REVIEW: Deep and Deadly by Keith Moray

Deep and Deadly (Inspector Torquil McKinnon #7) by Keith Moray

Genre: Crime thriller, Crime fiction

Read: 12th February 2023

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 27th January 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

There’s a killer on the island – but is it someone local?

West Uist, Scotland

It’s an usually busy day on the remote island of West Uist. The only transport on and off the island is the local ferry, and there is uproar when it is blocked by eco-rights activists, protesting against the shooting of seals by local fishermen.

While dealing with that disturbance, the police are amused to find a celebrity has disembarked from the ferry and is causing a stir among the locals.

But just as the demonstration is peaceably dispersed, and actor and singer Declan O’Neil is escorted away from the crowds, Detective Inspector Torquil McKinnon is called to investigate a dead body.

Fisherman Arran MacCondrum, owner of the farm that is being protested against, has been found dead in one of his fish pens, seemingly by suicide.

But with a spate of threatening poison-pen letters making their rounds on the island, it soon becomes clear that Arran’s death was not by his own hands.

Was Arran attacked by a protestor? Or was there an ulterior motive?

Torquil must unravel the mystery before anyone else on the island comes to harm…

MY THOUGHTS:

For a small community on the Outer Hebrides, West Uist sure has its fair share of murders. Not just crime...but murder. And this seventh installment of the Inspector Torquil McKinnon series is no different. In fact the bodycount is somewhat in excess as the island contends with some local eco-rights activists protesting a local salmon farm's methods just as celebrity-singer-turned-soap-actor Declan O'Neill and his entourage disembark the incoming ferry, seeking out some much needed R-and-R...apparently.

Just as soon as the foray is sorted, Torquil is called to the salmon farm where the discovery of owner Arran MacCondrum's body is made in one of his fish pens, seemingly by his own hand. It appears he had received some poison pen letters which have been circulating the island recently, with the reappearance of "Mungo", making threats and accusations that set not only tongues wagging but hearts racing. Who could do such a thing?

But it seems no one is exempt from Mungo's poison pen. Torquil himself receives one as does the Padre, his uncle Lachlan. And the words are brutal. Everyone, it seems, receives a letter. But that aside, no sooner is Arran's death revealed to be murder (and not suicide), than one of Declan's entourage succumbs to a drug overdose while another finds himself in hospital on life support. And then there's another death...this time, it really does look like it's a suicide.

Torquil has his hands full with the investigation as well as his plans to marry Lorna whose been seconded to Lewis with their Superintendent seeing no reason why the island needs another sergeant when they already have Morag Driscoll. And just what is Declan O'Neill's real reason for being on West Uist?

The seventh in the Torquil McKinnon series, if you have missed any never fear because each can be read as a standalone easily enough. Each mystery is engrossing taking in the beautiful windswept and unforgiving coastline of the Outer Hebrides. There are a few red herrings, several twists and even I didn't pick who Mungo was. So that was a real surprise.

Overall, DEEP AND DEADLY is a quick and entertaining read with a cast of likeable (and some not so likeable) characters.

I would like to thank #KeithMoray, #Netgalley and #SapereBooks for an ARC of #DeepAndDeadly in exchange for an honest review.

Hand drawn map of Scotland, showing the fictional island of West Uist in west Outer Hebrides

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Keith was born in St Andrews and studied medicine at the University of Dundee in Scotland. He lives in England now, within arrow-shot of the ruins of a medieval castle, the scene of two of his historical novels, The Pardoner’s Crime and The Fool’s Folly.  He is a retired doctor, medical journalist and novelist, writing in several genres. He writes historicals and crime as Keith Moray, non-fiction as Keith Souter and westerns as  Clay More.  Curiously, his medical background finds its way into most of his writing.

He is  a member of various writers’ organisations, including the Crime Writers’ Association, Medical Journalists Association, International Thriller Writers, Western Writers of America and he is a past vice president of Western Fictioneers, a professional organisation of western writers,  based in the USA.

In his spare time he enjoys the movies, theatre and making bread. He plays golf, tennis and runs at carthorse speed. As a frustrated actor he has found occasional solace as a supporting artist, but enough said about that!

He lives in West Yorkshire in England with his wife Rachel and whichever of their children and grandchildren who happen to pop home.

Social media links:

Wesbite | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

REVIEW: Deadly Still by Keith Moray (ARC)

Deadly Still (Torquil McKinnon #6) by Keith Moray

Genre: Crime fiction, police procedural, noir

Read: 24th March 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 20th January 2020)

★★★★ 4 stars

I have read just one in the Torquil McKinnon series "The Gathering Murders" but I really enjoyed it that I didn't mind so much jumping ahead and reading the latest one. DEADLY STILL is the sixth in the series but honestly, the books can be read as standalones. There is some background story going on in each but the reader is given enough information to be kept up to speed and in any case it isn't the main focus of the books...which is, of course, whatever the current investigation is.

The locale for this series is the Scottish isle of West Uist in the Outer Hebrides. Sergeant Morag Driscoll is out for a morning run when she hears a scream. In the mist, she comes across teenager Catriona McDonald in serious distress by the old WW2 pillbox. Screaming hysterically that she cannot see and reeking of alcohol, Catriona claims that she cannot wake her friend Jamie. What's more...there was a third teenager, Vicky Spiers, who had been with them but is nowhere to be found.

With one teenager dead, another in a critical condition in hospital and a third missing, Morag needs to contact Detective Inspector Torquil McKinnon but her phone is dead. When the local Royal Mail driver is passing and stops to help, Morag borrows his phone to call for assistance. But Torquil, who is down in the caves on his early morning ritual of playing his bagpipes, does not get Morag's frantic messages until he returns to his motorbike. But once help is summoned, Torquil jumps into action immediately attending the scene when he should be meeting the ferry from the mainland with their team's new DC.

And then, another body is found. An adult male also reeking of alcohol. All have been poisoned with homemade "peatreek" whisky laced with methanol. Are the incidents related? And where did they get the deadly "peatreek"? Then the police station is burgled with some of the search evidence disappearing along with some petty cash and PC MacPhee's "murder shoes" he had just received for the traditional hammer throw in which he takes part.

Torquil and his team have their hands full trying to locate the missing girl and tracking down this deadly still. With the help of the community, everyone bands together to find Vicky Spiers, while others have secrets they would prefer to keep hidden.

A solid police procedural without the cockiness or arrogance found in other books, the Torquil McKinnon series is easy to read and thoroughly enjoyable. The picturesque Scottish isles of the Outer Hebrides, along with the mist and the rain, is painted in such a way that it adds a noir-like atmosphere with an air of menace. It is in vast contrast to the cheerful characters which I have come to love.

Known as "Piper" to the locals, due to his finesse on the bagpipes, Torquil McKinnon is a thoroughly likeable character. He is nothing like the arrogant, sexist detectives with a penchant for too much alcohol and a need to bully those below their rank. He is fair, analytical and resourceful and treats all his colleagues as friends. The cast of characters are an enjoyable bunch who all become real in your imagination. Alongside Torquil, there's his uncle "the Padre", Morag Driscoll, Ewan MacPhee, the Drummond twins (Wallace and Douglas), the new DC, Lorna and of course Calum and Cora from the West Uist Chronicle.

As with the the rest of the series, DEADLY STILL is easy to read and thoroughly enjoyable. It doesn't need the complexities of other books as Keith Moray brings the story to life through the atmosphere he's created with the scenery and the weather.

I look forward to more of Torquil McKinnon and his team in this unique and beautiful setting of West Uist.

I would like to thank #KeithMoray, #NetGalley and #SapereBooks for an ARC of #DeadlyStill in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Gathering Murders by Keith Moray

The Gathering Murders (Inspector Torquil McKinnon) by Keith Moray

Genre: Mystery, Crime Fiction, Noir

Read: 3rd July 2018

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

★★★★ 4 stars

I would actually give the book 4.5 stars! I loved it but for the lack of dialogue to begin with and mostly description. To me it makes a book too "heavy" like I am reading a text book. When I began, I actually pondered whether to continue and if I would enjoy it. So glad I did though.

Keith Moray takes us deep into the landscape of the Hebrides as he recounts this highland Scottish murder mystery with all the local overtones from the community to the harmonious Gaelic dialect. "The Gathering Murders" is the first in a new series featuring Inspector Torquil McKinnon on the Hebridean isles of West Uist. He heads up the West Uist Constabulary, a small quiet force of three, and enjoys long quiet rides on his Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle along the Hebridean coastlines and deep into its landscape. He is also the locally dubbed "Piper" for his penchant and talent for the bagpipes, which he intends to play at The Gathering for the coveted Silver Quaich that eludes him every year. McKinnon is aided by Constable Ewan McPhee, a lovable giant, and single mum Sergeant Morag Driscoll, as well as his uncle, Reverand Lachlan McKinnon, who is both loved and knowledgeable about all things West Uist, if not Hebridean, and who raised Torquil from a youngster after his parents were tragically killed.

The book opens with a prologue set in Glasgow and a death which at first glance is not suspicious - with only the perpetrator knowing the truth - before surrounding us with the picturesque beauty of the Hebrides. The small town of Kyleshiffin on West Uist goes from small community to bursting at the seams with thousands of visitors coming to attend The Gathering (Highland Games I would think) and the Literary Festival, which boasts various writers including Kyleshiffin's own Fiona Cullen, dubbed Scottish Queen of Crime, returning to the town with her own agenda. Soon there is murder (at first deemed accidental death) then another, and before long the small close-knit community find themselves at the forefront of national news with the police under fire from the locals and the top brass for not getting a quicker result.

There are some amusing moments with former school teacher, who commands the same presence now and when she taught Torquil and all the Kyleshiffin locals, when no one dared answer her back. There are some shifty characters you will find yourself questioning at every turn as well as some lovable ones. The most surprising I think is who the murderer is. Even I, who usually has some inkling somewhere through a story, did not guess who it was! It was interesting just how many people on a small island can have so many different motives - all at the same time! But the reveal was a definite surprise, at the same time the story continuing at a steady pace to keep the reader interested and guessing!

I love how Moray incorporates the use of Gaelic and yet translates it to English for the reader, as there is nothing worse than reading a book which uses a dialect one doesn't understand and therefore has no idea what is going on in those conversations. I also love that the story is set in the warmer summery months as opposed to the usual dark bleak Scottish weather of rain and misery which is often found in those set in Glasgow and Aberdeen.

In summary, this is a wonderful whodunnit of a different style, in Gaelic noir, with plenty of murders, plenty of suspects and beautiful scenery! I look forward to learning about Torquil further into the series and enjoying the gorgeous Hebrides once more!