M.R. Mackenzie

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Gillian...
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M.R. Mackenzie

Goodreads Author


Born
in Glasgow, Scotland
Website

Genre

Member Since
February 2010

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To get the latest news and your FREE sample chapters from the McIlvanney Prize-nominated In the Silence, join the M.R. Mackenzie Readers’ Club:

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M.R. Mackenzie is the author of several gritty, character-driven crime fiction novels set mainly in his native Glasgow, including an ongoing series of mysteries featuring criminology lecturer Anna Scavolini.

The first book in the series, In the Silence, was shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year and longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2019.

The sixth, The Secrets We Keep, featured in the Financial Times’ Best Summer Books of 2025 (Crime and Thrillers) and IngramSpark’s 2025 Editorial Selection (Mys
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Popular Answered Questions

M.R. Mackenzie Sit down and force myself to write. If I’m struggling, I like to set myself a nice, achievable target, like writing a hundred words over the next ten …moreSit down and force myself to write. If I’m struggling, I like to set myself a nice, achievable target, like writing a hundred words over the next ten minutes. It doesn’t matter if they turn out to be drivel – in fact, chances are they WILL be. The act of forcing myself to put pen to paper (or, more likely, fingers to keyboard) usually unblocks the dam and get me back into the swing of things.(less)
M.R. Mackenzie I know it’s a cliché, but just do it. The rise of eBooks, self-publishing and independent publishing houses means that the process has been democratis…moreI know it’s a cliché, but just do it. The rise of eBooks, self-publishing and independent publishing houses means that the process has been democratised like never before, and there’s never been such a wealth of options for getting your work out there.

I would also say don’t be discouraged by a lack of overnight success. Very few authors shoot to the top of the charts and receive critical acclaim right out of the gate. It takes time to build a profile – I’m only in the early stages of it myself – and it can feel like an uphill climb with the summit nowhere in sight. My long-term goal is definitely to be able to make a living doing this full-time, but until then, I would much rather my work was out there and being read by however many people it can reach – whether that’s a bajillion or just a handful – than locked away on my hard drive being read by no one.(less)
Average rating: 4.12 · 4,876 ratings · 254 reviews · 11 distinct worksSimilar authors
In the Silence (Anna Scavol...

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3,238 ratings — published 2018
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Cruel Summer (Anna Scavolin...

4.18 avg rating — 400 ratings — published 2019 — 5 editions
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The Shadow Men (Anna Scavol...

4.52 avg rating — 320 ratings — published 2021 — 2 editions
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Women Who Kill (Anna Scavol...

4.50 avg rating — 230 ratings — published 2023 — 2 editions
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The Anna Scavolini Mysterie...

4.44 avg rating — 191 ratings — published 2021 — 2 editions
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The Reckoning (Anna Scavoli...

4.58 avg rating — 158 ratings — published 2024 — 2 editions
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The Library Murders

4.10 avg rating — 120 ratings — published 2020 — 4 editions
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Bury Your Secrets

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 123 ratings — published 2022 — 2 editions
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The Secrets We Keep (Anna S...

4.46 avg rating — 91 ratings — published 2025 — 2 editions
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The Anna Scavolini Mysterie...

4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2025
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More books by M.R. Mackenzie…

You're invited to The Cracks Beneath's launch livestream and giveaway!

It wouldn't be a book launch without a livestream, would it? You're invited to join me on Thursday 26 February at 7 p.m. GMT, the evening before the release of the latest Anna Scavolini mystery, The Cracks Beneath. I'll be reading from the book and answering questions, both live and pre-submitted.

Better still, everyone who joins will have a chance to win an extra-special, one-of-a-kind prize: the

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Published on January 31, 2026 03:34
In the Silence Cruel Summer The Shadow Men Women Who Kill The Reckoning The Secrets We Keep The Cracks Beneath
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4.12 avg rating — 4,631 ratings

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M.R. Mackenzie is on page 103 of 496 of Witchcraft for wayward girls
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Quotes by M.R. Mackenzie  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“I’m no proud o’ masel. But whit was I gonnae dae? Stand up tae Foley and that lot all on ma lonesome?”
M.R. Mackenzie, In the Silence

“What is past is not dead; it is not even past. We cut ourselves off from it; we pretend to be strangers.”
M.R. Mackenzie, In the Silence

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Crime, Mysteries ...: Bloody Scotland 2019 Awards 7 23 Oct 15, 2019 03:36AM  
Reading with Style: This topic has been closed to new comments. SU 22 Completed Tasks 1071 75 Aug 31, 2022 09:02PM  
“Work as if you live in the early days of a better nation.”
Alasdair Gray

“Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible, and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works, or of the kinds of writing that they evidently prefer.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“Stupidity is the same as evil if you judge by the results.”
Margaret Atwood, Surfacing

“I am not good at noticing when I'm happy, except in retrospect.”
Tana French, In the Woods

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