Three teenage boys discover a body in the grounds of a deserted farmhouse at the edge of Elder Park in Glasgow. Strapped to a chair, beaten, burned, his eardrums bleeding and his eyes and mouth sewn up. It seems like someone else had found the upstairs room they used as their den and had tortured the man before throwing him from the window into the snowy ground below. Terrified, they run, but not before one drops the phone with which he had just taken a photo of the victim. A phone which will land him in deep trouble with its owner. The next morning the body is found and the police called. Forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacLeod and her assistant Chrissy McInsh start to work the scene. DI Wilson’s team, including DS Michael McNab and DS Janice Clark start up a murder investigation and are concerned the man could be a missing Hollywood actor who once hailed from the city. What they discover is a strong link between the two men and the suggestion of a gangland execution in the dead man’s stomach. Meanwhile Rhona has concerns over recently released Marnie Aitken who has just served six years for the manslaughter of her four-year-old daughter. A crime she confessed to but may not have committed, and with no body, maybe Rhona will help her prove her innocence? Soon there are three missing people and lives may be in danger.
Although the latest in an extremely good series, it is perfectly easy to enjoy this book as a stand-alone. It’s very well written with storylines to pull the reader in and keep them glued to the pages from start to finish. The main characters are both very likable and also very good at their jobs, and together they form a great team in this gruesome and totally engrossing crime mystery story.
The narrator, Sally Armstrong, does an impeccable job of bringing the book to life (she is just how I imagine Rhona sounds) and makes it an absolute pleasure to listen to.

This was my first read by the author Lin Anderson. It follows Rhona, a forensic scientist who investigates the murder of a man found tied to a chair in Elder Park, Glasgow. There’s evidence that this poor man has been tortured before being killed. Rhona’s investigations leads to a 12 year old boy, a gang, a woman whose four year old daughter has disappeared and an American actor- are all these clues linked or could one of them be the killer. Lin really had me thinking and my mind boggled at the same time. I really liked how everything came together nicely in the end.

It's a bit daunting when you first start listening to a book, only to then realise it's the 18th instalment of a series you've never read. That said, listening to this was a breeze, I found myself easily connecting with the characters and engaging in the story, and had no worries about missing out on previous tales. That to me is a great signal of excellent writing.

I loved the plot, with all its different layers, and the narrator who made this a delight to listen to. I've also added 17 books to my TBR mountain...

This is the latest from Lin Anderson in what may be a long running favourite crime series that I absolutely love, but I cannot express just how much joy I feel on the release of her latest forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacLeod, a series primarily set in the gritty, grimy streets of Glasgow. I love this so much that I listened to it on audio as well, ably narrated by Sally Armstrong, making the story come alive, although curiously after I had finished I heard the thoughts in my head in her voice! It is approaching Christmas, it is freezing cold and there is snow and sleet on the streets, 3 young boys, Ally Feeney and his mates, Dreep and Kev, stumble across a horrifying scene of a tortured dead man strapped to a chair, his mouth and eyes stitched shut, pushed out of the window of the dilapidated Fairfield Farmhouse in Elder Park. It is later discovered the victim, a good looking man, has been forced to swallow a bullet with a snake head etched on it. It all suggests a gangland feud.

There is a another thread, featuring Marnie Aitken, a talented seamstress who has created a beautiful Highland dance doll, who Rhona meets on her last day of being incarcerated for confessing to being responsible for the death of her beloved 4 year old daughter, Tizzy, a claim we later learn DS Michael McNab has never believed. Marnie has a desperately traumatic personal history, on her release she makes her way back to her haunting former home, but not before she sends the doll, now a disturbing sight, to Rhona. McNab and the police team which includes DS Janice Clark, overseen by DI Bill Wilson, struggle to identify the Elder Park victim, but a Hollywood movie is being filmed, and the lead actor, Jason Endeavour, has gone missing, could there possibly be a connection?

This is bleak, dark, brutal and intensely gripping storytelling, brilliantly plotted, packed with twists and turns, from the talented Anderson, that had me completely immersed right up to thrilling conclusions. I so felt for Marnie, and all that she had undergone, it's a miracle she has managed to hold herself together, and young Ally is a great creation, a lovely boy, who it emerges is a super recogniser. It is such a pleasure to become reacquainted with familiar and established characters, including Chrissy McInsh, a woman it is impossible to keep the truth from, a Michael who has his Harley stolen, and catch up with all their personal lives. I can definitely recommend the audio of the book too. I cannot wait for the next in the series!! Highly recommended to those who enjoy great and gritty Scottish crime. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Audio version of this book 📕 - A little bit of a slow start but then the storyline became gripping and was an enjoyable listen

The narrator was excellent, very easy to listen too

I’m new to the Rhona Macleod series, but found it an interesting take on crime to have a forensic lead. She’s a convincing and likeable character and this works well as a standalone. The police lead is also plausible and their relationship works well as each explore different aspects of the crime. Tucked alongside the main plot is a sub plot involving a missing child and the release of her mother who served time for the child’s murder, That slotted in well with the main narrative.

Lin Anderson creates a real sense of place. I don’t know Glasgow well, but had a strong sense of location from the descriptions. Dialogue is excellent, particularly with the youngsters involved and the whole plot is well constructed after a memorable and dramatic prologue. The unusual murder scene is gripping and although the Hollywood connection at first seems implausible, bit by bit, it all works out.

I listened to this in a single sitting and it held my attention and interest throughout. Loved the accent of the narrator, but found the delivery quite stilted throughout and rather hissy. It detracted from the story.

I can see the difference between a good author and a so-so author when I start reading a book like this. Lin Anderson is a really good author and I raced through this book. The narration was excellent and fitted the tale perfectly too.
A dark and upsetting book of gangs, domestic abuse, torture and the loss of a child, but told in a gentle manner that just leaves me with an overwhelming feeling of sadness.
I love Lin Anderson’s characters. The detectives, the civilians and the children are all vibrant characters who you grow to love

This is book 18 in the Rhona Macleod series, but I have to say that having only read one other they work really well as standalone stories - think Vera or silent witness for example.

I always enjoy a grizzly murder, and they don’t come much more macabre than this! It was eerie, intense and thoroughly entertaining throughout. It’s always great to recognise places in a novel, and it definitely makes you do a double take when those places are scenes of sordid crime 😬 this was an easy sort of cozy listen (not to sound weird)

The narration by Sally Armstrong was great, but it did feel a little hesitant in places, almost like waiting to turn the page.

Thank you to MacMillan U.K. audio and NetGalley for this ELC