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Rhona MacLeod #18
Whispers of the Dead
A gangland slaying. A missing movie star. When an actor goes missing in Glasgow, the clue to his whereabouts could be in the film script itself. Whispers of the Dead is a gripping thriller from Lin Anderson.
In the dead of night, a man’s body is found strapped to a chair in Glasgow’s Elder Park, his identity unknown. As forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod examines the scene, the violence on display suggests a gangland feud could be the cause. At the post-mortem, a bullet engraved with a snake’s head is found in the man’s stomach, lending weight to the theory.
Elsewhere in the city, a major Hollywood movie is being filmed. But shooting comes to a standstill when its lead actor is reported missing. As the news spreads, Police Scotland believe the two cases may be connected.
DS Michael McNab thinks the key to finding those responsible could be the film itself. A storyline playing out in real-life on the streets of Glasgow with a killer intent on revenge at any cost. A vendetta which must be paid in blood . . .
Though they can be enjoyed in any order, Whispers of the Dead is the eighteenth book in the Rhona MacLeod series.
In the dead of night, a man’s body is found strapped to a chair in Glasgow’s Elder Park, his identity unknown. As forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod examines the scene, the violence on display suggests a gangland feud could be the cause. At the post-mortem, a bullet engraved with a snake’s head is found in the man’s stomach, lending weight to the theory.
Elsewhere in the city, a major Hollywood movie is being filmed. But shooting comes to a standstill when its lead actor is reported missing. As the news spreads, Police Scotland believe the two cases may be connected.
DS Michael McNab thinks the key to finding those responsible could be the film itself. A storyline playing out in real-life on the streets of Glasgow with a killer intent on revenge at any cost. A vendetta which must be paid in blood . . .
Though they can be enjoyed in any order, Whispers of the Dead is the eighteenth book in the Rhona MacLeod series.
400 pages, Hardcover
Published August 1, 2024
74 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
About the author
Lin Anderson
72 books378 followersLin Anderson was born in Greenock of Scottish and Irish parents. A graduate of both Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities, she has lived in many different parts of Scotland and also spent five years working in the African bush. A teacher of Mathematics and Computing, she began her writing career four years ago. Her first film, Small Love, which was broadcast on STV, was nominated for TAPS writer of the year award 2001. Her African short stories have been published in the 10th Anniversary Macallan collection and broadcast on BBC Radio Four.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
November 12, 2024
An outstanding police procedural that I liked very much except for one misstep.
WHISPERS OF THE DEAD is the eighteenth novel in author Lin Anderson’s series of Glasgow police procedurals featuring forensic scientist Rhona MacLeon and her team. I haven’t read any of the earlier books in the series but I easily followed the twists and turns of this one. Although it contains a large cast of characters, including ongoing narratives about team members, important relevant facts about their situations and personalities were conveyed briskly without dwelling on the past. Only a few details were mentioned about prior cases in the series, and consequently I should be able to read them without fear of “spoiling” my pleasure.
Brief Synopsis
The beginning: an unknown man near the end of a horrible torture, pushed to his death. Three young boys—Ally, Dreep, and Kev—find his naked, distorted body soon after this occurs and, in their hurry to leave the scene, lose a cell phone. Switch to Rhona MacLeon, who is visiting the Lilias Centre, a custodial community unit for women, where she meets Marnie Aitken, who is about to be released after serving a six-year sentence for manslaughter—the drowning of her four-year-old daughter, Tizzy. Then Rhona is called to examine the body of the tortured man and the environs where he was found.
Next, the star of a Hollywood film goes missing, and the star turns out to be a former local man. DS Michael McNab investigates this case. It is later disclosed that McNab had been part of the Marnie Aiken case until turfed out because he didn’t believe that Marnie was guilty.
Four investigative threads, that slowly converge. Told mainly through the POVs of Rhona MacLeon and DS McNab, interspersed with short chapters featuring either Ally’s viewpoint or Marnie’s. MacLeon and McNab work with a close-knit team, one that knows each other’s strengths and frailties. Ally is liked throughout the community; consequently, his danger is a worry to many. Marnie’s thinking processes are distorted, verging on mental illness, although understandable given her traumatic background; she talks to Tizzy but, more disturbing, believes that Tizzy is talking to her.
My Perspective
I love fast moving police procedurals, and I loved this one—read it as fast as my aging eyes permitted. During the past thirty years, I have followed several U.S. police procedural series, but few non-American ones because not many were available. I hope to remedy my omission of the Rhona MacLeon series by reading some of the earlier books.
There are sections of the story that are brutal, more harsh than many U.S. police procedurals that I have read, and violence against women, sexual and otherwise, appears several times. So be forewarned if descriptions of ruthlessness dismays you. Glasgow gangsters are not romanticized, as American gangsters sometimes are.
What I Didn’t Like
(1) Fairly minor irritation, but I did feel that food was mentioned too many times, used as if it soothed any discomfort. I did like Rhona’s approach towards cooking, maybe because it mirrored mine—’…something she had no patience for…’. However, overall, food seems to be consumed whenever there is need to ease tension—with witnesses, members of the team, etc.—and it felt exaggerated.
(2) More serious irritation was Rhona’s refusal to listen to a voice message left by someone who was a romantic interest in the past, and might possibly reconnect romantically with her. Rhona is written as a woman with a strong character, one who doesn’t evade hard decisions, so her unwillingness to listen to this voice message seemed out of character. It was played like a running joke but it wasn’t amusing.
(1) and (2) are my own personal peccadilloes, and probably wouldn’t bother other readers. Number 3 is more glaring.
(3) What disturbed me most was the ending with regards to the Marnie/Tizzy storyline. It could have been resolved in several ways, but to leave it unsettled, verging on a supernatural dimension, was not in keeping with the spirit of the novel.
Thus, for me, this was primarily a five-star read, but I removed one star because the ending of the “Tizzy” strand felt like a cop-out. I would have given it 4.5 stars had that been available, but rounded down because of the Marnie/Tizzy ending. (Supernatural is fine, in my opinion, but author Lin Anderson did not establish an atmosphere that would allow it.)
Thanks to the Greater Victoria Public Library for providing the ebook that I read.
WHISPERS OF THE DEAD is the eighteenth novel in author Lin Anderson’s series of Glasgow police procedurals featuring forensic scientist Rhona MacLeon and her team. I haven’t read any of the earlier books in the series but I easily followed the twists and turns of this one. Although it contains a large cast of characters, including ongoing narratives about team members, important relevant facts about their situations and personalities were conveyed briskly without dwelling on the past. Only a few details were mentioned about prior cases in the series, and consequently I should be able to read them without fear of “spoiling” my pleasure.
Brief Synopsis
The beginning: an unknown man near the end of a horrible torture, pushed to his death. Three young boys—Ally, Dreep, and Kev—find his naked, distorted body soon after this occurs and, in their hurry to leave the scene, lose a cell phone. Switch to Rhona MacLeon, who is visiting the Lilias Centre, a custodial community unit for women, where she meets Marnie Aitken, who is about to be released after serving a six-year sentence for manslaughter—the drowning of her four-year-old daughter, Tizzy. Then Rhona is called to examine the body of the tortured man and the environs where he was found.
Next, the star of a Hollywood film goes missing, and the star turns out to be a former local man. DS Michael McNab investigates this case. It is later disclosed that McNab had been part of the Marnie Aiken case until turfed out because he didn’t believe that Marnie was guilty.
Four investigative threads, that slowly converge. Told mainly through the POVs of Rhona MacLeon and DS McNab, interspersed with short chapters featuring either Ally’s viewpoint or Marnie’s. MacLeon and McNab work with a close-knit team, one that knows each other’s strengths and frailties. Ally is liked throughout the community; consequently, his danger is a worry to many. Marnie’s thinking processes are distorted, verging on mental illness, although understandable given her traumatic background; she talks to Tizzy but, more disturbing, believes that Tizzy is talking to her.
My Perspective
I love fast moving police procedurals, and I loved this one—read it as fast as my aging eyes permitted. During the past thirty years, I have followed several U.S. police procedural series, but few non-American ones because not many were available. I hope to remedy my omission of the Rhona MacLeon series by reading some of the earlier books.
There are sections of the story that are brutal, more harsh than many U.S. police procedurals that I have read, and violence against women, sexual and otherwise, appears several times. So be forewarned if descriptions of ruthlessness dismays you. Glasgow gangsters are not romanticized, as American gangsters sometimes are.
What I Didn’t Like
(1) Fairly minor irritation, but I did feel that food was mentioned too many times, used as if it soothed any discomfort. I did like Rhona’s approach towards cooking, maybe because it mirrored mine—’…something she had no patience for…’. However, overall, food seems to be consumed whenever there is need to ease tension—with witnesses, members of the team, etc.—and it felt exaggerated.
(2) More serious irritation was Rhona’s refusal to listen to a voice message left by someone who was a romantic interest in the past, and might possibly reconnect romantically with her. Rhona is written as a woman with a strong character, one who doesn’t evade hard decisions, so her unwillingness to listen to this voice message seemed out of character. It was played like a running joke but it wasn’t amusing.
(1) and (2) are my own personal peccadilloes, and probably wouldn’t bother other readers. Number 3 is more glaring.
(3) What disturbed me most was the ending with regards to the Marnie/Tizzy storyline. It could have been resolved in several ways, but to leave it unsettled, verging on a supernatural dimension, was not in keeping with the spirit of the novel.
Thus, for me, this was primarily a five-star read, but I removed one star because the ending of the “Tizzy” strand felt like a cop-out. I would have given it 4.5 stars had that been available, but rounded down because of the Marnie/Tizzy ending. (Supernatural is fine, in my opinion, but author Lin Anderson did not establish an atmosphere that would allow it.)
Thanks to the Greater Victoria Public Library for providing the ebook that I read.
June 26, 2025
This superb Scottish crime novel is the 18th volume of the realistic and lifelike "Rhona MacLeod" series.
At the beginning of the book you'll find a well-drawn map of Glasgow and Kilcreggan, the two places of most interest in this tale of love, fear and murder.
Storytelling is sublime, the story is excellently structured and executed, all characters come splendidly to life in this tale about retribution, revenge, torture and death, while the whispering, talking to and asking for advice from a beloved deceased one, in particular Marnie Aitken and her daughter Tizzy as well as DI Wilson and his beloved late wife Margaret, these heartfelt moments and actions have a special meaning for me, for I'm doing the same right now together with my beloved late mum, who died a couple of weeks ago.
The story is mainly taking place in Glasgow, but with also a few interesting outings in Kilcreggan, and for DR Rhona MacLeod another interesting murder case to solve, where a film is now taking place based on facts from brutal happenings in Glasgow years ago, and these brutal happenings from way back when will be the instigator for the retributions to come to certain people involved with the film and from Glasgow itself.
In this case of torture and death Rhona will get the usual help from her assistant Chrissy McInsh, from DI Wilson as her mentor in all things of policework, while the investigations themselves will be in the capable hands of DS Michael McNab and DS Janice Clark, and all the work that needs to be done will eventually lead them to the culprit(s) of these horrors and at the same time hopefully save innocent lives in the process.
What is to follow is a brilliant well researched and heartfelt human crime novel, with plenty of realistic actions and results, and all this is brought to us in a most wonderful fashion by the author.
Very much recommended, for tis is tremendous addition to this terrific series, and that's why I like to call this latest episode: "A Thrilling Whispering Voice"!
At the beginning of the book you'll find a well-drawn map of Glasgow and Kilcreggan, the two places of most interest in this tale of love, fear and murder.
Storytelling is sublime, the story is excellently structured and executed, all characters come splendidly to life in this tale about retribution, revenge, torture and death, while the whispering, talking to and asking for advice from a beloved deceased one, in particular Marnie Aitken and her daughter Tizzy as well as DI Wilson and his beloved late wife Margaret, these heartfelt moments and actions have a special meaning for me, for I'm doing the same right now together with my beloved late mum, who died a couple of weeks ago.
The story is mainly taking place in Glasgow, but with also a few interesting outings in Kilcreggan, and for DR Rhona MacLeod another interesting murder case to solve, where a film is now taking place based on facts from brutal happenings in Glasgow years ago, and these brutal happenings from way back when will be the instigator for the retributions to come to certain people involved with the film and from Glasgow itself.
In this case of torture and death Rhona will get the usual help from her assistant Chrissy McInsh, from DI Wilson as her mentor in all things of policework, while the investigations themselves will be in the capable hands of DS Michael McNab and DS Janice Clark, and all the work that needs to be done will eventually lead them to the culprit(s) of these horrors and at the same time hopefully save innocent lives in the process.
What is to follow is a brilliant well researched and heartfelt human crime novel, with plenty of realistic actions and results, and all this is brought to us in a most wonderful fashion by the author.
Very much recommended, for tis is tremendous addition to this terrific series, and that's why I like to call this latest episode: "A Thrilling Whispering Voice"!
August 1, 2024
Happy publication day 🎉🥳
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
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
August 3, 2024
A body of a man is found in an old farmhouse in Glasgow’s Elder Park. The man was tied up to a chair, and his eyes and mouth were sewn shut.
Rhona McLeod, the forensic scientist, is called to the scene. The postmortem reveals that the man has swallowed an engraved bullet with an image of a snake with its forked tongue curling out.
At the same time, a Hollywood movie is being filmed in Glasgow. The main star, Jason Endeavour, has gone missing.
When DS McNab discovers that Jason is originally from Glasgow and his real name is Lewis McLean, he begins to wonder whether the man they found in Elder Park is, in fact, the missing actor.
Are the two cases connected?
I loved this book.
This is the eighteenth book in the series; you can read it as a standalone, but I do recommend you read the whole lot. There are references to what happened previously, for example, McNab’s relationship with Ellie and Rhona’s relationship with Sean.
In this book, McNab suffers PTSD flashbacks from when the Russians kidnapped him- again, something that featured in the previous stories.
Rhona McLeod series of books always deliver and they never disappoint. Whispers of the Dead has a brilliant plot and subplot running throughout, and I loved how the two came together in the end.
Rhona has been with me through some of my worst (and best) moments, I honestly feel like she is my friend. I don’t accept she is a fictional character!
Rhona McLeod, the forensic scientist, is called to the scene. The postmortem reveals that the man has swallowed an engraved bullet with an image of a snake with its forked tongue curling out.
At the same time, a Hollywood movie is being filmed in Glasgow. The main star, Jason Endeavour, has gone missing.
When DS McNab discovers that Jason is originally from Glasgow and his real name is Lewis McLean, he begins to wonder whether the man they found in Elder Park is, in fact, the missing actor.
Are the two cases connected?
I loved this book.
This is the eighteenth book in the series; you can read it as a standalone, but I do recommend you read the whole lot. There are references to what happened previously, for example, McNab’s relationship with Ellie and Rhona’s relationship with Sean.
In this book, McNab suffers PTSD flashbacks from when the Russians kidnapped him- again, something that featured in the previous stories.
Rhona McLeod series of books always deliver and they never disappoint. Whispers of the Dead has a brilliant plot and subplot running throughout, and I loved how the two came together in the end.
Rhona has been with me through some of my worst (and best) moments, I honestly feel like she is my friend. I don’t accept she is a fictional character!
June 18, 2025
I'm a latecomer to Scottish author Lin Anderson's series featuring Glasgow-based forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod and Police Detective Michael McNab, but I'm hooked! I'm hoping to read the series in chronological order from the start in 2025.
Whispers of the Dead, the 18th book in the series, opens with the discovery by three young teenagers of a man who's been strapped to a chair, horribly tortured and pushed out a window, in the lead up to a snowy Christmas in Glasgow. Both Rhona MacLeod and D.I. Michael McNab become involved in the investigation, first to identify the body, then to determine who had the motivation to torture and kill him and why.
Meanwhile, Rhona meets inmate Marnie Aitken on a visit to Glasgow's women's correctional facility. Marnie is on the cusp of being released, having served her sentence for the manslaughter of her four-year-old daughter, a crime she confessed to at the time. It transpires that McNab was involved in the investigation of Tizzy Aitken's death, and was unconvinced at the time by Marnie's confession. Can Rhona use her bond with the grieving Marnie to discover what really happened to her daughter six years previously?
Whispers of the Dead is a twisty and compelling crime thriller, combining gritty gangland themes with moments of pathos and reflection. The setting of a freezing winter on the Clyde and the nearby Rosneath Peninsula is visceral, even for a reader like me who has never been there.
Whispers of the Dead, the 18th book in the series, opens with the discovery by three young teenagers of a man who's been strapped to a chair, horribly tortured and pushed out a window, in the lead up to a snowy Christmas in Glasgow. Both Rhona MacLeod and D.I. Michael McNab become involved in the investigation, first to identify the body, then to determine who had the motivation to torture and kill him and why.
Meanwhile, Rhona meets inmate Marnie Aitken on a visit to Glasgow's women's correctional facility. Marnie is on the cusp of being released, having served her sentence for the manslaughter of her four-year-old daughter, a crime she confessed to at the time. It transpires that McNab was involved in the investigation of Tizzy Aitken's death, and was unconvinced at the time by Marnie's confession. Can Rhona use her bond with the grieving Marnie to discover what really happened to her daughter six years previously?
Whispers of the Dead is a twisty and compelling crime thriller, combining gritty gangland themes with moments of pathos and reflection. The setting of a freezing winter on the Clyde and the nearby Rosneath Peninsula is visceral, even for a reader like me who has never been there.
August 11, 2024
Rhona MacLeod is back and she and her team might be facing one of their most perplexing cases yet!
When the body of an unknown man is found strapped to a chair in Glasgow’s Elder Park, the initial signs point to a gangland killing. The victim had clearly been tortured – his eyes and mouth sewn shut – before being thrown out of an upper floor window and left to freeze. When a bullet engraved with a snake’s head is found in the man’s stomach during the post-mortem, all initial signs point appear to point to gang violence.
But when the star of a Hollywood film goes missing, DS Michael McNab begins to think there might be more to the Elder Park killing than meets the eye. The missing actor, Jason Endeavour, turns out to be a local man, Lewis McLean. And Lewis might be connected to an even older crime: the death of a young girl, Tizzy Aitken. Tizzy’s mother Marnie has just been released from prison after serving a six year prison sentence for her daughter’s manslaughter. But Marnie swears that Tizzy isn’t dead. She wants forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacLeod to help her prove it. And to convince her, she sends her a child’s doll. One that has its eyes and mouth sewn shut…
Whispers of the Dead is the eighteenth in Lin Anderson’s series of Scottish crime thrillers to feature forensic scientist Rhoda MacLeod and her team. Readers new to the series need not worry, however. As with the previous two entries that I reviewed for this blog – The Killing Tide and The Wild Coast – Whispers of the Dead features a self-contained mystery and does an excellent job of bringing new readers up to speed with the lives of returning characters without offering up any major spoilers. Whilst past cases are referred to, the outcomes are mentioned only tangentially and, with the exception of one incident from a previous novel involving DS Michael McNab (the after-effects of which are explored in this novel), the major plot beats in Whispers of the Dead are centred upon the new cases that the team are investigating.
Although I’ve only read a few books in the series so far (something I very much want to rectify), one of the things that I love about picking up a new Lin Anderson is returning into the world of Rhona and her colleagues. Anderson really manages to convey that this is a team of people who have worked together for a long time and who know one another’s flaws and foibles. Returning characters such as fellow forensic investigator Chrissy McInsh, psychologist Dr Magnus Pirie, tech expert Ollie, and McNab’s long-suffering partner DC Janice Clark are always a delight to rediscover whilst series stalwarts Rhona MacLeod and Michael McNab are both forced to contemplate the downsides of being married to the job.
The returning cast is accompanied by an intriguing bunch of new characters including Marnie Aitken, mother of the missing Tizzy, and Allie, a young boy from Linthouse whose connection with Elder Park could put him and his mates in very real danger. The main narrative, which switches between the perspectives of Rhona and McNab, is occasionally interspersed with chapters from the viewpoints of Allie and Marnie which makes for a refreshing change of pace whilst also upping the stakes by revealing information that is often not yet in the hands of the investigative team.
The case itself is another good one and, as usual with a Lin Anderson novel, I am in awe of the way in which Anderson keeps all of the plot threads in hand whilst expertly weaving in connections and tying off loose threads. Her novels are always narratively satisfying and manage the perfect balance between giving the reader enough clues and allowing her detectives to stay one step ahead!
I’ve said in previous reviews of this series that Lin Anderson’s books deserve to be spoken about in the same breath as Ian Rankin or Ann Cleaves. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of the Rhona MacLeod novels that I have read and its rapidly becoming one of my favourite ongoing crime series. At eighteen book in, the pace shows absolutely no sign of dropping off and, hopefully, there will be plenty more to come from Rhona and the team. In the meantime, lovers of a good crime thriller need to get themselves into this series and could do far worse than starting here.
NB: This review also appears on my blog at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpre... as part of the blog tour for the book. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
When the body of an unknown man is found strapped to a chair in Glasgow’s Elder Park, the initial signs point to a gangland killing. The victim had clearly been tortured – his eyes and mouth sewn shut – before being thrown out of an upper floor window and left to freeze. When a bullet engraved with a snake’s head is found in the man’s stomach during the post-mortem, all initial signs point appear to point to gang violence.
But when the star of a Hollywood film goes missing, DS Michael McNab begins to think there might be more to the Elder Park killing than meets the eye. The missing actor, Jason Endeavour, turns out to be a local man, Lewis McLean. And Lewis might be connected to an even older crime: the death of a young girl, Tizzy Aitken. Tizzy’s mother Marnie has just been released from prison after serving a six year prison sentence for her daughter’s manslaughter. But Marnie swears that Tizzy isn’t dead. She wants forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacLeod to help her prove it. And to convince her, she sends her a child’s doll. One that has its eyes and mouth sewn shut…
Whispers of the Dead is the eighteenth in Lin Anderson’s series of Scottish crime thrillers to feature forensic scientist Rhoda MacLeod and her team. Readers new to the series need not worry, however. As with the previous two entries that I reviewed for this blog – The Killing Tide and The Wild Coast – Whispers of the Dead features a self-contained mystery and does an excellent job of bringing new readers up to speed with the lives of returning characters without offering up any major spoilers. Whilst past cases are referred to, the outcomes are mentioned only tangentially and, with the exception of one incident from a previous novel involving DS Michael McNab (the after-effects of which are explored in this novel), the major plot beats in Whispers of the Dead are centred upon the new cases that the team are investigating.
Although I’ve only read a few books in the series so far (something I very much want to rectify), one of the things that I love about picking up a new Lin Anderson is returning into the world of Rhona and her colleagues. Anderson really manages to convey that this is a team of people who have worked together for a long time and who know one another’s flaws and foibles. Returning characters such as fellow forensic investigator Chrissy McInsh, psychologist Dr Magnus Pirie, tech expert Ollie, and McNab’s long-suffering partner DC Janice Clark are always a delight to rediscover whilst series stalwarts Rhona MacLeod and Michael McNab are both forced to contemplate the downsides of being married to the job.
The returning cast is accompanied by an intriguing bunch of new characters including Marnie Aitken, mother of the missing Tizzy, and Allie, a young boy from Linthouse whose connection with Elder Park could put him and his mates in very real danger. The main narrative, which switches between the perspectives of Rhona and McNab, is occasionally interspersed with chapters from the viewpoints of Allie and Marnie which makes for a refreshing change of pace whilst also upping the stakes by revealing information that is often not yet in the hands of the investigative team.
The case itself is another good one and, as usual with a Lin Anderson novel, I am in awe of the way in which Anderson keeps all of the plot threads in hand whilst expertly weaving in connections and tying off loose threads. Her novels are always narratively satisfying and manage the perfect balance between giving the reader enough clues and allowing her detectives to stay one step ahead!
I’ve said in previous reviews of this series that Lin Anderson’s books deserve to be spoken about in the same breath as Ian Rankin or Ann Cleaves. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of the Rhona MacLeod novels that I have read and its rapidly becoming one of my favourite ongoing crime series. At eighteen book in, the pace shows absolutely no sign of dropping off and, hopefully, there will be plenty more to come from Rhona and the team. In the meantime, lovers of a good crime thriller need to get themselves into this series and could do far worse than starting here.
NB: This review also appears on my blog at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpre... as part of the blog tour for the book. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
September 26, 2024
Brilliant suspense. Love this series with it’s wonderfully complex but thoroughly likeable characters.
August 19, 2024
Coming to a new Rhona MacLeod book is like meeting an old friend after a bit of a break. You’re longing to see them; they have new and exciting things to tell you and you fall right back into the swing of their life without hesitation.
The good thing about these books is that each can easily be read as a stand-alone, but read in series, the character development really invests the reader in the outcome of the team’s cases.
In Whispers of the Dead, Lin Anderson does a terrific job of setting the atmosphere of Elder Park in Govan. In the depths of winter, on the cold, dark streets of Govan, three young lads are up to a small amount of no good when they come across an horrific sight. Dreep, Ally and Kevin have been using the derelict Fairfield Farmhouse as their den away from the world and they are on their way there when they literally fall across the naked body of a man tied to a chair. His eyes and mouth have been sewn shut and he has very clearly been burned and badly beaten.
The boys are terrified and do a runner, but one of them drops the phone he was carrying; a phone he had used to take a photo of the victim. It’s a mistake that will come back to haunt him.
DI Wilson’s team, including DS Michael McNab and DS Janice Clark start up a murder investigation the following morning as forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod and her ever hungry assistant Chrissy McInsh begin work on the scene.
The victim is a handsome chap and it appears his stomach contents may harbour a clue to what happened to him. Is this some kind of gangland killing?
In Central Glasgow the streets are closed for yet another Hollywood movie filming, but the lead actor, Jason Endeavour, has gone missing. Is his disappearance connected to the Elder Park body?
Lin Anderson combines these two mysteries with another strange puzzle. Marnie Aitken served six years for the murder of her four-year-old daughter, Tizzy, despite the fact that no trace of Tizzy, dead or alive, has ever been found. Marnie is known to Rhona MacLeod through Rhona’s talks in the Lilias Centre, a women’s prison, and her colleague, psychiatrist Professor Magnus Pirie also knows Marnie. Now Marnie has been released and is in sheltered accommodation. She, too, disappears, but has left a present for Rhona. It is a beautiful hand-made doll; a Highland dancer just like Tizzy. But this doll’s lips have been sewn shut. What is Marnie trying to tell Rhona?
D.I.Michael McNab never believed Marnie was guilty, but he was removed from the original investigation. Marnie herself had a difficult life abused as a child and as a young woman. In her grief she speaks to her dead daughter and believes she can hear Tizzy answer. It’s a heart-breaking situation and Rhona feels for Marnie. As a reader, you too are filled with empathy for her character and what she has experienced.
As you read this thoroughly engrossing book, what comes through is the authenticity of the surroundings and the atmospheric descriptions which resonate throughout the book. The pace is measured and nothing seems false or contrived. The characters are three dimensional, rounded and with depth and although you do get more of their personal interactions, this never overwhelms the acute plot lines. There is danger throughout this book and the villains are as bad as you might imagine.
Verdict: Well-researched and brimming with information, this is such a compelling plot with different threads which are effortlessly drawn together in a thrilling and tension fuelled conclusion. There are many characters to engage with but Marnie is such a heartbreaker and the characters of young Ally and his pals Kev and Dreep are beautifully drawn. This is a series that never loses its freshness and stays completely current. I recommend it to all lovers of dark crime fiction with true grit and characters you’ll want to get to know.
The good thing about these books is that each can easily be read as a stand-alone, but read in series, the character development really invests the reader in the outcome of the team’s cases.
In Whispers of the Dead, Lin Anderson does a terrific job of setting the atmosphere of Elder Park in Govan. In the depths of winter, on the cold, dark streets of Govan, three young lads are up to a small amount of no good when they come across an horrific sight. Dreep, Ally and Kevin have been using the derelict Fairfield Farmhouse as their den away from the world and they are on their way there when they literally fall across the naked body of a man tied to a chair. His eyes and mouth have been sewn shut and he has very clearly been burned and badly beaten.
The boys are terrified and do a runner, but one of them drops the phone he was carrying; a phone he had used to take a photo of the victim. It’s a mistake that will come back to haunt him.
DI Wilson’s team, including DS Michael McNab and DS Janice Clark start up a murder investigation the following morning as forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod and her ever hungry assistant Chrissy McInsh begin work on the scene.
The victim is a handsome chap and it appears his stomach contents may harbour a clue to what happened to him. Is this some kind of gangland killing?
In Central Glasgow the streets are closed for yet another Hollywood movie filming, but the lead actor, Jason Endeavour, has gone missing. Is his disappearance connected to the Elder Park body?
Lin Anderson combines these two mysteries with another strange puzzle. Marnie Aitken served six years for the murder of her four-year-old daughter, Tizzy, despite the fact that no trace of Tizzy, dead or alive, has ever been found. Marnie is known to Rhona MacLeod through Rhona’s talks in the Lilias Centre, a women’s prison, and her colleague, psychiatrist Professor Magnus Pirie also knows Marnie. Now Marnie has been released and is in sheltered accommodation. She, too, disappears, but has left a present for Rhona. It is a beautiful hand-made doll; a Highland dancer just like Tizzy. But this doll’s lips have been sewn shut. What is Marnie trying to tell Rhona?
D.I.Michael McNab never believed Marnie was guilty, but he was removed from the original investigation. Marnie herself had a difficult life abused as a child and as a young woman. In her grief she speaks to her dead daughter and believes she can hear Tizzy answer. It’s a heart-breaking situation and Rhona feels for Marnie. As a reader, you too are filled with empathy for her character and what she has experienced.
As you read this thoroughly engrossing book, what comes through is the authenticity of the surroundings and the atmospheric descriptions which resonate throughout the book. The pace is measured and nothing seems false or contrived. The characters are three dimensional, rounded and with depth and although you do get more of their personal interactions, this never overwhelms the acute plot lines. There is danger throughout this book and the villains are as bad as you might imagine.
Verdict: Well-researched and brimming with information, this is such a compelling plot with different threads which are effortlessly drawn together in a thrilling and tension fuelled conclusion. There are many characters to engage with but Marnie is such a heartbreaker and the characters of young Ally and his pals Kev and Dreep are beautifully drawn. This is a series that never loses its freshness and stays completely current. I recommend it to all lovers of dark crime fiction with true grit and characters you’ll want to get to know.
August 11, 2024
Lin Anderson's battle-hardened forensic investigator Dr Rhona MacLeod returns to make another journey through the grisly physical mayhem that some human beings inflict on others. In a disused and vandalised farmhouse in Glasgow's Elder Park, a man's body has been found. His eyes and mouth have been sewn shut and, strapped to a metal chair, he has been thrown through an upstairs window. A trio of teenage scallies have been using the old building as a base for their minor law-breaking, and they are the first people to see the body,
In another part of the city, an American film crew have informed the police that their leading man is missing. With the assistance of DS McNab, who has interviewed the movie-makers, Rhona MacLeod becomes involved, and wonders if the missing actor is the mutilated corpse found in the park.
At the very beginning of the book Lin Anderson introduces what develops into a parallel plot thread. A woman called Marnie Aitken has served six years in prison for the murder of her four year-old daughter, Tizzy, despite the fact that no trace of Tizzy, dead or alive, has ever been found. Marnie is known to Rhona MacLeod, and to her colleague, psychiatrist Professor Magnus Pirie. On her release, Marnie - abused as a child and as a young woman - is placed in sheltered accommodation. She goes missing. but not before sending a bizarre gift to Rhona. It is a beautifully sewn and knitted doll, in the likeness of a young Highland dancer. Rhona realises its significance, as Tizzy Aitken was a promising dancer, but she is also appalled to see that the doll's lips have been sewn shut with black thread. What message is Marnie sending?
Marnie is located at her old cottage on the Rosneath Peninsula, and but she returns to Glasgow, where the police find that she is linked - albeit at a tangent - the the killing of the man in Elder Park. Meanwhile, DS McNab - who was involved in the original investigation into Tizzy's disappearance, but kicked off the case - has realised that the script and screenplay of the film - now abandoned after the disappearance of its star - is inextricably tangled up with the murder.
Right from the beginning of the novel, we know that Marnie still talks to Tizzy, and Tizzy still talks to her. Is this merely, as Magnus Pirie suggests, a grieving woman's way of coping with her loss? Or is it something else? On the first page of the book, Marnie looks out of the window:
"It was at that moment the figure of a girl, dressed in a kilt and blue velvet jacket, arrived to tramp across the snow in front of the main gate. As though sensing someone watching, the girl stopped and turned to look over at her. Marnie stood transfixed, then shut her eyes, her heart hammering. 'She's not real. It's a waking nightmare. When I look again, she won't be there.'
And she was right.
When Marnie forced her eyes open, the figure had gone, or more likely, it had never been there in the first place except there were footprints in the snow to prove otherwise."
When Rhona visits Marnie's seaside cottage, she walks down to the beach where Tizzy used to go with her mother:
"The snow at sea level had gone and the muddy ruts were studded with puddles and the shape of footsteps leading both ways. Her forensic eye noted three in particular, ranging in size: a small childlike print, a medium one and a large one, going in both directions."
Lin Anderson doesn't resolve this for us. She leaves us to draw our conclusions, and I suppose it depends on how feel about Hamlet's oft-quoted words to Horatio in Act 1 Scene 5 of the celebrated play. The police procedural part of this novel plays out in the favour of the good guys, but aside from this, Lin Anderson has written a thoughtful and moving account of the nature of grief, and the indelible legacy that the death
In another part of the city, an American film crew have informed the police that their leading man is missing. With the assistance of DS McNab, who has interviewed the movie-makers, Rhona MacLeod becomes involved, and wonders if the missing actor is the mutilated corpse found in the park.
At the very beginning of the book Lin Anderson introduces what develops into a parallel plot thread. A woman called Marnie Aitken has served six years in prison for the murder of her four year-old daughter, Tizzy, despite the fact that no trace of Tizzy, dead or alive, has ever been found. Marnie is known to Rhona MacLeod, and to her colleague, psychiatrist Professor Magnus Pirie. On her release, Marnie - abused as a child and as a young woman - is placed in sheltered accommodation. She goes missing. but not before sending a bizarre gift to Rhona. It is a beautifully sewn and knitted doll, in the likeness of a young Highland dancer. Rhona realises its significance, as Tizzy Aitken was a promising dancer, but she is also appalled to see that the doll's lips have been sewn shut with black thread. What message is Marnie sending?
Marnie is located at her old cottage on the Rosneath Peninsula, and but she returns to Glasgow, where the police find that she is linked - albeit at a tangent - the the killing of the man in Elder Park. Meanwhile, DS McNab - who was involved in the original investigation into Tizzy's disappearance, but kicked off the case - has realised that the script and screenplay of the film - now abandoned after the disappearance of its star - is inextricably tangled up with the murder.
Right from the beginning of the novel, we know that Marnie still talks to Tizzy, and Tizzy still talks to her. Is this merely, as Magnus Pirie suggests, a grieving woman's way of coping with her loss? Or is it something else? On the first page of the book, Marnie looks out of the window:
"It was at that moment the figure of a girl, dressed in a kilt and blue velvet jacket, arrived to tramp across the snow in front of the main gate. As though sensing someone watching, the girl stopped and turned to look over at her. Marnie stood transfixed, then shut her eyes, her heart hammering. 'She's not real. It's a waking nightmare. When I look again, she won't be there.'
And she was right.
When Marnie forced her eyes open, the figure had gone, or more likely, it had never been there in the first place except there were footprints in the snow to prove otherwise."
When Rhona visits Marnie's seaside cottage, she walks down to the beach where Tizzy used to go with her mother:
"The snow at sea level had gone and the muddy ruts were studded with puddles and the shape of footsteps leading both ways. Her forensic eye noted three in particular, ranging in size: a small childlike print, a medium one and a large one, going in both directions."
Lin Anderson doesn't resolve this for us. She leaves us to draw our conclusions, and I suppose it depends on how feel about Hamlet's oft-quoted words to Horatio in Act 1 Scene 5 of the celebrated play. The police procedural part of this novel plays out in the favour of the good guys, but aside from this, Lin Anderson has written a thoughtful and moving account of the nature of grief, and the indelible legacy that the death
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February 23, 2025Lin Anderson has made the most of the forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod series. WHISPERS OF THE DEAD, is book eighteen in the series, and those who have been with this series long-term have seen many evolutions of the character. Rhona is someone who goes that extra mile to make sure that justice is served, using her analytical mind to deduce when crimes are committed.
She will definitely have to use every bit of her intuition and knowledge, as she faces a most puzzling case. The book begins with a man tied to a metal chair. His eyes and mouth have been sewn shut and he is sent crashing through a window to certain death below. The man is found strapped to the chair by three young boys, Dreep, Ally, and Kevin, who are shocked to find the body in the middle of a field. In their rush to get away, one happens to drop their cell phone, making the boy afraid the police will think he had something to do with the death. He even took a body of the corpse for some reason, making him even more paranoid about what the police might think.
When the body is discovered, Rhona comes to the scene to add her theories. She thinks it may be somehow gangland-related. DS Michael McNab is also assigned to the case, but there is more happening. A star of a movie is missing. Jason Endeavor is nowhere to be found, prompting police to wonder if somehow the missing man and the body found, could somehow be connected.
There is another interesting story in the book, which involves a woman named Marnie Aitken, who has been in prison for six years because she was convicted of killing her four year old daughter Tizzy. The child’s body was never found, with Marnie always proclaiming her innocence. Rhona came to know her through her talks in the women’s prison, where she served her sentence. Marnie goes to a sheltered location for women, but not long after, disappears.
Marnie has left a doll for Rhona, which was made by her. It is to look like a Highland dancer which little Tizzy was. But the doll’s lips have been sewn shut, like the victim that was found out in the field. Does this signify a connection to the death of the man and the child?
There are other missing people, as the puzzle deepens, and the answers are not coming as quickly as the questions. Lin Anderson has managed to create quite the riveting story, with so much occurring throughout, as police seek answers before there are more victims. Will those answers solve the puzzles or make things even more confusing? WHISPERS OF THE DEAD is one of the most complex and thrilling books in this much-loved series.
She will definitely have to use every bit of her intuition and knowledge, as she faces a most puzzling case. The book begins with a man tied to a metal chair. His eyes and mouth have been sewn shut and he is sent crashing through a window to certain death below. The man is found strapped to the chair by three young boys, Dreep, Ally, and Kevin, who are shocked to find the body in the middle of a field. In their rush to get away, one happens to drop their cell phone, making the boy afraid the police will think he had something to do with the death. He even took a body of the corpse for some reason, making him even more paranoid about what the police might think.
When the body is discovered, Rhona comes to the scene to add her theories. She thinks it may be somehow gangland-related. DS Michael McNab is also assigned to the case, but there is more happening. A star of a movie is missing. Jason Endeavor is nowhere to be found, prompting police to wonder if somehow the missing man and the body found, could somehow be connected.
There is another interesting story in the book, which involves a woman named Marnie Aitken, who has been in prison for six years because she was convicted of killing her four year old daughter Tizzy. The child’s body was never found, with Marnie always proclaiming her innocence. Rhona came to know her through her talks in the women’s prison, where she served her sentence. Marnie goes to a sheltered location for women, but not long after, disappears.
Marnie has left a doll for Rhona, which was made by her. It is to look like a Highland dancer which little Tizzy was. But the doll’s lips have been sewn shut, like the victim that was found out in the field. Does this signify a connection to the death of the man and the child?
There are other missing people, as the puzzle deepens, and the answers are not coming as quickly as the questions. Lin Anderson has managed to create quite the riveting story, with so much occurring throughout, as police seek answers before there are more victims. Will those answers solve the puzzles or make things even more confusing? WHISPERS OF THE DEAD is one of the most complex and thrilling books in this much-loved series.
August 22, 2024
Here is my review of Whispers Of The Dead by Lin Anderson
Wow! The start to this book just dragged me in right from the start. It was just fantastic! A brilliant way to start it, with a body right at the start, just who are they? Are they the missing actor? DS Michael McNab wants to speak to Ally, a young teenager who chatted to Rhona and Chrissy at the crime scene so he chases him down but he was right and the teenager was in danger. His mum is worried after a visit from the police but they were looking out for her boy and trying to protect him from someone but they were too late. They had to find his friends though. This was a fantastic read with twists and turns all through the book. This is a series that has passed me by and has to be put right. This series has to go on my reading pile right away as it seems to be brilliantly written and researched by the author, Lin Anderson. It’s along the lines of Patricia Cornwall and Tess Gerritsen and I loved those, just as I loved this book. Plenty of reading for me to catch up on as this is book eighteen but I found it easy enough to read as a standalone.
Blurb :
A gangland slaying. A missing movie star. When an actor goes missing in Glasgow, the clue to his whereabouts could be in the film script itself. Whispers of the Dead is a gripping thriller from Lin Anderson.
In the dead of night, a man’s body is found strapped to a chair in Glasgow’s Elder Park, his identity unknown. As forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod examines the scene, the violence on display suggests a gangland feud could be the cause. At the post-mortem, a bullet engraved with a snake’s head is found in the man’s stomach, lending weight to the theory.
Elsewhere in the city, a major Hollywood movie is being filmed. But shooting comes to a standstill when its lead actor is reported missing. As the news spreads, Police Scotland believe the two cases may be connected.
DS Michael McNab thinks the key to finding those responsible could be the film itself. A storyline playing out in real-life on the streets of Glasgow with a killer intent on revenge at any cost. A vendetta which must be paid in blood . . .
Though they can be enjoyed in any order, Whispers of the Dead is the eighteenth book in the Rhona MacLeod series.
Wow! The start to this book just dragged me in right from the start. It was just fantastic! A brilliant way to start it, with a body right at the start, just who are they? Are they the missing actor? DS Michael McNab wants to speak to Ally, a young teenager who chatted to Rhona and Chrissy at the crime scene so he chases him down but he was right and the teenager was in danger. His mum is worried after a visit from the police but they were looking out for her boy and trying to protect him from someone but they were too late. They had to find his friends though. This was a fantastic read with twists and turns all through the book. This is a series that has passed me by and has to be put right. This series has to go on my reading pile right away as it seems to be brilliantly written and researched by the author, Lin Anderson. It’s along the lines of Patricia Cornwall and Tess Gerritsen and I loved those, just as I loved this book. Plenty of reading for me to catch up on as this is book eighteen but I found it easy enough to read as a standalone.
Blurb :
A gangland slaying. A missing movie star. When an actor goes missing in Glasgow, the clue to his whereabouts could be in the film script itself. Whispers of the Dead is a gripping thriller from Lin Anderson.
In the dead of night, a man’s body is found strapped to a chair in Glasgow’s Elder Park, his identity unknown. As forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod examines the scene, the violence on display suggests a gangland feud could be the cause. At the post-mortem, a bullet engraved with a snake’s head is found in the man’s stomach, lending weight to the theory.
Elsewhere in the city, a major Hollywood movie is being filmed. But shooting comes to a standstill when its lead actor is reported missing. As the news spreads, Police Scotland believe the two cases may be connected.
DS Michael McNab thinks the key to finding those responsible could be the film itself. A storyline playing out in real-life on the streets of Glasgow with a killer intent on revenge at any cost. A vendetta which must be paid in blood . . .
Though they can be enjoyed in any order, Whispers of the Dead is the eighteenth book in the Rhona MacLeod series.
August 20, 2024
‘Whispers of the Dead’ is the latest book from one of my favourite authors, Lin Anderson. It was a dark and twisted tale, full of tangible Weegie characters and a story so engrossing I flew through it in one day! This is the 18th book in the series but this can be easily read as a standalone, as it is very much is own story. I do recommend reading the series though as they are cracking intelligent books - a shining example of gritty tartan noir.
Dr Rhona MacLeod, a forensic scientist is called to a horrifying scene of a tortured man strapped to a chair in the garden of an old derelict farmhouse in Elder Park, Govan. Ally Feeney and his mates Dreep and Kev had stumbled on the body and fled pretty quickly but Dreep dropped his phone somewhere and Ally was tasked to go back and find it. Unfortunately, the cops got there first! Rhona also meets a prisoner, Marnie whilst holding a forensic course in the local prison. She is said to have killed her daughter but has never told her story. She has created a beautiful highland dancer doll and on her release a few days later she sends it to Rhona. Rhona is wondering if she is asking for help and did she really kill her daughter Tizzy. DS McNab who worked on the case 6 years ago definitely thought there was more to it than Marnie ever said.
Anderson has created two brilliant characters in Ally and Marnie. Both from around Elderpark and in my eyes they show how a immature and innocent young adult can be affected by the circumstances of their geographical and environmental situation. Ally is the before and Marnie the after. But both have a heart of gold, they are someone you could root for as a reader and they made the main cast of characters fade into the background slightly. I just wanted to know that they were safe. This was definitely a book in which the victims/witnesses shine the brightest.
This was a brilliant read, a real page-turner and full of interesting scientific details. This series is always going to be an auto-read and that's because the writing is seamless, the research impeccable and the characters are nuanced and very relatable. Roll on book 19!
Let me know if you pick this one up!
Dr Rhona MacLeod, a forensic scientist is called to a horrifying scene of a tortured man strapped to a chair in the garden of an old derelict farmhouse in Elder Park, Govan. Ally Feeney and his mates Dreep and Kev had stumbled on the body and fled pretty quickly but Dreep dropped his phone somewhere and Ally was tasked to go back and find it. Unfortunately, the cops got there first! Rhona also meets a prisoner, Marnie whilst holding a forensic course in the local prison. She is said to have killed her daughter but has never told her story. She has created a beautiful highland dancer doll and on her release a few days later she sends it to Rhona. Rhona is wondering if she is asking for help and did she really kill her daughter Tizzy. DS McNab who worked on the case 6 years ago definitely thought there was more to it than Marnie ever said.
Anderson has created two brilliant characters in Ally and Marnie. Both from around Elderpark and in my eyes they show how a immature and innocent young adult can be affected by the circumstances of their geographical and environmental situation. Ally is the before and Marnie the after. But both have a heart of gold, they are someone you could root for as a reader and they made the main cast of characters fade into the background slightly. I just wanted to know that they were safe. This was definitely a book in which the victims/witnesses shine the brightest.
This was a brilliant read, a real page-turner and full of interesting scientific details. This series is always going to be an auto-read and that's because the writing is seamless, the research impeccable and the characters are nuanced and very relatable. Roll on book 19!
Let me know if you pick this one up!
August 2, 2024
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.
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.
August 12, 2025
I’ve been a big fan of this series since the beginning, and it’s always a pleasure to catch up with the familiar cast of characters. This easy familiarity is one of the main reasons I enjoy reading long-standing crime series (this is number eighteen featuring forensic scientist Rhona Macleod) particularly those set in my home country of Scotland. You don’t have to spend a lot of time trying to work out who the main characters are, where the action is taking place, and can just jump right into the narrative.
Glasgow is often used to stand in for American cities in films and TV series, and here DS McNab is called when an actor goes missing from a film set. Although the actor is a star in the US, he originally came from Glasgow and has co-written a script that references something certain individuals will go to great lengths to keep hidden. Meanwhile, a body has been discovered – thought to be the victim of a gangland killing – and it is feared to be the missing actor. Throw into the mix three teenage boys who inadvertently find themselves in the middle of all this, and a grieving woman released from prison, who was wrongly convicted of the murder of her daughter many years before.
Whispers of the Dead features the gripping storyline, relatable characters, dark humour and authentic setting we have come to expect from this excellent crime series. While you could read this as a standalone, I recommend you start at the beginning and enjoy one of the best examples of Tartan Noir out there. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series very soon. Thanks to Macmillan and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.
Glasgow is often used to stand in for American cities in films and TV series, and here DS McNab is called when an actor goes missing from a film set. Although the actor is a star in the US, he originally came from Glasgow and has co-written a script that references something certain individuals will go to great lengths to keep hidden. Meanwhile, a body has been discovered – thought to be the victim of a gangland killing – and it is feared to be the missing actor. Throw into the mix three teenage boys who inadvertently find themselves in the middle of all this, and a grieving woman released from prison, who was wrongly convicted of the murder of her daughter many years before.
Whispers of the Dead features the gripping storyline, relatable characters, dark humour and authentic setting we have come to expect from this excellent crime series. While you could read this as a standalone, I recommend you start at the beginning and enjoy one of the best examples of Tartan Noir out there. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series very soon. Thanks to Macmillan and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.
August 26, 2024
You open the book and find a map, and in my experience all the best books start with a map. I love maps as it gives me the opportunity to get my head around the settings for what is going to take place and I wasn’t disappointed with my first read of a book by Lin Anderson.
Gosh what an absolutely gripping read this was , from the very first page to the last word on the last page I couldn’t put it down. Whispers of the Dead will pull you into the streets of Glasgow and the gangland violence as though you were there. Many aspects of the story will make your skin crawl, other aspects will want you taking hold of the characters and hugging them , keeping them safe, Dreep positively tugged at my heart strings.
This story shows the worst and best sides of humanity and will give you so many mixed emotions as the story develops that you will not be sure when they change . Each of the characters are described in such detail as to give you the impression that you have known them for ages and spent time with them in the Glasgow suburbs where the story is set.
Whispers of the Dead is the first book I have read by Lin Anderson and I will definitely be reading more of the Rhonda MacLeod books. It is so refreshing to come across a strong female lead who breathes a breath of fresh air into the murder mystery genre and I would love to see this become a film , or part of a tv series.
Gosh what an absolutely gripping read this was , from the very first page to the last word on the last page I couldn’t put it down. Whispers of the Dead will pull you into the streets of Glasgow and the gangland violence as though you were there. Many aspects of the story will make your skin crawl, other aspects will want you taking hold of the characters and hugging them , keeping them safe, Dreep positively tugged at my heart strings.
This story shows the worst and best sides of humanity and will give you so many mixed emotions as the story develops that you will not be sure when they change . Each of the characters are described in such detail as to give you the impression that you have known them for ages and spent time with them in the Glasgow suburbs where the story is set.
Whispers of the Dead is the first book I have read by Lin Anderson and I will definitely be reading more of the Rhonda MacLeod books. It is so refreshing to come across a strong female lead who breathes a breath of fresh air into the murder mystery genre and I would love to see this become a film , or part of a tv series.
August 13, 2024
Whispers Of The Dead is packed full to the brim with action, gangs, crime, murder, forensic science, police procedure, kidnap, wrongful convictions, prostitution, child abuse, gritty, emotion, tension, suspense, drug use/abuse/selling, care systems, , loyalty, family, PTSD, friendship, camaraderie, brutality, violence, justice, mystery, kindness and twists and turns galore.
I absolutely love Lin's writing style, which is atmospheric, descriptive, engrossing, and has a natural fluidity and pace to it. Giving her storyline and characters a real sense of relevancy, depth, and authenticity.
Despite being a complex storyline, Lin's immense research and talent as a storyteller is prevalent throughout, and both storylines run perfectly alongside each other. Tying up and culminating in a brilliant conclusion.
I really enjoyed the dynamics between all of the characters. But particularly those between Rhona and DS McNab both personally and professionally. With the character of Marnie really pulled at my heartstrings.
Despute this being book #18 in the series, it can definitely also be read as a standalone, too.
A brilliant crime/thriller/forensic story. Perfect for the fans of Rebus style fiction.
I absolutely love Lin's writing style, which is atmospheric, descriptive, engrossing, and has a natural fluidity and pace to it. Giving her storyline and characters a real sense of relevancy, depth, and authenticity.
Despite being a complex storyline, Lin's immense research and talent as a storyteller is prevalent throughout, and both storylines run perfectly alongside each other. Tying up and culminating in a brilliant conclusion.
I really enjoyed the dynamics between all of the characters. But particularly those between Rhona and DS McNab both personally and professionally. With the character of Marnie really pulled at my heartstrings.
Despute this being book #18 in the series, it can definitely also be read as a standalone, too.
A brilliant crime/thriller/forensic story. Perfect for the fans of Rebus style fiction.
October 7, 2024
Three young boys have made their 'den in an abandoned building. It's fenced off and boarded up- but when would that stop some lively lads? When they climb into the grounds they find a naked man, tied to a chair with his eyes & mouth sewn shut. When they scarper they drop a mobile phone -unfortunately it belongs to an older brother with gang connections!
When they investigate the scene, manner of death suggests to forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod it is a gangland killing & at the autopsy a bullet carved with a snake is found in the stomach making it even more likely. Along with this investigation a film crew shooting in Glasgow have lost their leading man, It is going to keep them busy.
This is not the first of the Rhona MacLeod series I've read although I've never gone through them systematically. However this can easily be read as a stand alone. It was a fast paced gritty story with good characters- I really liked the young lads! Thanks to Net galley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.
When they investigate the scene, manner of death suggests to forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod it is a gangland killing & at the autopsy a bullet carved with a snake is found in the stomach making it even more likely. Along with this investigation a film crew shooting in Glasgow have lost their leading man, It is going to keep them busy.
This is not the first of the Rhona MacLeod series I've read although I've never gone through them systematically. However this can easily be read as a stand alone. It was a fast paced gritty story with good characters- I really liked the young lads! Thanks to Net galley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.
June 16, 2025
Whispers of the Dead is Book #18 in Lin Anderson’s Rhona MacLeod Thriller series.
“Whispers of the Dead……….will reveal the truth.”
“A gangland slaying. A missing movie star. When an actor goes missing in Glasgow, the clue to his whereabouts could be in the film script itself.”
I have read and thoroughly enjoyed reading Ms. Anderson’s Rhona MacLeod series beginning with the first book, Driftnet.
With well-written, complex characters, very tense plots and situations and interesting locations throughout Scotland, this series is top-notch and one of my favorites.
The map is very helpful ( I love a good map!) and the forensic aspects of each case are more than just interesting - the forensics are a major ‘character’ in their own right.
Lin Anderson is a Scottish author and screenwriter, known for her bestselling crime series featuring forensic scientist Dr. Rhona MacLeod. Ms. Anderson is the co-founder of the international crime-writing festival Bloody Scotland which is an annual event in Stirling.
***** Highly Recommended
“Whispers of the Dead……….will reveal the truth.”
“A gangland slaying. A missing movie star. When an actor goes missing in Glasgow, the clue to his whereabouts could be in the film script itself.”
I have read and thoroughly enjoyed reading Ms. Anderson’s Rhona MacLeod series beginning with the first book, Driftnet.
With well-written, complex characters, very tense plots and situations and interesting locations throughout Scotland, this series is top-notch and one of my favorites.
The map is very helpful ( I love a good map!) and the forensic aspects of each case are more than just interesting - the forensics are a major ‘character’ in their own right.
Lin Anderson is a Scottish author and screenwriter, known for her bestselling crime series featuring forensic scientist Dr. Rhona MacLeod. Ms. Anderson is the co-founder of the international crime-writing festival Bloody Scotland which is an annual event in Stirling.
***** Highly Recommended
June 14, 2024
Another very welcome outing for forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacLeod and her colleagues. This time they are investigating the murder and torture of a young man found in Glasgow tied to a chair with his eyes and mouth sewn shut and the disappearance of a four year old girl for which her mother was convicted of murder. The book contains all the elements we have come to expect from a Lin Anderson novel, excitement, thrills and twists with plenty of horrific action thrown in for good measure. Countering all this is the ever present support and care the team shows each other whilst solving the crimes, and sprinklings of humour and poignancy. A great read as always. I really hope this series goes on for a long time as I feel really invested in the characters and really care what happens to them. 5* from me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own
opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own
opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.
July 31, 2024
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.
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.
August 5, 2024
Rhona MacLeod a forensic scientist has been teaching a an women prison, that's where she meets Marnie Aitken, a woman that goes missing not long after her release from prison.
A group of friends find a man's body in s deserted farmhouse, but that's not makes them run, he is naked, tied to a chair, with his mouth and eyes sewn up.
A missing movie star goes missing while filming, but nobody knows anything.
It's up to Rhona, DS Clark, DS McNab and Chrissy McInsh to work together and find out if there is a link between all three. It's not going to be easy, but as they start looking closer, more starts adding up. I'm not giving anything away. This is a MUST READ book, the storyline is excellent, full with twists and turns throughout. I can wait to see what Lin has instore for us next.
A group of friends find a man's body in s deserted farmhouse, but that's not makes them run, he is naked, tied to a chair, with his mouth and eyes sewn up.
A missing movie star goes missing while filming, but nobody knows anything.
It's up to Rhona, DS Clark, DS McNab and Chrissy McInsh to work together and find out if there is a link between all three. It's not going to be easy, but as they start looking closer, more starts adding up. I'm not giving anything away. This is a MUST READ book, the storyline is excellent, full with twists and turns throughout. I can wait to see what Lin has instore for us next.
August 13, 2024
Firstly, being a crime thriller fan, I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of this series before! However, diving in at book 18… I thoroughly enjoyed it and I will definitely be adding the previous 17 books to my never ending TBR pile!
This book was brilliantly written and very dark at some points! I read through all 400 odd pages so fast because it was addicting! The descriptions throughout were fab and I could totally visualise the scenes, I reckon these books would make a brilliant tv program - I already want to watch it! Rhona is such a strong and powerful FMC and I really enjoyed reading about her.
A brilliant Scottish crime book and I can’t wait to get my hands on the other books in the series!
This book was brilliantly written and very dark at some points! I read through all 400 odd pages so fast because it was addicting! The descriptions throughout were fab and I could totally visualise the scenes, I reckon these books would make a brilliant tv program - I already want to watch it! Rhona is such a strong and powerful FMC and I really enjoyed reading about her.
A brilliant Scottish crime book and I can’t wait to get my hands on the other books in the series!
September 23, 2024
Whispers of the Dead by Lin Anderson and narrated by Sally Armstrong is #18 in the Rhona McLeod series and oh my crikey why have I not read/listened to this author before?
The book is fantastic as a standalone, based in the gritty underworld of Glasgow, a vendetta is being played out and it is not the gangland feud that initial investigations assumed
Dark, well paced and stomping, a brilliant police thriller that has me hooked. Sally Armstrong was a great choice to narrate this book and I will certainly be looking for more frrom Lin Anderson
Thank you to Macmillan UK Audio | Macmillan, Lin Anderson and the narrator Sally Armstrong
for this ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own
November 24, 2024
Rhona is a forensic scientist based in Glasgow although she works all over Scotland. I like Rhona's character and I also like most of the other regular characters in this series. I suppose that I must be a fan as I have read all the earlier novels and one novella in this series. I certainly enjoy the depiction of Glasgow which is where I live and the author's references to music with which I am familiar.
This story is mainly set in Glasgow and Kilcreggan (which is also a place I know). A naked man is found dead tied to a chair having been brutally tortured. There is also a sub-plot concerning a young woman recently released from prison. It's an exciting read though some parts were a bit too sentimental for my taste.
This story is mainly set in Glasgow and Kilcreggan (which is also a place I know). A naked man is found dead tied to a chair having been brutally tortured. There is also a sub-plot concerning a young woman recently released from prison. It's an exciting read though some parts were a bit too sentimental for my taste.
October 21, 2024
Whispers of the Dead by Lin Anderson and narrated by Sally Armstrong is the 18th book in the Rhona MacLeod series and the first book I have listened to. I really enjoyed it, especially as I found this book easy to follow from the beginning. I loved the way the author writes and the way she made it easy to get into this new story within this series which was great especially as she is a new author to me. I will be looking forward reading more books within this Rhona MacLeod series, I loved it.
The narrator Sally Armstrong was hard to get the hang of, but after a few chapters I became to like her voice and the way she read it in the audiobook.
The narrator Sally Armstrong was hard to get the hang of, but after a few chapters I became to like her voice and the way she read it in the audiobook.
June 13, 2024
I have read all the books in this series so know what to expect. This one is around the disappearance of an actor filming in Glasgow (no it’s not Harrison Ford!) which is often used as a pretend American city. There’s also a cold case which may be linked to a murder witnessed by three young lads. I enjoyed the book , there’s plenty going on not least a catch up on Rhona’s love life, McNab’s struggles and Chrissie’s attempts to pair them off! A good series for lovers of Richard Osman like books. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC
June 28, 2024
This series featuring forensic scientist Rhona Mac Leod is one of the best around! I absolutely loved this recent episode, set in and around Glasgow, with it's clever plotting and fast paced action. I could feel myself being transported back to the Govan area of my childhood due to the accurate, well researched descriptions. I love the touches of humour throughout as the team investigate the disappearance of an actor filming in the city. This is one of my favourite series and long may it continue please! Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.
August 7, 2024
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.
January 5, 2025
A man is found dead, naked and strapped to a chair in a park in Glasgow. At the same time an actor appearing in a film being made in the city disappears. Could the murder victim be the missing actor ? Forensic scientist Rhona Macleod and Detective Sergeant Michael McNab begin to think that the murder may be connected to the film which is about Glasgow gang warfare. Their enquiries are assisted in part by a trio of local youngsters who have inadvertently got involved with the case by being in the wrong place at the wrong time !
A fast moving and enjoyable story.
A fast moving and enjoyable story.
May 23, 2025
I struggled with coming to terms mainly with the principal characters of this book. There were obviously threads that had continued throughout the series and as I have only read 3 of the books in the series, I could not make the connections and struggled to make those connections. So I think the encouragement in the publisher's blurb to read the books in any order just does not hold true.
There were really two main stories in the novel, both of them interesting, and in the long run, connected with each other. They were what kept me reading.
There were really two main stories in the novel, both of them interesting, and in the long run, connected with each other. They were what kept me reading.
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