Cal Lovett Files

Cal Lovett's sister, Margot, has been missing since he was a child. When Marc Dubois, The Woodland Killer, learns of Cal's true-crime podcast, Finding Justice, he invites Cal into his cell to talk. Dubois has famously refused to speak about his crimes, so why has he asked Cal to meet with him? And why does Dubois know so much about him? To distract himself from his past and to stop his producer complaining about falling ratings, Cal digs up a cold-case file to investigate for the show. It sends him to the Scottish Highlands to look into a case where a young woman named Layla disappeared thirty-five years ago after going out riding. Her horse returned without her, and it was assumed she fell and was left injured in the wilderness. But the more Cal learns about Layla, the more he begins to think that her disappearance wasn't an accident... As Cal's home life spirals out of control, he throws himself further into the case. Can he grant Layla's family closure? And will Cal ever get the answers he so desperately needs after his sister's disappearance all those years ago?

The police. They're digging in the scrapyard. Cal Lovett has spent half his life telling other people's stories on his true-crime podcast. But the police are close to solving the mystery of his sister's disappearance-now he might finally get to tell Margot's story. A desperate relative begs for his help. Cal seeks respite on a holiday in the Scottish Highlands but is dragged into a new cold case: an unsolved murder that shattered a family fourteen years ago. An isolated community is wary of outsiders. Eyes follow Cal everywhere, and someone makes it very clear that they don't want him snooping around... How far will he go to find justice? And how far is far enough?

He left for university... and never came back Arran went missing in Edinburgh twenty years ago. The last time his parents saw him he was withdrawn and on edge where he'd once been happy and carefree. Still searching for their son, they turn to their last hope, true crime podcaster Cal Lovett. Cal begins looking for answers but is distracted by his sister's murder trial. He's so close to getting the justice Margot deserves. Can he finally leave the past, and Margot, behind? As Cal unearths disturbing evidence about Arran's fate, he suspects the young man's close-knit group of university friends are keeping secrets to protect each other. It seems old loyalties don't die easily. But they can't all stay silent forever... An unputdownable crime thriller perfect for fans of Jane Casey, Cara Hunter and Neil Lancaster.

A woman with no name, a reckoning with the past, a present fraught with danger. In the most remote spot of the hills surrounding Loch Tay, a woman's remains were found. She had lay there a while, but any evidence of who she was had long gone – or never existed. Crime podcaster Cal Lovett seeks to put 'Hillside Jane' to rest, but is he merely running from his own troubles? With the wife of his sister's alleged killer missing and a sense that any chance he had of getting justice for Margot is slipping from his grasp, Cal is at a crossroads. Perhaps peace for Hillside Jane will soothe his own fears. But events in the village don't bring the results anyone expected. Is Cal so stuck in the past that he won't spot the risk he faces in the here and now? A gripping instalment of the bestselling Scottish crime series from Bloody Scotland Debut Prize for Scottish Crime-shortlisted author Heather Critchlow. Perfect for fans of Jane Casey, Claire Douglas and Neil Lancaster.