1) This refreshes the British procedural novels with a grounded supernatural take that evokes M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable. We've had strong sales for years with Tana French's Dublin Murder series (beginning with In The Woods) and this provides that same feel along with a subtle supernatural refresh built around old Celtic paganism.
2) This fits in with a recent wave of well-selling and best-selling British-set semi-supernatural crime series, including The Whisper Man by Alex North and Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. These novels have sold exceptionally well in both the UK and the United States.
3) The writer is a Scottish journalist and has imbued this with a real sense of place. It presents picturesque Scotland in vivid detail-castles and medieval churches, rolling hills and lochs. But it also brings to life the quieter facets of small-town Highlands life-weekend rugby matches, small pubs and local scotches.
