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Come to Harm: A Novel
For Keiko Nishisato, leaving Tokyo is a rare adventure, but it’s living in the quiet little town of Painchton, Scotland, that shows her how far she is from home.
Keiko has never met friendlier people than the Painchton Traders. Only the Pooles, the butchers below her second floor apartment, want to keep their distance. Murray Poole attracts her right away. Mrs Poole puzzles her—is there more than recent widowhood behind all that sadness? And then there’s Malcolm. Massive and brooding, he hints at something dark behind the bustle and banter of this strange little town.
For such a settled place, a lot of young women seem to leave. But the more Keiko discovers the less she believes, until she can’t tell where her fears end and the real nightmares begin.
Keiko has never met friendlier people than the Painchton Traders. Only the Pooles, the butchers below her second floor apartment, want to keep their distance. Murray Poole attracts her right away. Mrs Poole puzzles her—is there more than recent widowhood behind all that sadness? And then there’s Malcolm. Massive and brooding, he hints at something dark behind the bustle and banter of this strange little town.
For such a settled place, a lot of young women seem to leave. But the more Keiko discovers the less she believes, until she can’t tell where her fears end and the real nightmares begin.
360 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2015
225 people are currently reading
780 people want to read
About the author
Catriona McPherson
52 books526 followersCatriona McPherson (she/her) was born in Scotland and immigrated to the US in 2010. She writes: preposterous 1930s private-detective stories about a toff; realistic 1940s amateur-sleuth stories about an oik; and contemporary psychothriller standalones. These are all set in Scotland with a lot of Scottish weather. She also writes modern comedies about a Scot-out-of-water in a “fictional” college town in Northern California.
She has won multiple Anthonys, Agathas, Leftys and Macavitys for her work and been shortlisted for an Edgar, three Mary Higgins Clark awards and a UK dagger
Catriona is a proud lifetime member and former national president of Sisters in Crime.
She has won multiple Anthonys, Agathas, Leftys and Macavitys for her work and been shortlisted for an Edgar, three Mary Higgins Clark awards and a UK dagger
Catriona is a proud lifetime member and former national president of Sisters in Crime.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
August 27, 2015
Having never read anything by Catriona McPherson before, this made it into the To Be Read Mountain based on the blurb - which appealed. Looking at her back catalogue this is an author who is not afraid to try different things and COME TO HARM is a perfect example of that difference.
Set in a small Scottish town, Japanese student Keiko Nishisato is a student in residence, sponsored by the local Traders association, provided with an apartment to live in, more food and supplies that you can poke a stick at, and enough to keep a student of Psychology scribbling notes on a minute by minute basis.
This feels, needless to say, like a rather odd setup. Particularly as the university at which Nishisato is studying is some distance from the town, and because of the slightly eccentric nature of many of the local townsfolk. And the slight sense of menace, particularly as Nishisato starts to pick up some none-too-subtle signals.
Not everybody would be comfortable living above a butcher's shop, and there is much in the behaviour of Mrs Poole, the widow of the recently dead butcher, and mother of two sons - the brooding and overweight Malcolm who loves his job in the shop, and the slight and more edgy brother Murray - not so happy to be in the shop. His workshop where he rebuilds motorbikes and works out on his elaborate gym equipment seems like a much more comfortable location for him. Needless to say there's a spark of attraction between Nishisato and Murray Poole, although their chances of much time together are dinted somewhat by the persistence of the town traders who have worked out a schedule for feeding and amusing Nishisato that would make anyone wilt.
To get COME TO HARM you're going to have to accept that a Japanese student could step into a local town and instantly get the language, and the culture. Get it enough to pick up on some odd nuances and subtle behaviours that in the cool hard light of reflection, seem like a pretty big bridge to have walked over. Perhaps it's a testament to the pace of the story, and the engaging way in which it's told, that any niggling doubts are easy to push to one side. Of course there's always that slight feeling that there are lines to be drawn here ... butchers shop ... backyard slaughterhouse ... odd goings on ... missing girls ... and to be honest, this reader was feeling more than a bit let down that something so obvious was building here. If you're suffering from the same belief, then continue reading. You might be as surprised too. Very surprised.
Happily surprised by the ending of COME TO HARM, pleasing surprised by how enjoyable this book was, not so surprised that the rest of the standalones from this author are now on the To Be Read list.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
Set in a small Scottish town, Japanese student Keiko Nishisato is a student in residence, sponsored by the local Traders association, provided with an apartment to live in, more food and supplies that you can poke a stick at, and enough to keep a student of Psychology scribbling notes on a minute by minute basis.
This feels, needless to say, like a rather odd setup. Particularly as the university at which Nishisato is studying is some distance from the town, and because of the slightly eccentric nature of many of the local townsfolk. And the slight sense of menace, particularly as Nishisato starts to pick up some none-too-subtle signals.
Not everybody would be comfortable living above a butcher's shop, and there is much in the behaviour of Mrs Poole, the widow of the recently dead butcher, and mother of two sons - the brooding and overweight Malcolm who loves his job in the shop, and the slight and more edgy brother Murray - not so happy to be in the shop. His workshop where he rebuilds motorbikes and works out on his elaborate gym equipment seems like a much more comfortable location for him. Needless to say there's a spark of attraction between Nishisato and Murray Poole, although their chances of much time together are dinted somewhat by the persistence of the town traders who have worked out a schedule for feeding and amusing Nishisato that would make anyone wilt.
To get COME TO HARM you're going to have to accept that a Japanese student could step into a local town and instantly get the language, and the culture. Get it enough to pick up on some odd nuances and subtle behaviours that in the cool hard light of reflection, seem like a pretty big bridge to have walked over. Perhaps it's a testament to the pace of the story, and the engaging way in which it's told, that any niggling doubts are easy to push to one side. Of course there's always that slight feeling that there are lines to be drawn here ... butchers shop ... backyard slaughterhouse ... odd goings on ... missing girls ... and to be honest, this reader was feeling more than a bit let down that something so obvious was building here. If you're suffering from the same belief, then continue reading. You might be as surprised too. Very surprised.
Happily surprised by the ending of COME TO HARM, pleasing surprised by how enjoyable this book was, not so surprised that the rest of the standalones from this author are now on the To Be Read list.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
October 6, 2015
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
There's a big problem at the heart of Catriona McPherson's thriller Come to Harm, which is ironically that there's not much of a problem at all; an otherwise capably written novel, exactly the kind of serviceable but not great story you would expect from a typical small press, maddeningly there is only one question at the heart of this book that is trying to prop up 300 pages of storyline -- why are the residents of a tiny town in Scotland acting so strangely sometimes around the new Japanese college student that their chamber of commerce has sponsored for a year of study abroad? That's a great idea for an elevator pitch to get a book sold, but not enough of a mystery to sustain the entire book itself; and other than lovely little depictions of small-town Scottish life (the background the author comes from herself), there's really not much more here in this disappointing title, just endless pages that typically go, "Then our hero had dinner with the town's business leaders...where she noticed some of them acting a little out of the ordinary," essentially a dozen chapters of this until it's finally revealed why they're acting out of the ordinary to begin with. Even a supermarket genre novel needs to do better than this, and the fact that this one doesn't is why I can't in good conscience give this much of a recommendation, despite it being okay otherwise.
Out of 10: 6.8
There's a big problem at the heart of Catriona McPherson's thriller Come to Harm, which is ironically that there's not much of a problem at all; an otherwise capably written novel, exactly the kind of serviceable but not great story you would expect from a typical small press, maddeningly there is only one question at the heart of this book that is trying to prop up 300 pages of storyline -- why are the residents of a tiny town in Scotland acting so strangely sometimes around the new Japanese college student that their chamber of commerce has sponsored for a year of study abroad? That's a great idea for an elevator pitch to get a book sold, but not enough of a mystery to sustain the entire book itself; and other than lovely little depictions of small-town Scottish life (the background the author comes from herself), there's really not much more here in this disappointing title, just endless pages that typically go, "Then our hero had dinner with the town's business leaders...where she noticed some of them acting a little out of the ordinary," essentially a dozen chapters of this until it's finally revealed why they're acting out of the ordinary to begin with. Even a supermarket genre novel needs to do better than this, and the fact that this one doesn't is why I can't in good conscience give this much of a recommendation, despite it being okay otherwise.
Out of 10: 6.8
July 5, 2020
What an introduction to Scottish cuisine.
June 11, 2022
I think this is one of the worst books I have ever read. It's supposed to be a psychological thriller but I didn't find it psychological and it certainly wasn't thrilling. This was the 3rd book in a set of 3 none of which I would recommend.
May 31, 2015
I was on edge during the entire reading of Catriona McPherson's Come to Harm. I just knew at any moment the ax, so to speak, was going to fall. Kudos to this brilliant author for creating this suspenseful atmosphere, where the reader steps carefully along with Keiko, the main character, into the dark secrets of Painchton, Scotland. There are some comments I want to make, but it would be a disservice to new readers to ease the tension that winds one up reading this story. I will say that there are a number of possible suspects in a number of possible scenarios of wrong doing.
Keiko Nishisato has arrived in Painchton, Scotland to attend university in Edingburgh to work on her PhD. She has a scholarship and is being sponsored by the Painchton traders and given a free apartment for three years. It's all almost to good to be true, and Keiko begins to suspect that maybe that's exactly what it is. Everyone is extremely friendly and eager to help her settle in, but there seems to be a hidden agenda that Keiko can't seem to crack. She slowly acclimates herself to new customs and new food in this home six thousand miles away from Tokyo. And, oh, the food is plentiful, with all the merchants wanting to feed her and teach her about traditional Scottish foods. Of course, Keiko's PhD original subject matter deals with food, so the residents are more than happy to help. Then, the apartment that Keiko has been given is above the butcher shop, and she becomes friends with the two Poole sons who work in their family's shop. Only their mother, Mrs. Poole, keeps her distance from Keiko and doesn't join in the town's enthusiastic welcome. As Keiko digs in to work on her studies, she feels more and more that there information is being intentionally withheld from her and people might not be who they seem. With several girls having left Painchton in a rather abrupt manner, Keiko begins to worry that it's urgent for her to discover why they left.
Come to Harm is yet another great read from Catriona McPherson. A dark thriller, it will keep you on guard and give you the gasp you're waiting for.
Keiko Nishisato has arrived in Painchton, Scotland to attend university in Edingburgh to work on her PhD. She has a scholarship and is being sponsored by the Painchton traders and given a free apartment for three years. It's all almost to good to be true, and Keiko begins to suspect that maybe that's exactly what it is. Everyone is extremely friendly and eager to help her settle in, but there seems to be a hidden agenda that Keiko can't seem to crack. She slowly acclimates herself to new customs and new food in this home six thousand miles away from Tokyo. And, oh, the food is plentiful, with all the merchants wanting to feed her and teach her about traditional Scottish foods. Of course, Keiko's PhD original subject matter deals with food, so the residents are more than happy to help. Then, the apartment that Keiko has been given is above the butcher shop, and she becomes friends with the two Poole sons who work in their family's shop. Only their mother, Mrs. Poole, keeps her distance from Keiko and doesn't join in the town's enthusiastic welcome. As Keiko digs in to work on her studies, she feels more and more that there information is being intentionally withheld from her and people might not be who they seem. With several girls having left Painchton in a rather abrupt manner, Keiko begins to worry that it's urgent for her to discover why they left.
Come to Harm is yet another great read from Catriona McPherson. A dark thriller, it will keep you on guard and give you the gasp you're waiting for.
July 31, 2015
IT WAS SOYLENT GREEN! AHA. AHA. A HA HA. Oh my God.
May 22, 2020
Another intriguing trip to Scotland, this time with a glimpse of the academic life, viewed from the lens of a true outsider.
September 17, 2024
3.5 ⭐️ actually.
September 2, 2015
Eh..bad taste in my mouth after reading this as I was into the mystery and suspense of it for about the first hundred or so pages or my first day reading it but soon got really bored, started finding other things to do and forced myself to go back to reading it many times..I don’t get it I was into trying to figure this book out for a while then it just fell apart and became boring with too many wooden characters, too many vague questionable moments and too many awkward encounters and conversations---okay so it wasn’t really bad enough for a one star rating but dammit it I stuck with this mess for over three hundred pages for a lukewarm conclusion and no real shock so unfortunately I have to stick with my wankster status as not ever recommended and sorry I read LOL..But sigh I still haven’t told you readers the plot so those who want to can still pick it up and try their hand…so this is the story of Keiko a foreign PHD student from Tokyo mysteriously sponsored to come to Scotland and work on her doctoral degree all expenses paid with an apartment in a small close knit community run by an organization called the Painchton Traders who run all the stores and the people..In a way I wanted this to be like one of my favorite silly movies Hot Fuzz where the town hid secrets and murderous ways or even like the suspenseful creepy novel Now You’re One of Us by Asa Nonami but alas it reminded me more of another dull book about nosey people and stupid secrets The Deadly Neighbors by Merry Jones and there were just way too many people doing way too many things trying to creep you out but confusing you, then boring you with just everything. Keiko begins to suspect something is wrong with the overly friendly and engaging townspeople who overstock her cabinets, feed her gluttonous fatty foods and act super suspicious all the time so in the guise of a research project and with a slight language and culture barrier she sets up questions to get into these queer people’s heads and when all is revealed –yea its boring. I suspected the “twist” all along as with a town full of restaurants, butchers, politicians, dressmakers that there was just one probable outcome poorly done and drawn out for no reason..next please and come on 2015 I am striking out with my reads!
May 15, 2015
If you've been reading this author's Dandy Gilver series, don't expect this book to be the same. This one has a modern setting and is more along the thriller line. That said, it does start slowly but suspense builds as the story progresses. I almost gave up on it but began to like a few of the characters enough to stick with it and about that time the tension began to build. The ending is a twisted surprise but satisfactory.
dnf
May 31, 2024I just didn't get this book. I was laughing at things I think were supposed to be scary; the author's voice was a bit too passive (from the very first sentence) for my liking; the dialogue was awkward and clearly info-dumping; and there was too much unnecessary use of the Lord's name in vain for me to be conformable continuing to read. All in all, not the book for me.
July 5, 2019
Slow start...awesome finish
Can't get enough of this author's writing. Abit worried by the slow start of this story, but it built into a jaw-dropping crescendo that had me howling. Masterfully concluded, coasting easily to its end...having deftly returned each character to a place of rest. Once again, a tale well and heartily told.
Can't get enough of this author's writing. Abit worried by the slow start of this story, but it built into a jaw-dropping crescendo that had me howling. Masterfully concluded, coasting easily to its end...having deftly returned each character to a place of rest. Once again, a tale well and heartily told.
July 26, 2017
This is a throw-back mystery, not a thriller. I could even recommend it to my mom! But then she'd smack me because it does get a bit grotesque and gruesome at the end. I should probably give it four stars, but I don't know; it stayed with me all through today after finished it this morning, so I think it deserves five. The only ONLY thing I didn't love was the huge cast of characters. There is a cast of characters in the beginning, but I kind of forgot, and I'm not sure it would have helped me anyway. It's not a book you'll want to put down and come back to a few days later, for sure: read it all in one weekend or not at all. I loved Keiko. She's adorable and totally unusual. The Scottish village makes an unusual setting, and things are not at all as they seem. You have shady, sketchy neighbors, and hunky love interests, and rich overlords, and nosy wives. Plus, half the book at least is all about food: whether it's Keiko's Japanese food and heritage, or the village's obsession with a well butchered meat, you'll feel like you're starving to death midway through. It's a slow burn of a book - quite slow - and I can see where fans of the more glossy, Hollywood type, thrillers would get bored. But if you hang on till the end you're in for quite a ride, a super twist, and an adorable romance.
September 22, 2022
Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about this book. I’ll just start from the beginning. I was so confused by the Irish talk. Like seriously, I had to re-read sooo many parts just cuz I would forget that I had to pay attention and then I would be confused and it was just a mess. Also, Keiko clicked really fast and seemed to understand all the little nuances in everyone’s behavior even though she’s an international student. Idk, that kind of irked me. The pacing is also really weird, it’s super slow in the beginning and then just like all of a sudden picks up pace at the end and it’s like everything starts happening too fast.
I would’ve liked this book better if the author had stuck with the whole cannibalistic town plot. She set it up SO WELL to be SO CREEPY if she had gone with that. The random twists at the end with Murray really did not do it for me. Idk if it’s just how she wrote his character never made him seem creepy and that just didn’t do it, I’m not sure. I would’ve been much more chilled to the bone if they had decided to eat Keiko.
That being said, she did tie up the story very nicely, I just didn’t really love it. I think she’s a really good writer and definitely is able to do thriller without being overtly creepy. Just unsettling.
I would’ve liked this book better if the author had stuck with the whole cannibalistic town plot. She set it up SO WELL to be SO CREEPY if she had gone with that. The random twists at the end with Murray really did not do it for me. Idk if it’s just how she wrote his character never made him seem creepy and that just didn’t do it, I’m not sure. I would’ve been much more chilled to the bone if they had decided to eat Keiko.
That being said, she did tie up the story very nicely, I just didn’t really love it. I think she’s a really good writer and definitely is able to do thriller without being overtly creepy. Just unsettling.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 5, 2021
I read a lot of books in a year, a hundred or so, and I've seen some dross in my time and this was by far the worst book I've ever read. From the start I couldn't make head nor tail of it. I almost gave up on it but I never give up on any book as sometimes they can be slow burners. A young girl Keeko moves on exchange from Japan to Painchton (it doesn't exist) Edinburgh to write her PHD thesis on food. Painchton welcome her in with open arms and she doesn't have to spend a penny as her accommodation and all her ancillaries are paid for. Painchton though has secrets can Keeko and a few of the locals help her uncover what those secrets are?
Trust me when I say that the secrets aren't worth finding out and from start to finish I found this book a slog and a dreadful bore. I read for only a couple of hours a day and can read most books in three days but this felt like it took months but was about a fortnight all in. Every time I picked up my kindle I had less and less enthusiasm which is why it took so long to read. Do yourself a favour and bodyswerve this book it'll save you a world of pain, I wish I had it's a dreadful book.
Trust me when I say that the secrets aren't worth finding out and from start to finish I found this book a slog and a dreadful bore. I read for only a couple of hours a day and can read most books in three days but this felt like it took months but was about a fortnight all in. Every time I picked up my kindle I had less and less enthusiasm which is why it took so long to read. Do yourself a favour and bodyswerve this book it'll save you a world of pain, I wish I had it's a dreadful book.
July 16, 2017
3.5
This woman can write a thriller! At least in this case. I tried to read another book of hers... (bones? Child graveyard? Something like that?) and got bored after the first 50 pages. It was just...meh.
But THIS one. THIS one actually had me wondering for almost 8/10ths of the book
So...there's that.
This woman can write a thriller! At least in this case. I tried to read another book of hers... (bones? Child graveyard? Something like that?) and got bored after the first 50 pages. It was just...meh.
But THIS one. THIS one actually had me wondering for almost 8/10ths of the book
So...there's that.
March 19, 2021
Although I really enjoyed it, I also found this to be a strange little book. Keiko feels the strangeness as well, but hangs in there. She is mystified by the fact that three girls have gone missing from the town. I will admit I must have drifted away, because I only remember what happened to one of them. Anyway, after almost killing Keiko with food, the town agrees to participate in the survey for her dissertation. She finds out a LOT about the residents there. And makes a friend who helps her through a lot of discomfort. And meets a possible boyfriend. And how Catriona thought up this one is WAY beyond my understanding.
March 2, 2022
This book literally gave me a headache. I found myself constantly having to go back and reread paragraphs just to try and understand what was happening. Scenes change sometimes in the middle of a paragraph so one moment you're focused on two characters, and the next line it's a whole new group. It's hard to tell exactly what's happening - after Fancy Clarke's introduction and first couple of interactions with Keiko, I still didn't understand who she was or what she did. The actual story isn't too bad, but this is one of the most bizarre novels I've ever read - and not in a good way. Reading shouldn't be this difficult.
June 15, 2023
This was... not a psychological thriller, nor was it the body horror I was hoping it would end up being.
Actually the slowest story I've ever read. I've never heard of a place where people eat so much meat & don't talk like humans (not the Scot / Japanese cultural differences, but the actual conversations they would have and how they changed subjects so quickly was wild).
In conclusion, I liked the postscript more than the whole book oops sorry Amy ty for letting me borrow it though hehe
Actually the slowest story I've ever read. I've never heard of a place where people eat so much meat & don't talk like humans (not the Scot / Japanese cultural differences, but the actual conversations they would have and how they changed subjects so quickly was wild).
In conclusion, I liked the postscript more than the whole book oops sorry Amy ty for letting me borrow it though hehe
July 9, 2022
A small Scottish town sponsors a Japanese grad student. Filled with eccentrics, the town has a hidden agenda. But when Keiko the student learns that the girls who previously lived in her apartment all disappeared she is concerned. Soon everyone is a suspect and she is not sure who to trust.
This is a plodding novel. Way too much about butchering, too many secondary characters and very little suspense. The ending was not convincing. Disappointed.
This is a plodding novel. Way too much about butchering, too many secondary characters and very little suspense. The ending was not convincing. Disappointed.
July 25, 2025
Overall, this book was a rather enjoyable read. Was the mystery particularly compelling? No, not really. However, there were definitely moments in the story that felt incredibly tense and stressful. There were also moments that were really boring to me, but I think the ending makes up for it. It’s nothing amazingly profound, but as someone who felt a connection with the characters, it was a great way to tie things up.
September 7, 2018
This started off strongly — I was charmed by McPherson's clever turns of phrase, the unique setting, and the general offbeat weirdness she was setting up. But it seemed to drag about halfway through, with no real action to move the story forward. Plus, I didn't quite buy the climactic event (Keiko's participation in it, at least).
September 11, 2019
I have read several of Catriona McPherson's novels. Her writing just gets better. The sense of foreboding builds incessantly as a Japanese graduate student settles uneasily into the Scottish town that is her host. The potential for evil is everywhere. Her fate is unknown although her talents as a sleuth are evident throughout. Eerie but not scary, it was just what I needed.
July 8, 2018
I can't say the a recommend "come to harm" (all lower case on the title page) because it is creepy and then too pat at the end. I read one of McPherson's Dandy Gilver books and really enjoyed it, but was disappointed in her darker story.
August 8, 2021
A really original tale
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, imagining all kinds of conclusions which proved to be wrong - which I imagine was entirely the author's intention! The ending was very satisfying and the characters well drawn.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, imagining all kinds of conclusions which proved to be wrong - which I imagine was entirely the author's intention! The ending was very satisfying and the characters well drawn.
July 30, 2023
I had a lot of trouble getting into this story. Difficult to understand and once you begin piecing it all together, it is over quickly. Definitely not a psychological thriller. Answer to the mystery was very unsatisfying.
August 30, 2018
Actually, between 2.5 and 3. Really WEIRD book!
January 17, 2020
Oh my, this book was bizarre and full of quirky characters and I just loved it!
April 17, 2020
I really enjoy Ms. McPherson's novels, and I'm looking forward to reading the next one.
August 3, 2021
Who's for dinner?
Definite page turner, almost claustrophobic in the relentless pace to an end you may have expected, or maybe not. A fun and tense ride, read it in 24 hrs!
Definite page turner, almost claustrophobic in the relentless pace to an end you may have expected, or maybe not. A fun and tense ride, read it in 24 hrs!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews