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The Labyrinth
Please note that this novella, the prequel to the DI Jack Knox Mysteries, is currently no longer in print as an individual edition. However, the novella is included in the Kindle box set The DI Jack Knox Mysteries, Books #0.5 to #3, as well as in Book #1, The Innocent and the Dead / The Labyrinth
After the body of an attractive young woman is found in woodland on Edinburgh’s iconic Calton Hill, DI Jack Knox quickly establishes that she had worked as a prostitute. For this reason, getting people who knew her to come forward will prove difficult. Knox will have to cut through their lies, establish a motive and collar the killer.
After the body of an attractive young woman is found in woodland on Edinburgh’s iconic Calton Hill, DI Jack Knox quickly establishes that she had worked as a prostitute. For this reason, getting people who knew her to come forward will prove difficult. Knox will have to cut through their lies, establish a motive and collar the killer.
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About the author
Robert McNeill
15 books36 followersRobert McNeill was born Edinburgh, Scotland. He took up freelance journalism in 1990, after spending many years in direct sales. His feature articles have appeared in many publications worldwide. He has also written several westerns and WWII novels.
Since 2018, however, Robert, an avid reader of crime fiction (and a particular admirer of the works of Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Peter James and Lawrence Block) has concentrated on his own police procedural crime series featuring Edinburgh detective Jack Knox.
There are currently seven books in the series: THE INNOCENT AND THE DEAD, MURDER AT FLOOD TIDE, DEAD OF NIGHT, NOUGHTS AND CROSSES, A VIEW TO MURDER, CONFESSION TO MURDER AND DON'T CRY DARLING.
‘As a native of Edinburgh, I’m particularly interested in the history of the city as a setting for crime,’ Robert says. ‘In the late eighteenth century, well-heeled citizenry of the medieval Old Town began moving across the Nor Loch (the area where Princes Street Gardens is now situated) to the Georgian New Town, where they lived in comparative splendour,’ he adds.
‘A villain who took advantage of these changes was Deacon William Brodie, a cabinet-maker and much-respected city councillor by day, who maintained a secret life as a housebreaker by night. Brodie was caught stealing from one of those elegant new mansions and hanged at the Old Tolbooth on the city’s High Street in October, 1788.
‘Brodie was also the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde,’ Robert explains. ‘And a character with traits not dissimilar to the people Knox runs into in his investigations.’
Since 2018, however, Robert, an avid reader of crime fiction (and a particular admirer of the works of Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Peter James and Lawrence Block) has concentrated on his own police procedural crime series featuring Edinburgh detective Jack Knox.
There are currently seven books in the series: THE INNOCENT AND THE DEAD, MURDER AT FLOOD TIDE, DEAD OF NIGHT, NOUGHTS AND CROSSES, A VIEW TO MURDER, CONFESSION TO MURDER AND DON'T CRY DARLING.
‘As a native of Edinburgh, I’m particularly interested in the history of the city as a setting for crime,’ Robert says. ‘In the late eighteenth century, well-heeled citizenry of the medieval Old Town began moving across the Nor Loch (the area where Princes Street Gardens is now situated) to the Georgian New Town, where they lived in comparative splendour,’ he adds.
‘A villain who took advantage of these changes was Deacon William Brodie, a cabinet-maker and much-respected city councillor by day, who maintained a secret life as a housebreaker by night. Brodie was caught stealing from one of those elegant new mansions and hanged at the Old Tolbooth on the city’s High Street in October, 1788.
‘Brodie was also the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde,’ Robert explains. ‘And a character with traits not dissimilar to the people Knox runs into in his investigations.’
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 9, 2025
I purchased a seven book series and this story - Labyrinth - was the prequel, 0.5 in the series, which introduced the main character - Jack Knox - and supporting company, while also setting the scene in Scotland.
I very much enjoyed the story, which moved at a good pace, with vibrant settings and characters, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series in due course.
I very much enjoyed the story, which moved at a good pace, with vibrant settings and characters, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series in due course.
Displaying 1 of 1 review