A Time To Die: A Dumfries Murder Mystery

Catherine Frost Mystery Series

by M.L. Rose

Six years ago, Catherine Frost's life was changed forever. She returned home one night to discover a sadistic killer in her home. A man she had given shelter to, in good faith. Catherine survived that night, with her young daughter. But rumours swirled around her ever since, and her sanity took a battering.
She fled with her young daughter to the rugged safety of Dumfries in Scotland. In a new town, she rebuilt a new life, fuelled by a singular vow - never to be compromised again.

She enrolled in the police, and passed the tests to become a detective. But when a dead body appears on the hills near her home, bearing the chilling hallmarks as that same serial killer's methods, Catherine's carefully constructed peace shatters. An all to familiar message appears at her home - the killer Catherine knows only too well is back. He wants revenge, but even more chillingly, he wants to meet her daughter.

Catherine's colleagues and neighbours start to treat her with suspicion. The only person she can rely on is her motther, Clare. With the help of her assistant, Ash, she begins to unravel the terrifying web that the killer has spun around her. As hidden enemies close in, she races to protect her daughter, mother and confront the nightmare she thought she'd left behind.

A pulse pounding thriller of obsession, betrayal and maternal love against all odds, A Time To Die will have you questioning how far one woman will go to protect everything she holds close to her heart.

305 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 8, 2025

Reviews

[Merry Chapman]

This is the first book in an amazing thriller that keeps you turning pages and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The author has done it again! Once you begin this book, you can't put it down. With so many twists and turns, we are taken to the end where you see a bit of foreshadowing. In this first book, Catherine Frost, a single mother of a young teenage daughter has her brother living with her. When a young girl is missing and later found, evidence points to Catherine's brother who is now nicknamed, The Salon Butcher, and he eluded the police. Having to endure the whispers, she has become the Butcher's sister, Catherine, her mother and daughter relocate to Dumfries, Scotland. Catherine enrolls in the police and becomes a detective, who does profiling with Ash her junior trainee, who is a very good assistant . Things seem to go along well for 6 years until a Dumfries young girl is missing a case so similar to what Catherine's brother MO was. She begged her SIO to let her take the case since she knows so much about her psychopathic brother and especially since she received a message from her brother who wants revenge. Her 13 year old daughter knows nothing about her uncle and doesn't tell her mother she goes to meet him. Ok, now you are on the edge of your seat once again! You must read this book if you like a really well-written thriller that keeps you totally engaged until the end. I can't wait to see what comes next! I received an ARC of this book but the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

[Carol Butler]

We have yet another heroine from ML Rose, this one is a single mother with a teenage daughter, and at one time worked for the Met, but now works for the police in Dumfries, Scotland. She is escaping from her brother a psychopath that the police failed to capture and is still at large.
She does profiling and has a junior trainee who is very good and has proved to be very clever at what he is doing.
Nobody has any idea why Catherine moved to Scotland but as soon as the killings started she knew instantly who it was and had the task of trying to get the SIO to listen to her and to get her and Ash on his crime team.
She has to come clean to Ash as to who it is and how she escaped his clutches as she once offered him shelter before she knew what he was capable of but she still has not confided in her daughter as to her she is her little girl and needs to be protected instead of trusting her because at 13yrs she is a young lady, and perhaps best to be treated like one, and to tell her the dangers that are lurking in this world today. But being treated like a child has the wrong impact on her, and she puts not only herself but also that of her mother in danger.
ML Rose has created a new heroine for us, and I feel there is more to come.
Rose spins yarns very cleverly, and you can try to second-guess and still be wrong.
I have always enjoyed reading Rose's novels and all the books tell a different tale.

[Betsy]

Excellent first novel in a new series. Catherine Frost is a criminal psychological profiler who currently works for the Dumfries Police Department. But, Catherine is a mess - her brother is a known serial killer. Six years ago, Catherine’s brother disappeared after being tagged as “The Salon Butcher” resulting in Catherine being tagged as “The Butcher’s Sister.” Her brother was never caught. Catherine had to move 400 miles away to Dumfries with her mother and her daughter Jennie to get away from this stigma. As Catherine pursues her new job and her new life as the mother of a teenager, she begins to realize that something is very, very wrong. Another young girl has disappeared just like six years ago. No, it can’t be, can it? She’s 400 miles from where her brother had his reign of terror and her life was destroyed. As the disappearances and the murders resume, and the clues begin to pile up, Catherine realizes it is now just like before, and she is the only one who knows how the Salon Butcher thinks and how to stop him. A very unusual story with very unusual characters. The last paragraph is a direct lead in to the next story and I am looking forward to it.

[Emily Pennington]

Racing Against Murder . . .

Catherine Frost is a single mom whose brother Jamie was living with her at the time a student goes missing. The police were able to identify her brother as the sadistic killer, but he escapes. Catherine, her young daughter Jenny, and her mother Clare move far away to Dumfries, Scotland, when the public backlash was too difficult to tolerate.

Now 6 years later, the same sort of killing begins again when another girl goes missing. Catherine is the psychological criminal profiler with Dumfries Police Department and asks to be put on the case. But because they hadn’t officially asked for her to join them, they wanted her to stay out of it until they decided to request her help. And she also has another problem closer to home that may blindside her. To shelter her young daughter, she had never told her about her murdering uncle. So when he now makes contact with 13 -year-old Jenny in secret, she has no reason to fear him and didn’t tell her mother she was meeting with him. Will she be the next one he kills? Or will Catherine get the police to listen to her so they can intervene and stop him this time?

[Randi Robinson]

Catherine Frost is a single mother of a young daughter and her brother is currently living with her. A young girl who goes to her daughter's school is missing. When the police find evidence leading to her brother, Catherine is shocked to find that he is the heinous serial killer known as the Butcher. He eludes the police, and Catherine, her mother and daughter relocate to Dumfries, Scotland to escape he notoriety she has gained. She doesn't change he name but she does not tell anyone who she is. All goes well for 6 years until the killings start again in Scotland. Catherine, a profiler with the police, knows exactly who the killer is but she can't convince the police to listen to her or put her on the case. Her daughter, now a teenager, has also not been told about her uncle. When he contacts her she agrees to meet him without her mother's knowledge. I won't spoil the rest of the story, but the author does a good job working some twists into a good police procedural. This book is a good beginning for what promises to be a new series.

[Tina Fulcher]

The first in the Catherine Frost series. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Catherine's brother previously disappeared after being suspected of being a serial killer. Is he back? Kept me gripped from start to finish and look forward to reading future books in this series. I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy and leave this review willingly.

[Kenneth Lingenfelter]

Another page turning thriller from M. L. Rose. Catherine Frost has a brother they call the Butcher. Catherine takes her daughter and moves a distance away. The stigma of being the sister of a killer, still killing follows her. This is another novel I could not stop reading.

[lynne banham]

A decent editor is needed for this writer.

Jamie swaps between being Catherine’s Brother and husband.
Catherine becomes Rita.
All of ML Rose’s books are edited badly, which is a shame as his plots are excellent.

[Kandy]

Wow! What an exciting and very suspenseful book. It had me holding my breath quite often. What a great way to start what is definitely going to be a fascinating series.

[Susan]

A good, creepy plot, intriguing characters, and a bit of a cliff-hanger ending.

[Barbara Kaake]

This was a great story about Catherine and being in danger from somebody she knows and also her daughter and getting who is responsible with lots of suspense and action. Thank you.

[Charlotte]

great story

Great story. Shame about the proof reading and editing. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series though.

[Annemarie Farthing]

Confusing. Jamie is not Jenny’s dad

[Malcolm Fox]

A Time to Die

Was Jamie her husband or brother it was very confusing at times. You need a new proof reader. Otherwise good book.

[donna hodgson]

I did like the book but lots of errors. was jenny 13 or 14? and at the end it said jamie was her father instead of uncle. also Fraserburgh was referred to as jamie. do u need a new proof reader??

[margaretstockdale]

A fairly good read but the proof reading let it down ,Jenny went from being daughter to niece numerous times

[Joanne Harper]

Adequate

Plot line is quite good....the proofreading leaves a lot to be desired, and there seems to be whole sections missing!