Deep and Deadly: Murder on the Scottish coast by Keith Moray (Inspector Torquil McKinnon #7)

‘The old writing box had a musty odour and was unremarkable to look at.’

The island of West Uist in Scotland may be remote, but it is not immune from protest. The local ferry is blocked by eco-rights activists who are protesting about seals being shot by local fishermen.  While the protest is peaceably dispersed by the local police, they then discover a celebrity disembarked from the ferry and has caused quite a stir amongst the locals. And, just as singer and actor Declan O’Neil is escorted away, Detective Inspector Torquil McKinnon is called to investigate the discovery of a dead body.

Arran MacCondrum, owner of the salmon farm which has led to the protests, has been found dead in one of the fish pens. Initially, his death is thought to be suicide but investigations reveal that he was murdered. But by whom, and why? Could his murder be connected to the protest?

Meanwhile, several islanders have received threatening poison-pen letters from ‘Mungo’. Torquil McKinnon has his hands full with the investigation (not to mention that he is about to marry) and while some of the islanders mean to help (especially the intrepid reporters of the West Uist Chronicle), danger abounds. And what is Declan O’Neil doing on the island?

This is the seventh instalment in the Torquil McKinnon series (note to self: you’ve missed a couple), and is every bit as entertaining and engrossing as the others I have read. A few(!) red herrings to sniff out, some unexpected twists and quite a bit of information about fish farming. Alas, while I had my suspicions, I didn’t work out who ‘Mungo’ was before the end.

Mr Moray is a prolific author, and I’ve enjoyed quite a few of his books across different genres. Highly recommended. Excuse me while I hunt down a few books in this series that I have missed.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Deep and Deadly: Murder on the Scottish coast by Keith Moray (Inspector Torquil McKinnon #7)

‘The old writing box had a musty odour and was unremarkable to look at.’

The island of West Uist in Scotland may be remote, but it is not immune from protest. The local ferry is blocked by eco-rights activists who are protesting about seals being shot by local fishermen.  While the protest is peaceably dispersed by the local police, they then discover a celebrity disembarked from the ferry and has caused quite a stir amongst the locals. And, just as singer and actor Declan O’Neil is escorted away, Detective Inspector Torquil McKinnon is called to investigate the discovery of a dead body.

Arran MacCondrum, owner of the salmon farm which has led to the protests, has been found dead in one of the fish pens. Initially, his death is thought to be suicide but investigations reveal that he was murdered. But by whom, and why? Could his murder be connected to the protest?

Meanwhile, several islanders have received threatening poison-pen letters from ‘Mungo’. Torquil McKinnon has his hands full with the investigation (not to mention that he is about to marry) and while some of the islanders mean to help (especially the intrepid reporters of the West Uist Chronicle), danger abounds. And what is Declan O’Neil doing on the island?

This is the seventh instalment in the Torquil McKinnon series (note to self: you’ve missed a couple), and is every bit as entertaining and engrossing as the others I have read. A few(!) red herrings to sniff out, some unexpected twists and quite a bit of information about fish farming. Alas, while I had my suspicions, I didn’t work out who ‘Mungo’ was before the end.

Mr Moray is a prolific author, and I’ve enjoyed quite a few of his books across different genres. Highly recommended. Excuse me while I hunt down a few books in this series that I have missed.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith