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DCI Daley #4
The Rat Stone Serenade
It’s December, and the Shannon family are returning home to their clifftop mansion near Kinloch for their annual AGM. Shannon International is one of the world’s biggest private companies, with tendrils reaching around the globe in computing, banking and mineral resourcing, and it has brought untold wealth and privilege to the family. However, a century ago Archibald Shannon stole the land upon which he built their home - and his descendants have been cursed ever since.
When heavy snow cuts off Kintyre, DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott are assigned to protect their illustrious visitors. As an ancient society emerges from the blizzards, and its creation, the Rat Stone, reveals grisly secrets, ghosts of the past come to haunt the Shannons. As the curse decrees, death is coming - but for whom and from what?
When heavy snow cuts off Kintyre, DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott are assigned to protect their illustrious visitors. As an ancient society emerges from the blizzards, and its creation, the Rat Stone, reveals grisly secrets, ghosts of the past come to haunt the Shannons. As the curse decrees, death is coming - but for whom and from what?
384 pages, Paperback
First published March 23, 2016
176 people are currently reading
464 people want to read
About the author
Denzil Meyrick
37 books527 followersDenzil 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
August 30, 2018
I listened to this audio a little while ago, narrated by the ever reliable and wonderful David Monteath. This is a particularly blood soaked and gruesome addition to the series featuring DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott, set in the enticing location of Kinloch. Jim is back with wife Liz and baby son, although his messy personal life refuses to settle down with his inability to repress his emotions for ex-lover, DC Mary Dunn. Brian's life long love affair with the drink takes a turn for the worse as he cannot stop the increasing number of hallucinations, and it takes him some time to acknowledge this is a problem that he is going to need help with, and he is going to have to come to terms that the drink is going to be off limits for him. The biggest private global company, Shannon International, is holding its annual AGM, and its being held at the Shannon family's cliff top mansion, close to Kinloch. The privileged and hugely wealthy family built its riches on land stolen from tinker blacksmith Nathanial Stuart, who cursed the Shannons so that every 50 years a calamity will hit the family and its descendants.
50 years ago, the young child, Archie Shannon went missing, and now a child's skeleton has been found on the famous Rat Stone, assumed to be him. Amidst the worst snowfall and blizzards, the Shannon family and company executives face a nightmare that appears to be without end until the entire family is destroyed. With grisly murders, a deadly cult, and a cast of characters where no one appears to be what they seem, Daley and Scott find themselves in desperate, isolated and dangerous waters, unable to call on outside help as the entire area is cut off by the driving snow. New boss, Carrie Symington, turns out to be an exceptionally able and brave woman, who quickly realises that she must not allow Jim to leave her police team, he is just too valuable. A highly intense, complex, gripping novel which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. .....sorry, I meant listening to! Highly recommended!
50 years ago, the young child, Archie Shannon went missing, and now a child's skeleton has been found on the famous Rat Stone, assumed to be him. Amidst the worst snowfall and blizzards, the Shannon family and company executives face a nightmare that appears to be without end until the entire family is destroyed. With grisly murders, a deadly cult, and a cast of characters where no one appears to be what they seem, Daley and Scott find themselves in desperate, isolated and dangerous waters, unable to call on outside help as the entire area is cut off by the driving snow. New boss, Carrie Symington, turns out to be an exceptionally able and brave woman, who quickly realises that she must not allow Jim to leave her police team, he is just too valuable. A highly intense, complex, gripping novel which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. .....sorry, I meant listening to! Highly recommended!
October 10, 2021
This story revolves round the ultra-rich Shannons & the curse placed on the family a century back. When heavy snow cuts off Kintyre, Daley & co have to protect the family as "ghosts from the past" come back to haunt them. Throw in the Rat Stone, an ancient society, a child missing for 50 years, the discovery of some old bones, strange break-ins at the homes of some locals, dodgy dealings by various members of the Shannon's board, Daley's on-off thing with Mary, Scott seeing ghosts or having hallucinations or visions - I never worked out which! - & everyone hiding or lying about something & it's all going on in Kinloch...
...& therein lies the problem with this book, there was just too much happening to keep it plausible & it just got messy. With all the murders & underhanded dealings, the back stabbings - both literal & metaphorical - came thick & fast & while everything was "explained" by the end it didn't do it convincingly so rather than being shocking things simply fell flat. But that's only my thoughts....
*POTENTIAL SPOILER*
It does end on a bit of a cliff hanger but I haven't decided yet whether I'd prefer to be left dangling or not.....
...& therein lies the problem with this book, there was just too much happening to keep it plausible & it just got messy. With all the murders & underhanded dealings, the back stabbings - both literal & metaphorical - came thick & fast & while everything was "explained" by the end it didn't do it convincingly so rather than being shocking things simply fell flat. But that's only my thoughts....
*POTENTIAL SPOILER*
It does end on a bit of a cliff hanger but I haven't decided yet whether I'd prefer to be left dangling or not.....
April 9, 2016
The Rat Stone Serenade is the 4th instalment of Mr Meyrick's DCI Daly series, set in the fictional town of Kinloch on the west coast of Scotland. It has a slightly darker tone and the humour befittingly more subdued than its predecessors but it is a cracking read with layer upon layer of scheming, intrigue and double crossing. It is also fairly violent.
The novel opens with Jim Daley contemplating his early retirement but he is soon pulled from this and his holiday by the discovery of a child's skeleton on the eponymous rat stone, a large stone dating from ancient times which has links to the Druids and general bad things. The skeleton is assumed to be that of Archie Shannon, the heir to the vast private company Shannon Industries, who disappeared 50 years previously in line with the curse laid on the Shannon family 100 years ago. While the police are investigating the skeleton and trying to keep the annual gathering of the Shannon clan safe the mutilated body of a paparazzo is found and there is a spate of burglaries in the town. Jim Daley's cup runs over when the reporter working with the paparazzo is also found dead by blood eagle. I hope you are keeping up because this is only the start. Through the whole novel the worst snow since 1963 wreaks havoc by cutting the town off, preventing free movement or the arrival of reinforcements. I should point out that snow is very rare in the coastal towns of Western Scotland and hardly ever lies for long.
I read this book in one sitting as it is utterly engrossing - I was desperate to know what was coming next and was unable to predict anything about the plot. It isn't very realistic or even plausible which normally I prefer in my police procedurals but it's a great yarn and tremendous fun.
The characters are becoming more familiar as the series goes on but Mr Meyrick isn't standing still and they are evolving in every novel. Jim Daley is having a bit of a mid life crisis, determined to leave the police and his feelings for Mary Dunn behind to concentrate on his marriage and new son. Brian Scott is suffering from the D.T.s now that he has given up the drink and has hallucinations. He still manages a few good one liners but, given his condition, it is a bit subdued. They have a new boss in the form of Superintendent Carrie Symington, a very welcome addition as she is smart, pleasant and not frightened to get her hands dirty (if only all bosses were like her).
Highly recommended.
The novel opens with Jim Daley contemplating his early retirement but he is soon pulled from this and his holiday by the discovery of a child's skeleton on the eponymous rat stone, a large stone dating from ancient times which has links to the Druids and general bad things. The skeleton is assumed to be that of Archie Shannon, the heir to the vast private company Shannon Industries, who disappeared 50 years previously in line with the curse laid on the Shannon family 100 years ago. While the police are investigating the skeleton and trying to keep the annual gathering of the Shannon clan safe the mutilated body of a paparazzo is found and there is a spate of burglaries in the town. Jim Daley's cup runs over when the reporter working with the paparazzo is also found dead by blood eagle. I hope you are keeping up because this is only the start. Through the whole novel the worst snow since 1963 wreaks havoc by cutting the town off, preventing free movement or the arrival of reinforcements. I should point out that snow is very rare in the coastal towns of Western Scotland and hardly ever lies for long.
I read this book in one sitting as it is utterly engrossing - I was desperate to know what was coming next and was unable to predict anything about the plot. It isn't very realistic or even plausible which normally I prefer in my police procedurals but it's a great yarn and tremendous fun.
The characters are becoming more familiar as the series goes on but Mr Meyrick isn't standing still and they are evolving in every novel. Jim Daley is having a bit of a mid life crisis, determined to leave the police and his feelings for Mary Dunn behind to concentrate on his marriage and new son. Brian Scott is suffering from the D.T.s now that he has given up the drink and has hallucinations. He still manages a few good one liners but, given his condition, it is a bit subdued. They have a new boss in the form of Superintendent Carrie Symington, a very welcome addition as she is smart, pleasant and not frightened to get her hands dirty (if only all bosses were like her).
Highly recommended.
July 8, 2016
Too much of a good thing...
A hundred years ago, blacksmith Nathaniel Stuart was driven off his property in Blaan, a village on the southernmost tip of the remote Kintyre peninsula on the west coast of Scotland. Of tinker stock, Stuart cursed the landowner Archie Shannon, declaring that every fifty years calamity will befall his family and their descendants until the end of time. Fifty years later, young Archie Shannon hid from his mother in the woods behind their home for a lark – and was never seen again. Now, in the present day, the Shannon family is returning to their ancestral home in Blaan for the annual general meeting of the hugely successful international company they now own. But things take a sinister turn when the bones of a young child are discovered on the Rat Stone, an ancient site surrounded by much superstition and fear...
There is so much to like about this book that I really wish I was recommending it more highly. It's very well written, and the recurring characters of DCI Daley and his small team are done well – each with a distinct personality, each flawed, but all likeable as individuals and working well together as a team. The remoteness of this part of the world is increased when an unusually severe snowstorm cuts off the roads to the mainland and causes power cuts throughout the area. Meyrick creates an excellent atmosphere of isolation and menace, with some nicely spine-tingling supernatural undertones. With no likelihood of reinforcements getting through any time soon, it's up to Daley and his colleagues not just to investigate the old bones but to try to stop the sudden crime wave that is sweeping through the village.
And therein lies the problem. Too much, too much! The body count is completely ridiculous! For a large proportion of the early part of the book, each chapter introduces us to someone who is then gruesomely killed. It seems like there's a million strands each resulting in gory death for someone and for a long time, too long, the connection between all these events is entirely unclear. And with so many deaths happening so quickly, these characters are no more than names, so that when they're referred to later in the book, I was having real difficulties remembering who they were or how and where they died.
The book is like an Irish stew – everything has been thrown in. One detective is an alcoholic trying to lay off the booze, while a couple of the others are having an affair with each other. There are dead businessmen, human sacrifices, dodgy business dealings, vicars with secrets, ex-nuns, tinkers' curses and about three people all having visions, either supernatural, caused by drink or due to brain damage. Corpses with their skin flayed, corpses on bonfires, corpses on sacrificial stones. Every now and again new people had to arrive by helicopter or boat just so there would be more people to bump off. One felt an investigation wasn't really necessary – leave it a couple of days and only the bad guy would be left alive!
One of the detectives is given what I think is supposed to be a Glasgow accent, though it feels more like an anglicised speaker's idea of what a generic Scottish dialect sounded like circa 1950 – a bit too Sunday Post (which will mean nothing to non-Scots – sorry! Twee, perhaps, is the closest comparison). However, kudos to the author for at least trying to keep the book feeling Scottish in tone, and I must say my 'ear' did get tuned in to the dialect after a while, and it began to sound more authentic.
It picks up towards the end and, while the supernatural stuff is left hanging for the most part, the rest of it is explained, even if the credibility is stretched way past breaking point. Despite all the ridiculous stuff, it's still very readable because of the overall quality of the writing. Although I really feel this one goes so far over the top it becomes farcical, I would be willing to read another in this series. I was reminded of the artist Agatha Troy, in Ngaio Marsh's books, who never knew when one of her pictures was finished and needed her lover Roderick Alleyn to tell her when to stop painting. I really hope Meyrick can find an editor who will perform the same function for him (the stopping bit, not the lover-ing bit!) and tell him when enough is enough. Loads of potential in this series – I hope in future books to see it fulfilled.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
A hundred years ago, blacksmith Nathaniel Stuart was driven off his property in Blaan, a village on the southernmost tip of the remote Kintyre peninsula on the west coast of Scotland. Of tinker stock, Stuart cursed the landowner Archie Shannon, declaring that every fifty years calamity will befall his family and their descendants until the end of time. Fifty years later, young Archie Shannon hid from his mother in the woods behind their home for a lark – and was never seen again. Now, in the present day, the Shannon family is returning to their ancestral home in Blaan for the annual general meeting of the hugely successful international company they now own. But things take a sinister turn when the bones of a young child are discovered on the Rat Stone, an ancient site surrounded by much superstition and fear...
There is so much to like about this book that I really wish I was recommending it more highly. It's very well written, and the recurring characters of DCI Daley and his small team are done well – each with a distinct personality, each flawed, but all likeable as individuals and working well together as a team. The remoteness of this part of the world is increased when an unusually severe snowstorm cuts off the roads to the mainland and causes power cuts throughout the area. Meyrick creates an excellent atmosphere of isolation and menace, with some nicely spine-tingling supernatural undertones. With no likelihood of reinforcements getting through any time soon, it's up to Daley and his colleagues not just to investigate the old bones but to try to stop the sudden crime wave that is sweeping through the village.
And therein lies the problem. Too much, too much! The body count is completely ridiculous! For a large proportion of the early part of the book, each chapter introduces us to someone who is then gruesomely killed. It seems like there's a million strands each resulting in gory death for someone and for a long time, too long, the connection between all these events is entirely unclear. And with so many deaths happening so quickly, these characters are no more than names, so that when they're referred to later in the book, I was having real difficulties remembering who they were or how and where they died.
The book is like an Irish stew – everything has been thrown in. One detective is an alcoholic trying to lay off the booze, while a couple of the others are having an affair with each other. There are dead businessmen, human sacrifices, dodgy business dealings, vicars with secrets, ex-nuns, tinkers' curses and about three people all having visions, either supernatural, caused by drink or due to brain damage. Corpses with their skin flayed, corpses on bonfires, corpses on sacrificial stones. Every now and again new people had to arrive by helicopter or boat just so there would be more people to bump off. One felt an investigation wasn't really necessary – leave it a couple of days and only the bad guy would be left alive!
One of the detectives is given what I think is supposed to be a Glasgow accent, though it feels more like an anglicised speaker's idea of what a generic Scottish dialect sounded like circa 1950 – a bit too Sunday Post (which will mean nothing to non-Scots – sorry! Twee, perhaps, is the closest comparison). However, kudos to the author for at least trying to keep the book feeling Scottish in tone, and I must say my 'ear' did get tuned in to the dialect after a while, and it began to sound more authentic.
It picks up towards the end and, while the supernatural stuff is left hanging for the most part, the rest of it is explained, even if the credibility is stretched way past breaking point. Despite all the ridiculous stuff, it's still very readable because of the overall quality of the writing. Although I really feel this one goes so far over the top it becomes farcical, I would be willing to read another in this series. I was reminded of the artist Agatha Troy, in Ngaio Marsh's books, who never knew when one of her pictures was finished and needed her lover Roderick Alleyn to tell her when to stop painting. I really hope Meyrick can find an editor who will perform the same function for him (the stopping bit, not the lover-ing bit!) and tell him when enough is enough. Loads of potential in this series – I hope in future books to see it fulfilled.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
May 14, 2019
That’s it for me Mr Meyrick. You have plumbed new depths with this blood-soaked, silly, rambling nonsense. Thank goodness I listened and could pull the earbuds out when yet another description of graphic violence inflicted on innocent victims threatened to invade my headspace. There was absolutely no need for the descriptions except to horrify, for the methods provided no clue as to who the perpetrator could be.
Oh wait, maybe there was a member of Daley’s team who thought 'Are we dealing with some surgeon who has run amok and ditched his day job to stalk the hills of Western Scotland at night in a blizzard aimed with a scalpel and a meat cleaver?' (which you'd need to cut through and dissect fresh ribs). But maybe that was a bit too far-fetched for the Kinloch police force and they preferred to go with 'it could be a disgruntled employee of the company (there you go, I’ve already forgotten the name) who didn’t get two chocolate biscuits on his tea break and has decided to wreak revenge in the most bloodthirsty manner imaginable.
Now I am being silly :D
And now the spunky DC whatever love interest having got Daley back has gone and provided a lovely cliffhanger ... not like one of the characters who does do a swan dive off the cliff during the above mentioned blizzard but a hook to get readers to buy the next bloodthirsty episode.
Not this reader.
Oh wait, maybe there was a member of Daley’s team who thought 'Are we dealing with some surgeon who has run amok and ditched his day job to stalk the hills of Western Scotland at night in a blizzard aimed with a scalpel and a meat cleaver?' (which you'd need to cut through and dissect fresh ribs). But maybe that was a bit too far-fetched for the Kinloch police force and they preferred to go with 'it could be a disgruntled employee of the company (there you go, I’ve already forgotten the name) who didn’t get two chocolate biscuits on his tea break and has decided to wreak revenge in the most bloodthirsty manner imaginable.
Now I am being silly :D
And now the spunky DC whatever love interest having got Daley back has gone and provided a lovely cliffhanger ... not like one of the characters who does do a swan dive off the cliff during the above mentioned blizzard but a hook to get readers to buy the next bloodthirsty episode.
Not this reader.
October 14, 2019
5*
Audiobook
Denzil Meyrick has done a fantastic job of bringing the 'occult', the harsh wilderness of the Scottish highlands and a family feud together in this book. Absolutely fantastic
Audiobook
Denzil Meyrick has done a fantastic job of bringing the 'occult', the harsh wilderness of the Scottish highlands and a family feud together in this book. Absolutely fantastic
September 5, 2019
The fourth novel in the DCI Jim Daley series by Denzil Meyrick, THE RAT STONE SERENADE is set, as always, around the rural town of Kinloch on Scotland's West Coast. A place that is not unused to cold, wet weather, although the monumental snow storm that covers the landscape in this outing is a little more unusual - because of the heaviness of the snow, and the length of the storm itself. This might not stop DCI Jim Daley; his trusty sidekick DS Brian Scott; Daley's off and on-again love interest PC Mary Dunn and their new boss, when they are called upon to investigate some truly baffling goings on, but it does certainly slow them down.
As always, there's a hefty component of the personal in this novel. Jim Daley is back with his wife, and their baby son James, and Mary Dunn has moved on with a new boyfriend. Daley is planning his resignation from the police force - he's had enough of the darkness and the worst of humanity. Their new boss is also new to the area, and a bit of a character in her own right, and she'd prefer it if Daley stayed on, as would DS Brian Scott. Although in this outing Scott is really battling with demons bought on by his excessive drinking - to the point where he's haunted by the spectre of a young boy - the son of the Shannon family, gone missing from the house on the clifftop many years ago, whose bones may have just been discovered on a nearby pagan altar.
Everything in this novel revolves around the Shannon family, their house on the clifftop that they return to yearly for their family company's AGM, the past that got the family to this point, and the secrets they are holding onto. There's a pagan element to the historical elements, as well as the current day situation, as a photographer and then the journalist he was working with are found dead - with some of the elements of those deaths being decidedly weird and ritualistic. The weather here is used to create a typical locked room scenario, where Daley, his new boss, and their small local team are inside the killing zone, with outside help unable to get to them. The threat is an odd one - local / ritualistic / focused on the family and their business interests, so it could be somebody who lives there, or somebody the Shannon's have imported in their own travelling circus.
I listened to this novel rather than read it and it's certainly possible to keep track of the many layered plot here - with the historical aspects woven into the current day action. Whilst I've always admired this narrator, in this instance, the accent deployed for the local vicar (supposedly Australian) was more than enough to make me desperate for him to be an early victim - or in the end - the guilty party. Mind you, I wasn't 100% convinced by those in use for the American characters interwoven here as well - but to an Australian's ear - well... there is no way any Australian sounds like this. In the end whenever the Vicar appeared I did not care what he was up to - too busy wishing him out of my hearing.
THE RAT STONE SERENADE sees the love lives of Jim Daley and Mary Dunn get worse or better, depending upon your perspective, and Brian Scott's drinking is hitting crisis point. With touches of woo woo (unless you want to put that down to the DDT's) the plot is twisty and complicated, with past and present bought to bear, although to be honest, not too hard to fathom once the hauls of some local thieving are identified. All in all though, this is a nicely engaging series, the new boss (Carrie Symington) is a welcome addition to the ensemble cast, and even with the gruesomeness of the deaths in this one, and a bit of daft police-jep (for a very nice change mostly male!), (and that god-awful accent) it was an entertaining, if not slightly way out there, listen.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
As always, there's a hefty component of the personal in this novel. Jim Daley is back with his wife, and their baby son James, and Mary Dunn has moved on with a new boyfriend. Daley is planning his resignation from the police force - he's had enough of the darkness and the worst of humanity. Their new boss is also new to the area, and a bit of a character in her own right, and she'd prefer it if Daley stayed on, as would DS Brian Scott. Although in this outing Scott is really battling with demons bought on by his excessive drinking - to the point where he's haunted by the spectre of a young boy - the son of the Shannon family, gone missing from the house on the clifftop many years ago, whose bones may have just been discovered on a nearby pagan altar.
Everything in this novel revolves around the Shannon family, their house on the clifftop that they return to yearly for their family company's AGM, the past that got the family to this point, and the secrets they are holding onto. There's a pagan element to the historical elements, as well as the current day situation, as a photographer and then the journalist he was working with are found dead - with some of the elements of those deaths being decidedly weird and ritualistic. The weather here is used to create a typical locked room scenario, where Daley, his new boss, and their small local team are inside the killing zone, with outside help unable to get to them. The threat is an odd one - local / ritualistic / focused on the family and their business interests, so it could be somebody who lives there, or somebody the Shannon's have imported in their own travelling circus.
I listened to this novel rather than read it and it's certainly possible to keep track of the many layered plot here - with the historical aspects woven into the current day action. Whilst I've always admired this narrator, in this instance, the accent deployed for the local vicar (supposedly Australian) was more than enough to make me desperate for him to be an early victim - or in the end - the guilty party. Mind you, I wasn't 100% convinced by those in use for the American characters interwoven here as well - but to an Australian's ear - well... there is no way any Australian sounds like this. In the end whenever the Vicar appeared I did not care what he was up to - too busy wishing him out of my hearing.
THE RAT STONE SERENADE sees the love lives of Jim Daley and Mary Dunn get worse or better, depending upon your perspective, and Brian Scott's drinking is hitting crisis point. With touches of woo woo (unless you want to put that down to the DDT's) the plot is twisty and complicated, with past and present bought to bear, although to be honest, not too hard to fathom once the hauls of some local thieving are identified. All in all though, this is a nicely engaging series, the new boss (Carrie Symington) is a welcome addition to the ensemble cast, and even with the gruesomeness of the deaths in this one, and a bit of daft police-jep (for a very nice change mostly male!), (and that god-awful accent) it was an entertaining, if not slightly way out there, listen.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
March 9, 2017
Dire. That's the only word for this book. The previous three have been quite good, but this one plumbs new depths. I've lost count of the number of the number of characters in the book and what they contribute to the plot, or plots. I've also lost count of the number of plots in this piece of nonsense. Thankfully it's the last book, at least the last book by Mr Meyrick that will cross my path. If you're looking for fantasy, here's your man. If you're looking for police procedural with a bit of supernatural, read James Oswald. This is just a waste of time. My only regret is that I wasted MY time finishing it. I was no wiser at the end - no explanation, no denouement, just a few bodies.
June 15, 2025
A snow storms covers Scotland leaving DCI Daley and his new Superintendent cut off from the wider world to protect a wealthy local family arriving for an annual gathering with a curse hanging over the event. I highly recommend this series.
August 10, 2016
This is the first book I have read by this author and I can honestly say that it won’t be the last. I LOVED this book and the author definitely deserves to be up there with the greats.
The characters in this book were realistic and believable. I particularly loves the characters of DCI Daley and DS Scott. DCI Daley reminded me of John McClane (from the Die Hard films) in that no matter what gets thrown at him, he fights against it and emerges at the other side. He fiercely defends those he cares about and he never shirks his duties. DCI Daley is a damaged man, with secrets from the past and torn loyalties. He is married with a child so he feels he must be a part of a family unit with his child and his wife but as the story goes on it becomes apparent that Daley’s heart lies elsewhere. Daley has to deal with his personal problems at the same time as turmoil unfolds at the Shannon family mansion. DS Scott is a reformed alcoholic who suffers DTs and hallucinations. Daley and Scott enjoy a close working relationship and friendship.
‘The Rat Stone Serenade’ is very well written. The author is very good at being able to convey a real sense of atmospheric authenticity. For example: All the descriptions of the snow made me feel very cold. The action scenes were very tense and at times I had to hold my breath as I genuinely feared what was coming next. Reading this book was a bit like being on a rollercoaster in that there were lots of twists, turns and stomach churning moments. Daley uncovers a whole host of secrets, lies and betrayals.
In short I LOVED this book. Reading ‘The Rat Stone Serenade’ became seriously addictive in that I had to read ‘just one more chapter’ with the result that I ended up reading several more chapters as I just didn’t want to put the book down. It was certainly a CPID (Can’t put it down) book. I can’t wait to read more from this very talented author and I certainly can’t wait to read the next book in this series.
The characters in this book were realistic and believable. I particularly loves the characters of DCI Daley and DS Scott. DCI Daley reminded me of John McClane (from the Die Hard films) in that no matter what gets thrown at him, he fights against it and emerges at the other side. He fiercely defends those he cares about and he never shirks his duties. DCI Daley is a damaged man, with secrets from the past and torn loyalties. He is married with a child so he feels he must be a part of a family unit with his child and his wife but as the story goes on it becomes apparent that Daley’s heart lies elsewhere. Daley has to deal with his personal problems at the same time as turmoil unfolds at the Shannon family mansion. DS Scott is a reformed alcoholic who suffers DTs and hallucinations. Daley and Scott enjoy a close working relationship and friendship.
‘The Rat Stone Serenade’ is very well written. The author is very good at being able to convey a real sense of atmospheric authenticity. For example: All the descriptions of the snow made me feel very cold. The action scenes were very tense and at times I had to hold my breath as I genuinely feared what was coming next. Reading this book was a bit like being on a rollercoaster in that there were lots of twists, turns and stomach churning moments. Daley uncovers a whole host of secrets, lies and betrayals.
In short I LOVED this book. Reading ‘The Rat Stone Serenade’ became seriously addictive in that I had to read ‘just one more chapter’ with the result that I ended up reading several more chapters as I just didn’t want to put the book down. It was certainly a CPID (Can’t put it down) book. I can’t wait to read more from this very talented author and I certainly can’t wait to read the next book in this series.
March 13, 2021
The plots for the Inspector Daley series have always been a little bit out there but this one takes the biscuit. I was quite enjoying the unravelling mystery, though a bit dark for my tastes, until the last quarter when things started to get seriously silly and it went downhill from there. In the final analysis it just didn't make any sense and not even the light relief provided by DS Scott's antics could save this for me.
January 25, 2022
This one starts with the main character Jim Daley thinking of retirement. He has a young baby and his marriage is back on again. Then he sees Mary Dunn who was his lover for a while. It breaks his heart to see her at work. She has a new boyfriend and is moving on. Not easy for Jim. Then he has a new Superintendent Carrie Symington . She seems a good character and not afraid to get her hands dirty. The story is a dark one of a child snatch long ago. The child of millionaires ? Goes missing never to be seen again. Then things begin to happen which affects the family on the hill who have come together for their AGM. A good story with twists and turns and believable parts and parts no so believable but that’s what makes it good. Not my favourite I. This series though so far
July 11, 2017
If Dennis Wheatley wrote police procedurals they would turn out a bit like this. A mad concoction of the supernatural and the mundane with little space to draw breath. It reminds me of some of Christopher Brookmyre's work. Not for the Scottish setting but for the connection of an improbable storyline told at a very fast pace. However, whereas Brookmyre seems to present the odd knowing wink to the reader, Meyrick plays it dead straight. It's certainly great fun to read, but it doesn't warrant a lot of plot analysis. If you go with the flow, you will have a riot.
September 16, 2022
Another brilliant DCI Daley story, highly recommend Denzil Meyrick books. I like them too because the places he bases them from are familiar to me.
August 19, 2021
This is the fourth instalment of the DCI Daley series. By far my favourite. A rollercoaster of emotions combined with a twisting and complex plot. All this and set in my favourite place in the world, the beautiful west coast of Scotland looking across to the Irish coast.
October 15, 2020
Gripping story with quite a few twists.
September 21, 2023
Hold on tight ..suspend belief and go with the flow in another fast-paced and action-packed crime thriller
November 16, 2021
The sins of a family 100 years ago come back to haunt them as death comes to the Shannon family and Kinloch. Given that the Shannon family are high profile, DCI Daley and his team are sent out to protect them, but with bad weather and power cuts the situations worsens. Can DCI Daley break the curse?
The fourth book in the DCI Daley series and this one really is claustrophobic as snow and power cuts heighten the tension of them being trapped and up against an unknown assailant. Despite a quite dark story, there’s still the usual humour you get with Daley and Scott. This is a really good series.
The fourth book in the DCI Daley series and this one really is claustrophobic as snow and power cuts heighten the tension of them being trapped and up against an unknown assailant. Despite a quite dark story, there’s still the usual humour you get with Daley and Scott. This is a really good series.
May 15, 2016
I thought I smelt a rat
This is the fourth DCI. Daley thriller, if you’ve read the previous three. But the first if, like me, you Deeply rooted within its Scottish location and customs the action takes part during the Hogmanay period where the area is in the grip of an unusually fierce weather system. Snow is as much a character in the novel as all the heroes, villains and victims we encounter in its path. The actual location is the Kintyre peninsula and I apologise if I appear to know what I am talking about, I don’t, I’ve never been there. And I don’t want to. Not because I don’t believe that the natural beauty of the place would be breath-taking but because this book scared the bejesus out of me! And I can’t tell you why because that would spoil it.
There’s an ancient curse against a wealthy, privileged family and the police are required to do some protecting as some grisly events unfold that threaten just about everyone it seems.
The plot is complicated and I’m not sure I ever really grasped all the ins and outs of it. There is a laudable Agatha Christie type attempt to unravel and disseminate towards the conclusion. I might have been persuaded to offer five stars if the implausibility of parts of the novel had been more defined and convincing. There is nothing wrong with implausibility if it can be rendered believable. at times it fell a little short of that for me.
Jim Daley seemed to have less of a presence than some of the other police characters which, if intentional, is very clever. There’s a touch of the Jimmy Perez about him but I fear that may be my succumbing to Scottish fictional detective stereotyping. My bad. But I warmed more to some of the other personnel.
And of the other characters? No one is quite who they seem. So it becomes unnerving when you think you have things sorted in your head and then it all get turned upside down. But isn’t that part of the pleasure of a good crime novel?
A palpable atmosphere is created throughout and the impenetrability of the weather makes you feel cold. A great read for a summer heatwave.
Whizz
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
This is the fourth DCI. Daley thriller, if you’ve read the previous three. But the first if, like me, you Deeply rooted within its Scottish location and customs the action takes part during the Hogmanay period where the area is in the grip of an unusually fierce weather system. Snow is as much a character in the novel as all the heroes, villains and victims we encounter in its path. The actual location is the Kintyre peninsula and I apologise if I appear to know what I am talking about, I don’t, I’ve never been there. And I don’t want to. Not because I don’t believe that the natural beauty of the place would be breath-taking but because this book scared the bejesus out of me! And I can’t tell you why because that would spoil it.
There’s an ancient curse against a wealthy, privileged family and the police are required to do some protecting as some grisly events unfold that threaten just about everyone it seems.
The plot is complicated and I’m not sure I ever really grasped all the ins and outs of it. There is a laudable Agatha Christie type attempt to unravel and disseminate towards the conclusion. I might have been persuaded to offer five stars if the implausibility of parts of the novel had been more defined and convincing. There is nothing wrong with implausibility if it can be rendered believable. at times it fell a little short of that for me.
Jim Daley seemed to have less of a presence than some of the other police characters which, if intentional, is very clever. There’s a touch of the Jimmy Perez about him but I fear that may be my succumbing to Scottish fictional detective stereotyping. My bad. But I warmed more to some of the other personnel.
And of the other characters? No one is quite who they seem. So it becomes unnerving when you think you have things sorted in your head and then it all get turned upside down. But isn’t that part of the pleasure of a good crime novel?
A palpable atmosphere is created throughout and the impenetrability of the weather makes you feel cold. A great read for a summer heatwave.
Whizz
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
May 25, 2016
I’m a huge fan of Denzil Meyrick’s D.C.I. Daley series and this was the best yet. They simply get better and better and we get to know the characters and learn more about their strengths and weaknesses. This is to be DCI Jim Daley’s last case before he takes early retirement and he teams up again with DS Brian Scott. Daley is hoping to make a fresh start with his wife Liz and his baby son. Scott is having episodes where he sees visions and has been told it’s the DTs so he has stopped drinking. There is a new Superintendant, Carrie Symington, who comes across as competent and likeable. The opening chapters foreshadow what is to become a complex and thrilling tale centred round the Shannon family. There is a tinker’s curse, a missing child, druidic rituals and the sinister Rat Stone. Add to that mix international finance, dark secrets and harsh winter weather and it’s a recipe for a superb and gripping murder mystery. The story is set on the west coast of Scotland in Blaan near Kinloch on the remote Kintyre peninsula. It’s an area steeped in history and certain areas are indeed tremendously atmospheric which adds to the sense of menace. Following the discovery of a child’s skeleton on the Rat Stane the horribly mutilated body of a journalist is discovered. There are other disturbing events and brutal murders which push the police to their limits. By this time I couldn’t put the book down as I wanted to see how all this would work out. There are a great many plot twists and it was impossible to predict what was going to happen next or who was involved in the various intrigues. It’s a fast paced story with thefts and murders and financial shenanigans, and of course, revenge. Fortunately, the wonderfully realistic dialogue and flashes of black humour, with some brilliant one liners from Brian, occasionally lifts the tense atmosphere. The ending was so unexpected it made me gasp... oh! I can’t wait for the next book in the series. It’s 5 stars from me.
April 15, 2016
Excellent. Thank you. Author Denzil Meyrick goes from strength to strength with this latest in the DCI Daley series. Rat Stone Serenade is exquisitely written. The beat is fast, the detail forensic - well it would be given the writer's police background. The action continues apace. An absolute delight to read. The only bad thing is turning the final page and getting that unique feeling that only occurs when you have finished, and are parting company with a first rate book. Thank you Denzil for putting together such a brilliant piece of literary entertainment. By the way, if the author reads this, please stop and get back to the typewriter - keep bashing those wordprocessor keys so that the next book comes out before the year end :-) Much appreciated.
April 26, 2016
An established series that has developed and grown in stature as it has progressed.We meet up with established characters and meet several new ones again playing a large part is the coastal area of Western Scotland and its environs.This Author is maturing like a fine wine with each book he produces and I hope there will be many more to come an enticing and very rewarding read
May 22, 2016
Absolutely brilliant! This is the fourth in the Kinloch-based series featuring DCI Jim Daley and it is the best yet. The story is gripping from start to finish, throwing up surprises throughout, and the relationships which develop between the principals, including the new Superintendent, are equally interesting. I am already anticipating number 5!
May 19, 2016
Great read - I hardly put put it down! Easily readable, lots of plot twists, and I thought the characters were all good. I haven't read the rest of the series (this is the fourth), but I'm definitely going to go back and read them!
April 8, 2016
Another cracking read. Books keep getting better and better. Would highly recommend
April 12, 2016
A bit far fetched, otherwise it would have been 5Star
May 16, 2016
The 4th book from Denzil Meyrick, again I read this in 3 days! It's a fast paced thriller that I couldn't put down! Can't wait for the 5th book!
August 8, 2018
The 4th in the D.C.I. Daley series starts off 100 years ago as the Shannon family attempt an eviction of The Stuart's, their tenants resulting in a curse being laid at the door of The Shannon's to land on them every 50 years. Has the curse come back to haunt them?
There is a touch of The Wickerman about this book and that supernatural element combined with an atmospheric sense of place made this a much more spooky read than the others. A high body count and ghostly goings out mean you will be asked to suspend your disbelief to enjoy this novel to the fullest - but you know what, it's fiction right! So do yourself a favour and get that disbelief hung high and settle down and enjoy a damn good story because Denzil Meyrick excels in his storytelling skills! Location is a key element in this series and once again the author takes you smack bang into the middle of it all, this time it's in the middle of winter and the remoteness of the area is portrayed exceedingly well and will have you wrapping a blanket around yourself as you read.
Chief Superintendent Symington has replaced John Donald and it is clear that there is something in her past that haunts her. And while on the subject of haunting well DS Brian Scott has been tasked with persuading Jim to withdraw his resignation but soon finds himself caught up in another investigation in the not so sleepy little town of Kinloch.
Brian is one of those characters that you cannot fail to engage with, there is a real authenticity about him, from his dialogue to his very real experience of PTSD and how he deals with it through the bottom of a whisky bottle. I really find myself getting right inside of his head. Haunted by hallucinations he is unsure if this is the withdrawal from alcohol causing this or something more sinister.
In this book DCI Jim Daley is feeling conflicted, does he want to go through with his resignation and is his heart really with Liz or is he pining for DS Mary Dunn. I could almost feel his anguish in this book. I love his relationship with Brian Scott, it is perfect as the two men bounce off each other and their dark sense of humour and fearless approach to policing means that they are a perfect combination!
We are talking feuding families with dark and deep-rooted secrets combined with an almost supernatural historical edge to it, cults, ghosts and death there is guilt, dysfunction and double dealings all deliciously wrapped up with fast paced twists and turns. So many deaths and little clues dropped like breadcrumbs leading you down a twisted path until you reach the dramatic conclusion!
Littered with that classic dark humour that the author does so well and packed to the brim with intricate plotting and a host of unreliable narrators, The Rat Stone Serenade will keep you on your toes throughout. This police procedural is a thriller and perfect for those armchair detectives who like to exercise the old gray matter!
There is a touch of The Wickerman about this book and that supernatural element combined with an atmospheric sense of place made this a much more spooky read than the others. A high body count and ghostly goings out mean you will be asked to suspend your disbelief to enjoy this novel to the fullest - but you know what, it's fiction right! So do yourself a favour and get that disbelief hung high and settle down and enjoy a damn good story because Denzil Meyrick excels in his storytelling skills! Location is a key element in this series and once again the author takes you smack bang into the middle of it all, this time it's in the middle of winter and the remoteness of the area is portrayed exceedingly well and will have you wrapping a blanket around yourself as you read.
Chief Superintendent Symington has replaced John Donald and it is clear that there is something in her past that haunts her. And while on the subject of haunting well DS Brian Scott has been tasked with persuading Jim to withdraw his resignation but soon finds himself caught up in another investigation in the not so sleepy little town of Kinloch.
Brian is one of those characters that you cannot fail to engage with, there is a real authenticity about him, from his dialogue to his very real experience of PTSD and how he deals with it through the bottom of a whisky bottle. I really find myself getting right inside of his head. Haunted by hallucinations he is unsure if this is the withdrawal from alcohol causing this or something more sinister.
In this book DCI Jim Daley is feeling conflicted, does he want to go through with his resignation and is his heart really with Liz or is he pining for DS Mary Dunn. I could almost feel his anguish in this book. I love his relationship with Brian Scott, it is perfect as the two men bounce off each other and their dark sense of humour and fearless approach to policing means that they are a perfect combination!
We are talking feuding families with dark and deep-rooted secrets combined with an almost supernatural historical edge to it, cults, ghosts and death there is guilt, dysfunction and double dealings all deliciously wrapped up with fast paced twists and turns. So many deaths and little clues dropped like breadcrumbs leading you down a twisted path until you reach the dramatic conclusion!
Littered with that classic dark humour that the author does so well and packed to the brim with intricate plotting and a host of unreliable narrators, The Rat Stone Serenade will keep you on your toes throughout. This police procedural is a thriller and perfect for those armchair detectives who like to exercise the old gray matter!
February 23, 2022
Cast aside your logical convictions, and enjoy some supernatural along with your superintendents, in a very different sort of police procedural. For me, this belter of a book was enjoyable on many levels; the usual cast of likeable characters, sharing the usual entertaining banter that often made me laugh out loud. It’s sometimes as if I was listening in to conversations held in the real world. The warm and musical Kintyre accent really comes to the fore, and everything flows with the cordiality and humour of real folk having a chat over a wee dram… or a wee sensation, as Hamish would say.
I read this during some of the worst storms on record. Relentless winds battered the Kintyre Peninsula day and night. In the dead of night, with the wind threatening to rip the roof right off our house, I disappeared into this story. So my atmosphere was spot on for what lies between the pages of The Rat Stone Serenade; a dark, blood spattered tale with a mighty high body count.
Snow has cut Kintyre off from the outside world. The New Year is approaching and Jim Daley has decided to quit the force. There’s a new Superintendent in Kinloch, and DS Scott is on his way. The mega-rich Shannon family, their lawyers, accountants and a host of cronies are all gathering at Kersivay House, a mansion set high up on the cliffs overlooking the sea. A parcel of backstabbing, corporate rogues desperate to cling on to their wealth and privilege. But their prosperity is founded upon evil deeds, and the zenith of an auld curse is closing in upon them, as surely as the snow keeps falling and the ghosts of the past keep rising… or is DS Scott just suffering from hallucinations caused by the DTs?
One by one, people start to disappear, their lives soon ended by appalling acts of butchery. Hooded cloaks and strange lamentations competing with the voice of the wind among the trees. The old and mystical runs rampant through this tale, dark and vengeful as it stalks its’ prey. The police try to contain what quickly becomes an uncontrollable situation, and the locals just keep their candles burning and the whisky flowing, as the auld year draws to its violent close. As the New Year beckons the Shannon family dig in for their AGM, protected by armed security and the impenetrable walls of Kersivay House. But nothing can stop dark forces intent on the destruction of everything the Shannons have built. Scarily good fun.
I read this during some of the worst storms on record. Relentless winds battered the Kintyre Peninsula day and night. In the dead of night, with the wind threatening to rip the roof right off our house, I disappeared into this story. So my atmosphere was spot on for what lies between the pages of The Rat Stone Serenade; a dark, blood spattered tale with a mighty high body count.
Snow has cut Kintyre off from the outside world. The New Year is approaching and Jim Daley has decided to quit the force. There’s a new Superintendent in Kinloch, and DS Scott is on his way. The mega-rich Shannon family, their lawyers, accountants and a host of cronies are all gathering at Kersivay House, a mansion set high up on the cliffs overlooking the sea. A parcel of backstabbing, corporate rogues desperate to cling on to their wealth and privilege. But their prosperity is founded upon evil deeds, and the zenith of an auld curse is closing in upon them, as surely as the snow keeps falling and the ghosts of the past keep rising… or is DS Scott just suffering from hallucinations caused by the DTs?
One by one, people start to disappear, their lives soon ended by appalling acts of butchery. Hooded cloaks and strange lamentations competing with the voice of the wind among the trees. The old and mystical runs rampant through this tale, dark and vengeful as it stalks its’ prey. The police try to contain what quickly becomes an uncontrollable situation, and the locals just keep their candles burning and the whisky flowing, as the auld year draws to its violent close. As the New Year beckons the Shannon family dig in for their AGM, protected by armed security and the impenetrable walls of Kersivay House. But nothing can stop dark forces intent on the destruction of everything the Shannons have built. Scarily good fun.
January 28, 2019
Time taken to read - in and out over 3 days
Pages - 384
Publisher - Polygon
Source - Waterstones buy
Blurb from Goodreads
It’s December, and the Shannon family are returning home to their clifftop mansion near Kinloch for their annual AGM. Shannon International is one of the world’s biggest private companies, with tendrils reaching around the globe in computing, banking and mineral resourcing, and it has brought untold wealth and privilege to the family. However, a century ago Archibald Shannon stole the land upon which he built their home - and his descendants have been cursed ever since.
When heavy snow cuts off Kintyre, DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott are assigned to protect their illustrious visitors. As an ancient society emerges from the blizzards, and its creation, the Rat Stone, reveals grisly secrets, ghosts of the past come to haunt the Shannons. As the curse decrees, death is coming - but for whom and from what?
My Review
DCI Jim Daley has had enough and winding down the last days of his career in the police. He is focused on his wife and the baby, leaving the force leaves behind his ex lover DC Dunn. Another case will push Daley and the team to the limits, a family curse, ghosts of the past and ritualistic/supernatural goings on, will Daley get out alive?
The beauty of these books, in my opinion, is you always get a good case going on. A kid went missing years ago, from the cursed family and now a child's bones have turned up. Gorey slayings, a rich spoiled family at the heart of it all and poor Daley and team need to pull through the lies, skulduggery and an old curse ooft, fabulous.
Among that we have the team and their personal issues, Jim recovering from an affair and his wee family getting through it. DS Scott he really brings life and heart to the team, struggling with PTSD and alcoholism battling through his own demons to deal with flesh and blood ones. Daley and Dunn trying hard to work with each other despite the growing difficulty of their very intimate past.
It is crammed full, police procedure, curses, murder, death, Scottish banter, relationships, love, survival, sacrifice and that is just the start of it! If you haven't read the previous books please check them out so you can appreciate more of the characters backgrounds and why they are the way the are. 4/5 for me this time, I have the rest on my tbrm and cannot wait to read them!
Pages - 384
Publisher - Polygon
Source - Waterstones buy
Blurb from Goodreads
It’s December, and the Shannon family are returning home to their clifftop mansion near Kinloch for their annual AGM. Shannon International is one of the world’s biggest private companies, with tendrils reaching around the globe in computing, banking and mineral resourcing, and it has brought untold wealth and privilege to the family. However, a century ago Archibald Shannon stole the land upon which he built their home - and his descendants have been cursed ever since.
When heavy snow cuts off Kintyre, DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott are assigned to protect their illustrious visitors. As an ancient society emerges from the blizzards, and its creation, the Rat Stone, reveals grisly secrets, ghosts of the past come to haunt the Shannons. As the curse decrees, death is coming - but for whom and from what?
My Review
DCI Jim Daley has had enough and winding down the last days of his career in the police. He is focused on his wife and the baby, leaving the force leaves behind his ex lover DC Dunn. Another case will push Daley and the team to the limits, a family curse, ghosts of the past and ritualistic/supernatural goings on, will Daley get out alive?
The beauty of these books, in my opinion, is you always get a good case going on. A kid went missing years ago, from the cursed family and now a child's bones have turned up. Gorey slayings, a rich spoiled family at the heart of it all and poor Daley and team need to pull through the lies, skulduggery and an old curse ooft, fabulous.
Among that we have the team and their personal issues, Jim recovering from an affair and his wee family getting through it. DS Scott he really brings life and heart to the team, struggling with PTSD and alcoholism battling through his own demons to deal with flesh and blood ones. Daley and Dunn trying hard to work with each other despite the growing difficulty of their very intimate past.
It is crammed full, police procedure, curses, murder, death, Scottish banter, relationships, love, survival, sacrifice and that is just the start of it! If you haven't read the previous books please check them out so you can appreciate more of the characters backgrounds and why they are the way the are. 4/5 for me this time, I have the rest on my tbrm and cannot wait to read them!
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