I found this book intriguing enough to be interested in reading it. The reality was that it was very slow and hard work with bizarre characters all on a remote island. Much of the story seemed contrived and quite unbelievable. It wasn’t until 80% into the book that the story really unfolded. The end was unusual but too hurried.

Tricky mystery set on an isolated Scottish island,full of superstition. Not entirely believable that there could be such going on.

There were times when I really enjoyed this and there were times when I found it very frustrating and annoying. The ending is a cracker. Very exciting.

Descriptively Laura McCluskey does a fantastic job of describing a bleak in-hospitable island with a motley crew of inhabitants. And, the author does this really well in a highly gothic style.

Georgie, the key detective, is an interesting character. Of course she has hidden demons. It seems de riguer these days

But, all of that excellence was thrown away as the central plotline/premise was pretty ridiculous. I aas surprised cannibalism was not brought into play.

I look forward to the next novel as I believe, with more credible plot lines Laura McLuskey will become a major crime novelist

Wow! What a story. I had no idea when I started reading this, how it would end. The story takes place on a Scottish island which has few ties with the mainland. It has existed for hundreds of years, with little assistance from the mainland. They make their own rules. There is no doctor, no police, no mobile phones, only one satellite phone in the Post Office for everyone on the island. Deliveries of food can be intermittent and dependant on the weather.
The death of an eighteen year old encourages the mainland police to visit the island, or the rock as the natives call it,
Was it a suicide? Was it an accident? Or was it murder? George and Richie, two detectives, are sent to investigate, but the locals are reluctant to communicate with them, they dislike “Mainlanders”. Why is that?
We are told the details of interviews with various islanders, how they are hampered by the weather and by the unfriendliness of the locals. Finally they stumble across the answer. Most definitely not what I expected! I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers, Harper Collins, for an arc of this enjoyable book.

I found the book a bit drawn out with the endless walks up and down the freezing terrain of the Island that George and her partner had been sent to in order to investigate a suicide of an 18 year old lad or was it murder. I did find the references and flashbacks to George's attack on a previous case as the reason she needed to take pain killers and sleeping pills unnecessary, and the headaches she kept getting rather annoying.

The characters were well written and I did have to keep reading to the end to find out what happened to the young man. This is not explained until right at the end of the book and was not an expected ending..

I would like to thanks NetGallaey and the Publisher for my ARC.

This was a good story with lots going on keeping you hooked in. Makes you question if there are really islands still that live in this way.

Great storyline with interesting characters. It certainly gave a lot of insight into the close knit island community. The ending was totally unexpected. I like this author and will look for other books by her.

Started off slowly but intriguing enough to keep going as it was a well written tale and glad I did as it got better and more interesting as the tale developed. Quite atmospheric and good developed characters although a bit more of the back story of the lead detective would have been good.

Detective inspectors Georgina 'George' Lennox and Richard Stewart are sent to a tiny Scottish island to investigate the death of a young islander – was it suicide or murder?
From the beginning most islanders are wary of the intruders from the mainland. The two DIs hit a wall of superficial pleasantries and grim silence, as a strange mix of Christianity, superstitions, vigilantism and pagan rituals permeates the small community. George especially is soon faced with thinly veiled threats and increasingly strange occurences that Richie seems oblivious of.
Though the ending seems a bit far-fetched in my opinion, it was satisfying and this was a good and partly very eerie police procedural mystery thriller.

Thank you, Netgalley and Hemlock Press, for the chance to read a copy in exchange for an honest review!

On a remote Scottish Island, 2 detectives George and Richie have been brought from the mainland to investigate the death of a young man who fell from a lighthouse. The islanders are not welcoming to mainlanders and there is distrust and subterfuge going on. As a reader, you end up not knowing who George and Richie should trust and it seems everyone is hiding a secret. The stormy, dangerous weather serves as a great backdrop to the tumultuous happenings on the island as the 2 detectives uncover a generations long tradition with deadly consequences.
George herself is struggling with health issues after a serious accident on a previous case has left her dependent on painkillers and sleeping tablets which she is trying to keep from her partner. I felt that in the flashbacks to this accident, we didn't have a clear idea what had happened and some of the flashbacks did not have enough detail for the reader. I actually checked I hadn't missed a first book in the series as it felt like I should have read something else first. In the end I did enjoy reading it, but the first hundred pages were not as enthralling as I prefer in a book that gets you hoked straight away,

George is a young DI sent to a remote Scottish island to investigate the apparent suicide of a young resident. The locals are not friendly and there are weird goings on. George and her partner find themselves in risky situations as they unearth the truth. The sense of place was very evocative and the characters convincingly real in this engaging police procedural.

The Wolf Tree is one of those books that steadily gets better as it goes on. It starts off slowly and there’s setting the scene, but by the middle you find yourself hooked.
George (Georgina) is recovering from an accident so is sent to a remote Scottish island to do police work there. There’s been a suicide and everything seems straightforward at first, but things are not as they seem…and what’s worse, because George and he colleague come from the mainland everyone is suspicious of them and it takes them a while to get anywhere. All in all this is a good book and the story progresses well.

Set on a remote Scottish island, this story follows a police investigation which takes many turns. I really enjoyed this book and the story was right up my street. I would like to read more by this author and would recommend to anyone who likes crime fiction.

This is book that is very different in the best way. It takes place in the island of Eadar off the coast of Scotland and in the Western Hebrides. It exists in a different time capsule, having never moved into the modern world an still being controlled by centuries old beliefs. Given its small population and distance from the mainland if there is anything that needs an official, they have to come from the mainland. Otherwise the island is controlled by the priest and local figures. That is why two detectives have arrived to investigate the death of an eighteen year old youth decided by the locals to have committed suicide. The detectives almost go along with that until close to going home agreeing with that verdict, they are given information that changes that conclusion and will lead to arrests in an island that can’t afford to lose any of its residents. The book is very well written and the story hangs together well. It is an unusual and satisfying read. I recommend it.

A haunting story of a routine police investigation on a remote Scottish island that gains momentum in the final chapters as it seems there is more to the local community than meets the eye.

This book is one’s for fans of atmospheric thrillers and crime novels - if you are a fan of Shetland and other Scottish Noir TV shows and novels, you will love this.

An isolated Scottish island, a mysterious death - our investigators arrive in the midst of a terrible storm. With no regular contact with the mainland, they are beholden to the island inhabitants. But is the young man’s suicide all that it seems - and who can be trusted on the island?

Fighting her own demons from a previous case, George is suspicious of the bruises noted on the body. And what are the mysterious howls she hears at night?

I never really believed that the novel would go down the supernatural route, but the eeriness of the deserted setting is palpable, and the atmosphere lends an extra dimension to the mystery.

Well worth a read!

Eilean Eadar is an isolated rocky island where the same families have lived for generations. It has been overlooked by the mainland for years — to the extent that Catholicism is still the prominent religion despite Scotland's strong Protestant beliefs. When a boy/man of 18 is found dead, beneath the lighthouse, the authorities send two detectives over to investigate his death, the coroner having found bruising on the body which was not consistent with the fall.
Georgina ‘George’ Lennox is a newly promoted DI and her partner is a long standing DI, Richie Stewart. The two have gotten along for years until George was attacked one night after venturing into a flat without checking the property had been secured. She has spent time in hospital and is now on strong pain killers as she tries to navigate her way back to work.
This should be a straightforward job for them to confirm the death was a suicide but things begin to unravel around them and they are unsure which of the islanders they can trust. The weather closes in and Richie and George become trapped on the island, just as they know what has been happening.
I enjoyed the story, which is something of a slow burn. The main characters all have issues but there are some lighter moments between George and Richie too., The island is well described and very evocative and threatening backdrop. To say much more would give away plot. The final reveal is a little complicated, or not very well explained, although it does make sense when you understand what is happening.
Over all and excellent debut novel.
With thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

Two Glasgow DIs are sent to a remote Scottish island to investigate the apparent suicide of an eighteen year old boy. They find a closed community, suspicious of mainlanders and beholden to ancient superstitions, Christian and pagan. But can they find the truth?

The Wolf Tree is written in a literary style that might be called atmospheric, but in truth there is very little plot development for most of the book. Lead character DI Georgina (George) Lennox could have been an intriguing character. Suffering PTSD after injuries on a previous case and newly back at work, but her past is never quite fully explained.

Endless walks in the countryside, more tales of fishing and farming, yet more stereotypically taciturn islanders ... It's only in the final section that things come together and the truth begins to emerge. And the rush to a conclusion feels forced. Overall there was just enough to keep the interest, but only just.

A gripping page turner that had me up late at night until I had finished it. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the novel. Highly recommended.

It took a little while for me to get into this book but something kept me intrigued and wanting to know more. Definitely worth reading to the end as everything came together in the final quater of the book. This was meant to be an easy case to ease George back in but her and Richie were soon involved in something much bigger.