Dalintober Moon

DCI Daley #1.5

by Denzil Meyrick

When a body is found in a whisky barrel, buried on Dalintober beach, it appears that a notorious local crime, committed over a century ago, has finally been solved. D.C.I. Daley discovers that, despite the passage of time, the legacy of the murder still resonates within the community, and as he tries to make sense of the case, the tortured screams of a man who died long ago echo across Kinloch.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Scotland, Contemporary

56 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 27, 2014

About the author

Denzil Meyrick was a Scottish bestselling novelist. Prior to that, he served as a police officer with Strathclyde Police then a manager with Springbank Distillery in Campbeltown, Argyll. Since 2012 Denzil Meyrick had worked as a writer of Scottish crime fiction novels. He was also an executive director of media production company Houses of Steel.

Reviews

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't realised it was just a short story. I enjoyed it very much, liked the twist in the end.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not much to this story, really. The writing is solid and the characters are "themselves" as they investigate a hundred year-old murder. The story itself falls between book 1 (Whisky From Small Glasses) and book 2 (The Last Witness).

The main purpose of this short story is to raise money for the Dalintober Beach Regeneration Fund.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever short story with a familiar twist in the tale.
Please, if you suspect the truth like me, don't crow. It does nothing to deminish the story. Indeed the mark of the skill of the author is that he crosses every t and dots every i and gets every last bit from these few chapters.
The interaction between Daley and Scott is here. The ease of their fitting in with the locals is shown and implied and the weather remains in your face.
When a body is discovered on the beach; uncovered by the relentless tide. It is deemed to be that of William Cardle who was originally thought lost at sea. Archibald McMunn was also originally thought to have perished at the same time when both men failed to return home from their labours. However, McMunn later turned up in America and the body finally demonstrates his guilt.
Sadly this confirms what people always suspected and has resulted in a longstanding feud between the families.
Denzil Meyrick has created a fine location for his stories in Kinloch, Scotland and Whisky again has a central role to play in this account. I enjoy the community described and ita various characters.
But this isn't Balamory. The writing is gritty and within Kinloch and a consequence of its history lies a blacker side. Here is a story in point that is told with realism and in a compelling way.
Such a novella points to further books in this engaging series. Here, in Dalintober Moon, a long ago crime is eventually solved and in doing so demonstrates the futility of generational hatred where discendants can't really own the bitterness but maintain it all the same. The folly is brought into focus here but perhaps crimes of bigotry and tribalism are not so easily resolved.

[Lavins · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

A good short story, peppered with Brian's humour.
A century old skelet is found one day on the beach in a whisky barrel. Of course things are not as straight forward as they initially seam but DCI Daley finds the truth behind this one pretty fast.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't often read short stories but this was available at my library.
A man's body is found in a whisky barrel on a beach in Dalintober.
He's been dead for over a hundred years.
I was touchef that the story was written to assist the Dalintober Beach Restoration Group.

[Simon Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am continuing to love these stories of DCI DALY.

[N.W. Moors · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dalintober Moon is a short story in the DCI Daley series. I've read all the books and I have this and two novellas I'm using to hold me over until the next book comes out.
When a body is found in a sherry barrel buried on Dalintober beach, Daley and his sidekick Scott realize pretty quickly that it's a murder and happened some time ago. There's a story about two men fighting, and the feud between the families has lasted to the present time. It's up to Daley to figure out what happened on the beach.

[Paulette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story. I’ve now read it twice. The first time was as an epublished story my daughter who lives in Scotland found and shared in very early 2022. The second was in the 2017 Denzil Meyrick book One Dram Before Midnight purchased along with all DCI Daley books in publication July 2024 by the Cuyahoga County Public Library. One Dram Before Midnight contains 7 stories, 5 (2 of which are prequels to Whisky From Small Glasses) originally published as ebooks or exclusives and 2 brand new that take place in the present (2017) when this 7 story book was published.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spooky

This was a short story with a ghostly twist that seemed to have all the locals believe one thing, yet, the ghostly hearing of someone begging for mercy is unlikely.

[Mandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great short story for fans of Denzil Meyrick and if you have yet to discover his books then this would be a great introduction to the characters.

[Kevin Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good short story with a very hood twist at the end. Excellent
.

[Caz · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great short story. Must say I am liking these little “flashbacks” to his early days.

[Vicki Klemm]

Good short story about a ‘family’ feud.

[Tabitha Ormiston-Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

In short fiction we see a writer's true quality; far less forgiving than the novel, the form demands a rigour and discipline that separates, as it were, the men from the boys. This one is a fine showcase for a very gifted writer. It's not easy to write a really original detective story; the genre is so popular that just about everything has been done before. But Meyrick comes as close as possible in this chilling story, and does it with his usual panache.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great wee read, for a great cause. This is a story, reminiscent of the kind of tales told round the bonfire on the beach. A cracking whodunnit, with the usual plot twists we come to expect from Mr Meyrick.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very predictable. Felt like it was written to tap in to a specific whisky loving audience as opposed to being a stand alone story in its own right.

Addendum:
Just found out it was for charity so because of that it is 99p well spent

[Heather Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, short story from Kinloch.
I really like these little tales of a local crime or mystery that is quickly solved.
Kinloch and its characters are fun and make a good, lightweight, enjoyable read.
looking forward to reading more of these!

[Dick W · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wee short story, fun detective, full of character and place. Written in aid of the beach where the crime is committed and solved.

[ann currie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

Another excellent read and I can not wait for the next one which will not be long now.Keep the good work up.

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming little novella with all the main characters of Meyrick's Kinloch police novels - a clver story but the likely twist at the end was slightly predictable part way through. Good fun.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Packed with drama and with a twist in the tale. A big read in a tiny book!

[C K Dundas · Rating 5 out of 5]

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