by Val McDermid
First published 2017
Scotland's most dangerous stories unfold within the nation's most recognizable structures. Val McDermid leads eleven other acclaimed crime writers through a collection that places murder inside ancient brochs and modern ruins alike. An Iron Age fortress becomes the scene of deadly violence. An eighteenth century mill echoes with screams of revenge. Edinburgh Castle's tourist crowds provide cover for psychological terror. Abandoned modernist galleries witness rivalry turn lethal. Each story connects killer to victim through Scotland's built landscape, where stone walls and concrete spaces hold secrets. The writers explore how architecture shapes crime, how history breeds violence, and how Scotland's heritage sites harbor the country's darkest impulses. These tales reveal the fatal bonds between people and the places that define them.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, short-story-collection
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: murder-mystery, setting-as-character
Setting: Scotland
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
288 pages · Hardcover · Historic Environment Scotland
Content warnings: violence