In Bloody Scotland a selection of Scotland's best crime writers use the sinister side of the country's built heritage in stories that are by turns gripping, chilling and redemptive.
Stellar contributors Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre, Denise Mina, Ann Cleeves, Louise Welsh, Lin Anderson, Doug Johnstone, Gordon Brown, Craig Robertson, E S Thomson, Sara Sheridan and Stuart MacBride explore the thrilling potential of Scotland's iconic sites and structures. From murder in an Iron Age broch and a macabre tale of revenge among the furious clamour of an eighteenth century mill, to a dark psychological thriller set within the tourist throng of Edinburgh Castle and a rivalry turning fatal in the concrete galleries of an abandoned modernist ruin, this collection uncovers the intimate - and deadly - connections between people and places.
Prepare for a dangerous journey into the dark shadows of our nation's buildings - where passion, fury, desire and death collide.
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The runes began to dance before his eyes, their cryptic tree shapes merging branches one with another. ORKAHAUGR BY LIN ANDERSON
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(@HistEnvScot, 7 September 2017, 291 pages, ebook, borrowed from @GlasgowLib via @OverDriveLibs, various authors)
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I enjoyed all of the stories in this collection and some of them are by writers I enjoy including Lin Anderson, Val McDermid, Ann Cleeves and Louise Welsh. The setting chosen for each story wasn't as important to me as it seems to have been for the writers and the people who put the collection together. It's the stories I was interested in. Every story is well-written and enjoyable. There isn't a single dud which is unusual for anthologies. Some stories were a bit better than others. My favourites were Orkahaugr by Lin Anderson, Painting the Fourth Road Bridge by Doug Johnstone, Come Friendly Bombs by Louise Welsh and The Return by Ann Cleeves.
