Thank you netgalley and Storm Publishing for this arc.

This is the 3rd and last installment in the series. It was nice to catch up with Rachel and see what adventures and near death situations she got into.

An enjoyable, well paced read with a good amount of twists. It was nice to get answers and conclusions to an unsolved murder.

Book: The Final Truth (A Rachel McKenzie Mystery Book 3)
Author: Morag Pringle
Publishing: January 8th, 2025
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(5/5)
Review:
If you enjoy Scottish mysteries this series is for you! It's gripping from the very beginning. With a complex plot and characters. Keeps you guessing who did it until the very end! I always recommend this series to my mystery lovers. I hope this isn't the end of this series. I want more of Rachel Mckenzie & her friends.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, & the author for this ARC.
*All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

#TheFinalTruth #NetGalley #MoragPringle

I love the main character in these books; she is smart, brave and resourceful with a thirst for justice. Great plot and minor characters too, especially her next door neighbour. I hope this isn’t the last in the series, even though it sort of feels like it may be.

Rounded up to 3.5 Stars.
In the third installment of the Rachel McKenzie series, Rachel meets a journalist friend at the top of the mountain she is climbing. He tells her that he is investigating a case that connects to the last case that her mother (who was a social worker) was working on before she died, and if something were to happen to him, he has it set up for the information to get to her. Then he leaves. Later that day, Rachel is called by her police officer friend to come to the local cemetery where the body of a man has been found. It is not her friend, but a young man. Rachel proceeds to help investigate, and look into her mothers old case, and start trying to find her journalist friend that has disappeared.

So much to unpack! This story starts off pretty quickly, with a lot of information given. Rachel really wants to know what happened to her mother, and will look into the case no matter how dangerous it gets. There have been clues and suggestions dropped about her mother in the previous books, and I was excited to know that we might finally know what happened.

I enjoyed this third installment- but I am a bit of an outlier because I did not enjoy it as much as the previous two books. This is a paper heavy, research type investigation because much of it deals with her mothers case from 10 years ago. There are a lot of characters in this and sometimes I had trouble keeping up with who was who! However, it is a solid story, and there was a satisfying conclusion. So I will list what worked for me, and what I struggled with!
What worked:
1, Mags!!! She is such a great character. She has had a rough life, but such a big heart- and always wants to take care of those around her! She adds a lot of heart to the stories.
2. The continuing development of Rachel and Selena's friendship. Rachel has a hard time trusting, but slowly the officer has shown admiration and loyalty to Rachel.
3. I really liked when the focus was on the case that started in the past with her mother, and is now continuing with Rachel.
4. The descriptions of the Scottish Isles!
5. The premise of the case.

What I struggled with:
1. At times both Rachel and Selena took chances that were careless. This happened more in this book than the others, and I got to a point where I was starting to question whether the women had really learned anything from the previous cases about investigating violent crimes.
This happened most with Rachel. I understand that she wants/needs to know what happened to her mother- but at some point her choices became a little too reckless.
2. There were times when things were repeated/revisited. This made the pace drag, unlike the previous books where it was a steady- and often fast- pace.

Overall it was a solid mystery with characters I have grown to love. I look forward to reading the next installment to see if Rachel will mature now that she has found answers.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Book 3 in this series and having read the first two, I would strongly advise reading them beforehand as you get a much better overview of Rachel. As usual, she gets herself into trouble with all who work with her, but in this case it raises more questions than answers and has her digging even deeper into her family's troubled past. Great detail about the highlands and islands of Scotland and an ending I did not see coming!

Thanks to Netgalley and Storm for the ARC to review.

In this series installment, we are finally tackling the mystery of what really happened to Rachels mom. We've been getting bits and pieces throughout the first two books it, but we really dive into it in this one. Rachel is also investigating the disappearance of a reporter she knows as well as another murder so she has a lot on her plate.
I really enjoy Rachel and how she investigates. She trusts her gut even when the people she works with tell her to give up or that she's wrong, and she works the case until the end even if it puts her in mortal danger. Although that's usually not on purpose. I enjoy the relationship she has with her coworker Selena, and with Mags. We get a fair amount of twists and turns throughout this story, with an ending that I didn't see coming.
I will definitely be reading the next one.

This was the first book I read by Morag Pringle and I really enjoyed it. I jumped in at book 3 in the series, but I felt like I was only missing a little of the back story, which got filled in nicely as the story developed. Not only was this a really well done mystery, but the descriptions of Scotland, particularly the mountains, were beautifully written. I enjoyed Rachel McKenzie as a fearless investigator, putting her safety and her job on the line more times than I could keep track of. I plan on going back and reading the first two books in the series! 4 ⭐️

A Scottish police procedural, The Final Truth (2025) by Morag Pringle is the third of the Rachel McKenzie mysteries. Rachel is part of the Inverness Death Unit or Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit. Rachel and her team are tasked with the case of a well-dressed man found dead in the cemetery. They are unable to identify the man and there are no reported missing persons match either. In the meantime, a journalist tells Rachel he is aware of her secrets as he works on a sex crime exposé, with possible links to her incarcerated father. Rachel's emotions are tested with the two cases and the changes in her personal life. A somewhat lacklustre crime tale and a standalone review with an average three star read rating. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without any inducement. With thanks to Storm Publishing and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes.

I don't know if this is the last book in this series but I sincerely hope not, this is only the second book that I have read but I must say that I really enjoyed it.
Morag Pringle has created wonderful, likeable characters and set the story in the beautiful, atmospheric, Scottish Highlands.
Rachel McKenzie is a prosecutor working for the Scottish Highlands Fiscal Department, her background has a lot to do with her choice of career, her father is in prison serving a sentence for the murder of her mother, Rachel doesn't want to believe that he is guilty but does she follow her head or her heart.
Rachel is like a dog with a bone when she is following her gut instinct, she pushes harder than her job description allows, she is often in trouble both with her seniors and also with the police department for going beyond her remit but Rachel won't be tied, even though she know that involving her friend, DC Selina McDonald could lead them both into trouble.
When a body turns up in a cemetery Rachel is worried when it becomes clear that it is connected to a case that her mother was working on before she disappeared, Rachel becomes even more worried when an old climbing friend disappears shortly after a conversation with her whilst climbing, he told her that he was following a lead and left her believing that his life and that of his family could be in danger, Eric Hunter was an investigative journalist, a brilliant climber and as passionate and reckless as Rachel when following a lead, he and Rachel had crossed swords in the past but she knew him enough to know that if he was worried so should she be.
This story has so many paths that lead in different directions, Rachel's life is in danger, what has happened to Eric? who are the powerful people who were outsmarting the legal system ? had organised crime gangs infiltrated Scotland ?
Not until the end do all these paths converge to give answers, this story has action, suspense and also romance thrown in for good measure, I look forward to more stories from Morag Pringle.
Thank you Storm Publishing for this ARC, my review is my honest opinion.

This was the first book I have read in the series but it was fine as a stand-alone. Plenty going on all through it. Great backstory about lives of the fiscals and detectives. Enough twists and turns to keep me guessing as it was hard to keep up with them all. Look forward to the next offering. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read "The Final Truth" in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the third book in the Rachel McKenzie series and as usual Ms. Pringle delivers a thrill-ride of a story. We meet Eric Hunter, who is writing an article about Organized Crime Groups (referred to as OCGs) that will put Rachel in the worst danger of her life. Rachel McKenzie is a procurator fiscal (a public prosecutor) working for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) in Scotland. Though most of the time she thinks she works for the police force and tends to go rogue investigating cases and putting herself in danger.

Rachel's mother was murdered and her father has been in prison for the crime. When Eric goes missing - Rachel wonders if there is a link between her mother's work, what let to her murder, her father being in prison, a John Doe's body being found in the cemetery and Rachel's own home being broken into. Rachel has a great friend Mags who is a reformed prostitute, who will do anything to help her.

Rachel is a strong character, she doesn't sit by and let others do things. She gets involved - even when she's warned not to. She gets herself in trouble, in danger and those around her get hurt along the way. Ms. Pringle has crafted a wonderful story with many threads that get neatly woven together in the end as we learn what really happened to Rachel's mother. We also learn that not everyone is who they seem to be. The writing style and the descriptions of the scenery in remote parts of Scotland have the reader feeling as if they are right there with Rachel. I will be looking forward to reading more for Ms Pringle!

A great thriller that hooked me from the start.
Rachel is still trying to come to terms with the fact that her father is in jail for her mother's death. When she last saw him he hinted at his innocence, but begged her not to investigate. But when a new case leads to clues related to her mom's death, Rachel is unsure how to proceed.
Love the characters, the fast pace of the plot, and the unpredictable conclusion. Great read!
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Final Truth is Morag Pringle’s third installment in the Rachel McKenzie series was a fun, but addictive thrilling mystery.


Rachel’s life changed completely after her mom was killed. Her father was then tried and convicted of her mother’s murder, which spun her world completely off of its axis. Years later, Rachel visited her father in prison, where he told her to stop investigating in her role as part of the procurator fiscal team in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. He warned of dire consequences and intimated that he didn’t do what he was accused of.

As Rachel investigated other assigned cases, several clues about her mom’s death coincided and lead Rachel to the worry that the courts, did indeed, get her father’s verdict wrong. Should she listen to her father’s warning her off about investigating further? Was she putting herself or her friends in danger?

This was a true page-turner and thriller! I loved it, and can’t wait for the next installment from Morag Pringle!

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this amazing ARC!

This is the third book in this series about Rachel McKenzie who is a prosecutor in the Scottish Highlands. When a body is found in a graveyard, she makes a connection to her mothers death a few years ago. There is danger ahead and she has to be careful.
I love reading books set in Scotland specially the Highlands, the author knows a lot about the area which really helps. These are fast paced crime mystery reads that is easily readable in one sitting. The writing is really engaging and the story flows easily. I recommend this series. A 5 star read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

Rachel's father was in prison for killing her mother. On the one hand she thought he was guilty, but on the other hand she had no idea. And then there were two men, John, who was a kept man by a wealthy politician, and Eric who was a journalist. John had been found dead in the cemetery, and Eric had disappeared. Rachel, who was a lawyer, was doing everything she could to get to the bottom of the dilemmas of the two men. There was an organized crime ring that had been operating that Rachel knew had something to do with everything. Rachel's friend, Selena, who was a police officer, was helping her get to the bottom of everything.

So this book was all about Rachel's investigation. The author had a way of hiding the truth until the very end. I had no idea if Rachel's father was guilty or not. And I really had no idea who was involved in the organized crime gang. The author's strategy was bulletproof. I very much enjoy stories where the author doesn't insult my intelligence by making the solutions obvious. And that was definitely the case with this saga. And this author did a stellar job with character development. She is someone whose other books I would like to read. I gave this one five stars.

The third Scottish thriller I have read by Morag Pringle. Touches on some emotive subjects and deals with them well. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

This third in the Rachel McKenzie series does what it says in the title - gives a satisfying explanation and ending to what happened both to Rachel’s, mother, a John Doe found in a local cemetery and the story that a missing journalist was investigating. Rachel is a flawed, but compelling character, still trying to come to terms with her father’s actions. Selena MacDonald is now a Detective with CID in the Scottish Highlands, and is keen to prove herself to her colleagues. She almost hero worships a Rachel but also genuinely wants to help her. A really twisty tale, with an ending I hadn’t even thought of, always a bonus. Can’t wait for whatever this author writes next.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of The Final Truth by Morag Pringle.
Rachel McKenzie works as a prosecutor in the Scottish Highlands, investigating any death.
But along side this she is also trying to find what happened to her mother, and if her father is really to blame for her murder.
A great read.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I enjoyed the story as Rachel McKenzie searches for answers to the mystery surrounding her mother's death. The story is set in Scotland so the legal system is unfamiliar to me. Rachel works in the Fiscal Dept, whose job it is to look at sudden deaths and ensure that an investigation is carried out if deemed to be needed. This storyline runs alongside her investigation into the death of a body, that she found in the local cemetery. The characters are strong and well written. The scenery of Scotland and the Islands feels right, from my observations on television programmes. I can see this book making a good crime story for TV.
I recommend this book and the series to those who enjoy crime fiction.

It was lovely to catch up with Rachel McKensie and the wonderful setting of the Scottish Highlands. Rachel works for the Crown Office and Prosecutor Fiscal Service as a prosecutor in the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit (Known as Inverness's Death Unit by the team) in Inverness but they could be sent out further afield to investigate unexplained deaths. Rachel is keen to uncover the truth behind her Mother's death by looking into old case files. Rachel is called to a scene at a cemetery, where a body has been found. I love the dynamics of Rachel with Mags and Selena and how they look out for each other. Rachel is a feisty character, who will stop at nothing in getting to the truth. All the sub plots knitted together to a climatic ending with a twist that I never saw coming. More Rachel please.