Rebecca Connolly

When reporter Rebecca Connolly gets a tip that suspected murderer Roddie Drummond will be returning to the island of Stoirm, she smells a story. Though never convicted in the death of his girlfriend Mhairi fifteen years earlier, Drummond is still guilty in the eyes of many islanders, and his return for his mother's funeral is sure to stir up old resentments, hatreds, possibly even violence. Rebecca has another reason for going to Stoirm. Her own father came from there, but he never went back, and he always refused to speak of it or say what drove him away. Defying her editor, Rebecca joins forces with local photographer Chazz Wymark to dig into the mystery surrounding Mhairi's death and her unexplained last words, "Thunder Bay"-the secluded spot on the west coast of the island where, according to local lore, the souls of the dead set off into the afterlife. When a string of violent events erupts across the island, Rebecca discovers the power of secrets, and she must decide what to bury, and what to bring into the light. Longlisted for Bloody Scotland's McIlvanney Prize for best crime book of the year, Thunder Bay has been hailed as "Immersive, compelling . . . [with a] jaw-dropping climax" (Neil Broadfoot, author of the MacGregor and Drummond thrillers).

When a man in eighteenth-century Highland dress is found dead on the site of the Battle of Culloden, where Bonnie Prince Charlie led his forces to a rout seared into Scottish memory, Rebecca Connolly takes up the case for the Chronicle. A controversial film about the rebellion and battle is being shot nearby, and it has drawn the ire of the right-wing nationalist movement Spirit of the Gael. Is there some link between the murder-the weapon used to impale the man leaves no doubt it was murder-and Spirit of the Gael or the shadowy militant group New Dawn, thought to be associated with them? Meanwhile, in the working-class part of town, Rebecca's assignment to cover a protest against the placement of a convicted child molester into the community leads her to Mo Burke, the unlikely protest leader. Mo is a formidable woman, but she is also the matriarch of a known crime family and usually prefers to shun the spotlight. What has drawn her out? And what of her two grown sons, who share in the family business? The older one, Nolan, with Ben Affleck good looks, is clearly intrigued by Rebecca, as she is by him, despite her better instincts to steer clear of their dangerous, violent world. And then another body is found, this one wearing the Redcoat uniform of the victorious British army.

When banners proclaiming the innocence of James Stewart spring up at the gravesite of his famous namesake-a clan leader who was falsely accused of murder and hanged almost three hundred years ago in a miscarriage of justice that still resonates-investigative reporter Rebecca Connolly smells a story. The publicity stunt was clearly meant to draw attention, but what's behind it and why now? The young Stewart has been in prison for ten years for the brutal murder of his lover, lawyer and politician Murdo Maxwell, in his home in Appin, near the site of the Stewart monument. Rebecca soon discovers that, prior to his murder, Maxwell believed he was being followed, and his phones were tapped. What would justify a government phone tap against a public figure? And why is a Glasgow crime boss so interested? As Rebecca keeps digging, she finds herself in the sights of Inverness crime matriarch Mo Burke, who wants payback for the damage caused to her family in a previous case. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Scottish Highlands, A Rattle of Bones is a tale of injustice and mystery, and the enduring echo of the past in the present.

Set amid the dramatic beauty of the Scottish Highlands and threaded with Highland history and lore, the latest Rebecca Connolly thriller is another stellar crime novel. Something scared Nuala Flaherty to death. When her body is found in the center of a pentagram on a lonely moor in the shadow of Ben Shee mountain, Rebecca is determined to find out what killed her. Was her death caused by supernatural means or is there a more down-to-earth explanation? The body was discovered on the Island of Stoirm, about which Rebecca has some complicated feelings. Her beloved father, a career policeman, came from there, but he fled the island's and his own family's dark history, and Rebecca herself had a brush with death while pursuing a story there. But there's no way she can avoid going back. Besides, her dear friends, photographer Chaz Wymark and his partner, Alan, are about to be married on Stoirm, causing a small stir in the isolated island community. Rebecca's investigation will lead her to a mysterious cult and local drug dealings. But what she doesn't know is that crime matriarch Mo Burke still has her in her crosshairs. Mo wants payback for the death of her son, and after one failed attempt to hurt Rebecca, she's upping the ante. And this time, it could be lethal.