamlet are invited to a Burns Night dinner, a traditional Scottish celebration of the poet Robert Burns. She's perplexed by the invitation, but intrigued. The dinner takes place at Burns House itself, a tiny cottage not far from the Cracked Spine bookshop but well hidden. There, it becomes clear that Delaney and Hamlet were summoned in an attempt to make amends between Edwin, Delaney's boss, and one of the other invitees, who suspected Edwin for burning down his own bookshop.

When silence falls, who will hear their cries? The body of a young girl is found dumped on the roadside on the outskirts of Edinburgh. When pathologists examine the remains, they make a gruesome discovery: the outline of a doll carved into the victim’s skin. DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach are struggling to find leads in the case until a doll made of skin is found nestled beside an abandoned baby. After another young woman is found butchered, Luc and Ava realise the babydoll killer is playing a horrifying game. And it’s only a matter of time before he strikes again.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs are on the warpath in the village of Balfour, and the local shop owners fear that their financial sins are about to catch up with them. Meanwhile, Abbey Glen’s new Whisky Masterclass is a resounding success...until the latest group of students starts to drop dead in the night and Abi Logan fears that what they are really offering is a Masterclass in Murder. Missing money, dead bodies, and a whistle blower who may not be as virtuous as he appears leave Abi scrambling for clues in the dark. Will Abi find the killer before the inevitable happens?

After a young man's body is discovered by a newlywed couple inside an abandoned caravan, the police initially speculate whether his death was accidental. However, the investigation takes a dramatic turn when they uncover the victim's true identity. The deceased has a deadly past, and barely paid the price for the heinous crime he committed. DCI Harry McNeil is assigned the task of identifying the victim’s killer, but the case soon becomes shrouded in secrecy. The man's past is far more complex than anyone had anticipated.

Stephen Berry is about to jump off a bridge until a suicide prevention counsellor stops him. A week later, Stephen is dead. Found at the bottom of a cliff, DI Luc Callanach and DCI Ava Turner are drafted in to investigate whether he jumped or whether he was pushed.... As they dig deeper, more would-be suicides roll in: a woman found dead in a bath; a man violently electrocuted. But these are carefully curated deaths – nothing like the impulsive suicide attempts they’ve been made out to be.

A wicked Scottish winter has just begun when pioneering female physician Sophia Jex-Blake calls on Detective Inspector Ian Hamilton to investigate the suspicious death of one of her patients - a railroad lineman who she believes succumbed to the horrific effects of arsenic poisoning. The most provocative aspect of the case doesn’t escape Hamilton: the married victim’s numerous sexual transgressions. Now, for the first time since the unexplained fire that killed his parents, Hamilton enters the Royal Infirmary to gain the insights of brilliant medical student Arthur Conan Doyle.