18 crime novels Scotland

Reading lists

18 top crime novels set in Scotland

The Malice of Waves

The gripping and atmospheric mystery about one boy's disappearance from an isolated but bleakly beautiful island on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean . . . 
 
'A fine series of detective novels' SUNDAY TIMES 'CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH' 
________ 
 
Five years ago, fourteen-year-old Max Wheeler disappeared from Priest's Island. 
 
It's a close-knit local community. There are no secrets. 
 
Except what happened to Max. 
 
None of the police or private investigations have shed any light on what happened. 
 
But there is one man who is yet to take on the case: The Sea Detective. 
 
Cal McGill is an oceanographer and unique investigator who uses his knowledge of tides, winds and currents to solve mysteries no-one else can. 
 
But Cal is an unwelcome stranger who must navigate the tensions between Max's inconsolable father, the broken family he has neglected, and the embittered locals, resentful after years of suspicion. 
 
As Cal arrives, a violent storm approaches, threatening to completely cut off the island, with a possible murderer at large . . . 
________ 
 
'The Malice of Waves is the first novel literally to give me nightmares . . . for a crime novel that's surely a mark of distinction' Herald 
 
'Really good stuff, full of atmosphere, and accomplished in both prose and plot' Morning Star 
 
Praise for Mark Douglas-Home: 
 
'A first-class mystery - perplexing and at times disturbing' i 
 
'Intelligence, imagination and lucid writing' The Times 
 
'I'm completely addicted to this series' Dermot O'Leary

The Malice of Waves is the first novel literally to give me nightmares ... for a crime novel that's surely a mark of distinction

Stewing pot of intrigue and mystery... another super read

Really good stuff, full of atmosphere, and accomplished in both prose and plot

The Malice of Waves is the first novel literally to give me nightmares . . . for a crime novel that's surely a mark of distinction

Mark Douglas-Home is a journalist turned author, who was editor of the Herald and the Sunday Times Scotland. His career in journalism began as a student in South Africa where he edited the newspaper at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. After the apartheid government banned a number of editions of the paper, he was deported from the country. He is married with two children and lives in Edinburgh.

Five years ago, fourteen-year-old Max Wheeler disappeared from Priest's Island, an isolated but bleakly beautiful place on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. 
 
In the close-knit local community, there are no secrets, except what happened to Max. None of the police or private investigations since have shed any light on what happened the night he went missing, presumed dead. 
 
But there is one man who has yet to take on the case: The Sea Detective. 
 
Cal McGill is an oceanographer and unique investigator who uses his knowledge of tides, winds and currents to solve mysteries no one else can. 
 
However, Cal is an unwelcome stranger who must navigate the tensions between Max's inconsolable father, the broken family he has neglected, and the embittered locals, resentful after years of suspicion. 
 
As Cal arrives, a violent storm approaches, threatening to completely cut off the island, with a possible murderer at large. . .

The Woman Who Walked into the Sea

The daughter who nobody wanted learns the truth about the mother she never knew. A page-turning, heart-breaking mystery 'full of surprises ... this is a classic whodunit' (Scotsman). 
 
Cal McGill is a unique investigator and oceanographer who uses his expertise to locate things - and sometimes people - lost or missing at sea. 
 
His expertise could unravel the haunting mystery of why, twenty-six years ago on a remote Scottish beach, Megan Bates strode out into the cold ocean and let the waves wash her away. 
 
Megan's daughter, Violet Wells, was abandoned as a baby on the steps of a local hospital just hours before the mother she never knew took her own life. 
 
As McGill is drawn into Violet's search for the truth, he encounters a coastal community divided by obsession and grief, and united only by a conviction that its secrets should stay buried... 
 
Praise for The Woman Who Walked into the Sea: 
 
'An always entertaining and gripping mystery ... Infinitely better written than the majority of its competitors' Herald 
 
'A classic whodunit. A mystery from the school of Ruth Rendell, and I can't imagine anyone who likes those not delighting in this' Scotsman 
 
'Cal McGill is a triumph ... a wonderfully unique creation' crimefictionlover.com 
 
'Simply intoxicating' Library Journal 
 
Praise for The Sea Detective: 
 
'Raises the bar for Scottish crime fiction ... elegantly written and compelling' Scotsman 
 
'Promises to be a fine series of detective novels' Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month 
 
'Excellent' Literary Review - top five crime books of the year 
 
'A compelling protagonist' The Times Literary Supplement

Cal McGill is a triumph ... a wonderfully unique creation

Great writing, enjoyable story-telling and wonderful characterisation

Cal McGill is a Scottish oceanographer and one-of-a-kind investigator who uses his knowledge of the waves to find where objects came from, or track where they've gone. 
 
His expertise could help solve the disappearance of Megan Bates who, twenty-six years ago, strode out into the ocean and let the waves take her away. 
 
Megan's daughter, Violet Wells, was abandoned as a baby on the steps of a hospital, hours before the mother she never knew committed suicide. 
 
As McGill is drawn into Violet's search, they must together navigate the jealousies, secrets and threats of this tight-knit coastal community . . .

The Sea Detective

Discover the chilling first mystery in a truly unique crime series you won't be able to put down 
 
'There comes a time when a novel raises the bar for a particular genre, and The Sea Detective does just that for Scottish crime fiction' SCOTSMAN 
______ 
 
 Cal McGill is an Edinburgh-based oceanographer, environmentalist and one-of-a-kind investigator. 
 
 Using his knowledge of the waves - ocean currents, prevailing winds, shipping records - McGill can track where objects have come from, or where they've gone. 
 
 So when two severed feet wash up miles apart on two different islands off the coast of Scotland, he 
 
Most strangely, forensic tests reveal that the feet belong to the same body. 
 
 As Cal McGill investigates, he unravels a web of corruption, exploitation and violence, which threatens many lives across the globe. 
 
Including his own . . . 
______ 
 
 'Raises the bar for Scottish crime fiction . . . elegantly written and compelling' The Scotsman 
 
 'Excellent' The Literary Review, 'Top Five Crime Books of the Year' 
 
 'Promises to be a fine series of detective novels' Sunday Times 'Crime Book of the Month' 
 
 'An unusual, interesting and enthralling read' Shotsmag 
 
 'A compelling protagonist' The Times Literary Supplement

Raises the bar ... elegantly written and compelling. A crime writer to watch

The Literary Review (Top Five Crime Novels of the Year)

Promises to be a fine series of detective novels

An unusual, interesting and enthralling read

Cal McGill is an Edinburgh-based oceanographer, environmentalist and one-of-a-kind investigator. 
 
Using his knowledge of the waves - ocean currents, prevailing winds, shipping records - McGill can track where objects came from, or where they've gone. It's a skill that can help solve mysteries ranging from disappearances to murder. 
 
Two severed feet wash up on two different islands off the coast of Scotland. Forensics shows that the feet belong to the same body. As Cal McGill investigates, he unravels a web of corruption, exploitation and human trafficking, which threatens many lives across the globe - including his own...

Mark Douglas-Home

Douglas-Home's intelligence, imagination and lucid writing, coupled with David Monteath's addictively accented narration, successfully carries the listener through a somewhat labyrinthine plot, ingeniously weaving in every apparent loose end.

A first-class mystery - perplexing and at times disturbing

A first-class mystery . . . satisfying, intelligent and compelling, perhaps the finest, so far, of the Sea Detective series - a series that is established already as one of the best in contemporary crime fiction

The unusual background and the layered plots make this a series for those who enjoy their puzzles dense and strange

It's a first-class mystery, perplexing and at times disturbing, but also with a couple of comic scenes to lighten the atmosphere

Full of suspense, a gripping 'whodunnit' laced with psychological tension. Douglas-Home is an author who can pull the wool over the reader's eyes until the very end

A first-class mystery...satisfying, intelligent and compelling, perhaps the finest, so far, of the Sea Detective series - a series that is established already as one of the best in contemporary crime fiction.

Twenty-three years ago, Christina Tolmie vanished without trace from northern France, leaving her young daughters Kate and Flora orphaned and alone. 
 
Now Flora is also missing. In desperation, Kate searches her Edinburgh house, and finds a piece of notepaper with just one name: Cal McGill. 
 
Cal is a so-called sea detective, an expert on the winds and the tides, and consequently an exceptionally gifted finder of lost things - and lost people. 
 
Kate hopes that Cal might not only find her sister, but also unlock the mystery that has overshadowed both women's lives: what happened to their beloved mother all those years before? 
 
Unfortunately, Cal doesn't think he can help. But that's only because he hasn't yet realized that the dark undercurrents of the case will ultimately lead him back dangerously close to home . . .

Mark Douglas-Home

Books by Mark Douglas-Home

Series by Mark Douglas-Home

The Sea Detective

Articles featuring Mark Douglas-Home

18 top crime novels set in Scotland

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter