The Beasts of the Black Loch: Nothing stays buried in the Highlands... the first in a series of atmospheric Seventies-set murder mysteries (A Natural History of Murder)

Dr Ava Dickens, a scientist specialising in animal behaviour, uses her knowledge of the fauna around her to find a killer wreaking havoc on a remote estate in Scotland in the first in a new series. In 50,000 acres of remote Scottish mountains and moor sits Dorcha Hall: a former hunting lodge nestling amongst ancient forests, on the shores of the enigmatic ‘Black Loch’. At night, lights glow from within, smoke curls from its chimneys, and in the forgiving murk of the gloaming, it looks magical. In daylight, its mouldering plasterwork and failing plumbing present a less romantic reality. Dr Ava Dickens has come to Dorcha to visit her godson, Alastair – a young man whose parents’ sudden death has taken him from a quiet life in academia to owning Loch Dorcha. He and his very new wife are convinced the only way to make the estate work is to run the Hall as a hotel.