Scottish Crime

Previously published as A Matter of Disclosure by Rob Wyllie 'An absolutely brilliant crime thriller' - Amazon Reviewer Feb 2023 A DINNER CAN BE A DANGEROUS PLACE TO BE Barrister Maggie Bainbridge has had a very average career, which is why it's a huge surprise when she is appointed to defend the teenage terrorist accused of carrying out a horrific attack on a London primary school. Facial recognition technology has proved beyond doubt that Maggie's client is guilty - until at the last minute, new evidence appears which blows the prosecution case out of the water. But in her moment of ...

In the late 1960s, dance halls were still popular in Glasgow. At the Barrowland Ballroom in the Bridgeton area of the city, queues were long on Friday and Saturday nights and anything up to two thousand people would spend the evening dancing to music provided by the resident band. Then, in February 1968, a woman who had spent the evening at the Barrowland Ballroom was found murdered. It seemed that she had met her killer while dancing but police were unable to find any clue as to his identity. In August 1969, another woman went dancing at the same ballroom and was seen leaving with a tall, ...

'A fantastic writer.' Donald Ray Pollock 'Nigel Bird is fast becoming one of the top writers in his genre.' Luca Veste DIRTY OLD TOWN is the debut collection from the prize-winning writer Nigel Bird. His brilliantly observed slices of life allow us to visit places we may not normally choose to enter and to walk a few miles in the shoes of others. Though his tales have darkness at their core, they are also full of a heart and spirit that one rarely finds in the world or ‘noir’ or ‘crime-writing’. There are 9 stories here: Drinking Wine (Spo-Dee-Oh-Dee); Dirty Old Town; Sea Minor; ...

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.

When a badly burned body is found near the remote Ardnamurchan Lighthouse on the west coast of Scotland, it feels like just another day on the job for DCI Jack Logan and his team. But the victim’s list of enemies, including a diminutive loan shark and a powerful local politician, is far longer than Jack was prepared for. And don’t even get him started on the magic psychic sex cult.

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.

Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is worried about how the folks will react to his new assistant officer; the enigmatic American James Bland, whose true mission is to track down the members of a Russian spy network. In the meantime, he and Bland deal with it the usual crop of traffic incidents, lost wallets, lost dogs, and lost people, but a spate of burglaries committed by a man dubbed “Spiderman” give Hamish cause for serious concern.

Who will be next? When the body of a local talent show winner is discovered on the eve of headlining Kilwinnoch’s annual Civic Week celebrations, it throws the festivities into chaos, and threatens to tear the close-knit community apart.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Edgy and exciting. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Brilliant book. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fabulous from the off. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Way more than your typical police procedural... What secrets lie behind a young woman's tragic death? High above Chamonix, on the Mer de Glace, two Scottish climbers discover the body of Freya Ruthe, a young Swedish woman, in a crevasse. In a move promoted by Freya's family connections, D.S. John Anderson and D.I. Harry Freeman are sent from Edinburgh to assist the local police with their inquiry. However, their arrival isn’t welcomed by everyone. In a dark corner of ...

“Sean Miller - a rogue of the first water; a former Army sniper, he seems unable to stay out of a fight.” Sean Miller’s fighting a guerrilla war in Spain when he’s called back to Britain. His task? To seek out an assassin as dangerous as himself. A sniper whose deadly aim could plunge the world into war. As the shadow of the Nazis falls across Europe, a sinister conspiracy plots a secret war closer to home. Miller’s pursuit leads from the menacing alleys of London’s East End to the lonely mountains of Scotland. A duel to the death where there can be only one victor in the ...

'I was so hooked I didn't want this to end!' - Amazon reviewer Demanding lawyer Jolene Cavendish is not exactly popular with her workmates, so when a witch's hat and broomstick are left on her desk, she laughs it off as a stupid prank. But then the campaign of harassment starts to escalate and lives are threatened. Can barrister-turned-private-eye Maggie Bainbridge and her handsome ex-army assistant Jimmy Stewart find out who's behind it all before someone gets really hurt? A QUESTION OF HONOUR Reconstructive surgeon James Parrish has become a media darling after rebuilding the face of a ...

A castle in the Scottish Highlands cut off by snow. 12 guests gather for the festive season. All of them have secrets. Can DCI Dani Bevan escape a house party when celebration turns to murder? DCI Dani Bevan and her partner, James, are spending the week after Christmas at Strathain House in the Scottish Highlands, guests of the industrialist, Bernard Raven. As soon as they arrive, odd events start to happen and suspicions are aroused about their fellow guests. The weather in their remote Highland location worsens and Dani finds herself trapped at a house party where she doesn’t know who ...

In the shadow of the Pentland Hills, a man has been callously struck down in front of his home. Tyre marks suggest it was no accidental hit-and-run. Somebody wanted him dead and as the man fights for every breath, they might still get their wish. Grappling with the demons he thought he could leave behind after months away on enforced leave, D.S. Malkie McCulloch resists pressure from his superiors to pass the case on to the road policing unit, convinced that whoever was behind the wheel will be waiting for the chance to finish the job.

The only thing you can't escape, is your own fear. DCI Dani Bevan is seconded to Edinburgh to head the inquiry into a high ranking cop suspected of corruption. The case appears clear-cut until a key player is murdered in a remote car-park on the Longniddry Bents. Bevan is drawn into a complex murder case which ties together her personal and professional life like no other she's investigated in the past. To get to the truth, they must face their darkest fears...

When a young man is found frozen to death on a Highland street in mid-December, DCI Jack Logan initially puts it down to a Christmas night out gone tragically wrong. But, when a postmortem reveals something more sinister, Jack discovers he is dealing with a cold, calculating killer with a long line of victims, a talent for torture, and a perverse sense of justice.

When forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is brought in to analyse a shallow grave on Scotland’s west coast, she is disturbed by a bundle of twigs crafted into a stickman and left in the victim’s mouth. Then, when a young woman is reported missing from a nearby campsite with another sinister figurine left in her van, it seems that someone is targeting wild campers. An idyllic coastline known for providing peace and serenity, now the area is a hunting ground.

When the body of a teenager is discovered near Eilean Donan Castle several months after she disappeared, DCI Jack Logan and his team journey across the Highlands to investigate. As they start to unpick the young woman’s life, the secrets and lies they expose soon threaten to tear the small rural community apart. But when a second girl goes missing in similar circumstances, it isn’t just a murder investigation that Jack finds himself running. It’s a race against time.

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 ...

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...

In Clan MacKenzie, we fight for each other. We die for each other. And when I fell for Chevelle, those same rules applied to her. She loves me, but hates the family business. So, I hid the villain in me until today. Today, I need to do what must be done and that requires the help of the same people she would rather us keep our distance from.