A six-year-old boy has vanished following the horrific murder of his mother and grandmother. At the scene forensic scientist Rhona Macleod finds a chilling African talisman made from the bones of a child. Can she decipher its meaning and track Stephen down before he becomes the next link in the k...
The word 'padeophilia' strikes fear into parents everywhere. And for Glasgow-based forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod the discovery of a young rent boy, strangled by a silken rope, brings the horror all too close to home. Is the boy the son she gave away for adoption years ago?
Key Features * Crime fiction set in Glasgow, Skye and the USA * Book of the Month potential for shops * Author is member of the dynamic Scottish Femmes Fatales crime writing trio, together with Alex Gray and Alanna Knight Quentin Jardine and Ian Rankin * Viewers of Prime Suspect, Silent Witness, ...
Situated between the white marble foyer and the main restaurant, the room was reminiscent of the Belle Époque in its opulence and view of the outside terrace. He settled himself in a chair and, when the waiter arrived, ordered a vodka martini. The place was bustling, populated by those who wished...
She lay wide awake, staring at the ceiling, unable to banish the image of Magnus and Terri from her mind. The online auction had been an invitation to torture, rape and murder the girl. If Magnus had been coerced into having sex with Terri, what else had he been forced to do? Rhona ran through ev...
Rising, he found himself whistling as he headed for the shower, which surprised him. Emerging ten minutes later, he caught the scent of bacon being cooked below, and his mouth started to water in anticipation. At that moment he experienced a brief but almost fond thought of PC Tulloch, who’d foun...
In her arms were a dozen red roses. ‘These were delivered this afternoon,’ she told Rhona with a wide smile. Her neighbour had set her sights on seeing Rhona ‘settled down’ as she put it, and took a keen interest in her love life... when there was any. Rhona waited until she was inside the flat b...
The album lay open on the bed. Claire lifted it and went to shut the curtains. A light fall of snow had dressed the fields in a pearly-white sheen under a three-quarters moon. She stood for a moment, breathing in the peace of the place. This was why she’d come here, and despite everything that ha...
The arrogant façade had dissolved, allowing a glimpse of the tortured soul beneath. ‘It’s useful for elimination purposes.’ Kira’s mother sat on the sofa, clasping and unclasping her hands, occasionally looking up at her husband as though for guidance, which was never forthcoming. Mr Reese-Brando...
‘It says here that one gram of thallium sulphate constitutes a lethal dose in an adult. With doses greater than two grams, the illness progresses rapidly to cardiovascular shock, coma and death within 24 hours.’ ‘If someone wanted rid of him, why not give him a straightforward overdose?’ Rhona su...