The Bothy

Highlands & Islands Detective #2

by G.R. Jordan

Two bodies in a burnt out love nest. A cultish lifestyle and children moulded by domination. Can Macleod unravel the Black Isle mystery before the killer dispenses judgement again?

DI Macleod heads for the Black Isle as winter sets in to unravel the mystery of two lovers in a burned out bothy. With his feisty partner DC McGrath, he must unravel the connection between a family living under a cultish cloud and a radio station whose staff are being permanently retired. In the dark of winter, can Macleod shine a light on the shadowy relationships driving a killer to their murderous tasks?

Forgetting your boundaries has never been so deadly!

Genres: Crime, Scotland

242 pages, Paperback

First published February 27, 2020

Reviews

[Peter Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting book from a Scottish writer New to me

Keep this genre coming as a Scot I appreciate that this author reading about places I am taking with. A book that I recommend to all readers with a love of exciting and Scottish locations.

[Kerrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second outing with Macleod and McGrath. A different setting to last time. (The settings will make you look for your atlas.) Two bodies to be identified and in the long run an unexpected resolution.

I like the way the detective duo and the relationship between them is being fleshed out. There is a lot of back story being developed. The plot in this one was a little bizarre, and some threads a little bit far-fetched, but it still the main action drew me in.

I think I'm hooked but perhaps a little daunted by seeing somewhere that there are 18 in the series!

[Andy Radka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story set in the Highlands of Scotland. All the better because it all happens around where we were on holiday this year.

[Mrs Janet S Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bothy

Enjoyable read, but not a welcome addition to have a senior policeman who seems to need, not an alter ego of a dead wife. Slows his reactions

[wilma thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book but not as much as Waters Edge.

[Karen Siddall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bothy quickly became one of those books I didn’t want to put down.

Since successfully closing their first case together, DI Seoras Macleod and DC Hope McGrath have become solid partners on the job and good friends off. Hope helped him pull out of the tailspin that began with his wife’s sudden suicide some 20 years before. Macleod has even started dating Jane Hilsop, a woman he’s beginning to form a close connection with. But now their team has been assigned to an ugly double homicide in the north on Black Isle, and he must leave just as their relationship is heading to the next level.

These latest murders turn out to be particularly heinous: a man and a woman, beheaded and left in a remote bothy* on the beach which has been doused in petrol and set ablaze. On-the-scene police personnel have yet to ID the two bodies when a well-known DJ at the local radio station is reported missing. As the investigation unfolds, they soon discover any number of suspects had a bone to pick with the dead man, and when they learn the identity of the young woman found with him, things really take a bizarre turn.

The Bothy quickly became one of those books I didn’t want to put down. It was exciting and easy-to-read; the author’s writing style placed me in the story right along with the two detectives and their investigation.

Macleod is an interesting character: almost as if he was frozen in time when his wife took her own life – both emotionally and historically. He still deeply loves his dead wife and has only recently begun to release himself from the tragic relationship. At the same time, the world, social norms, and mores have long moved on without him, and although he is aware of the changes around him, he remains an anachronism in his way of thinking about men and women and modern relationships. DC McGrath is helping him catch up with the times, but his very attitude will help them with this case.

The plotline with the Carlton family and their religious belief in a total patriarchy was fascinating. I liked how Hope and Macleod balanced out each other’s reactions to the whole bizarre family situation.

Several great suspects took prominence at different stages of the case, and I’ll have to say my money was definitely on one of the red herrings through most of the book. I enjoyed finding out that it was someone else entirely.

I did have a couple of story continuity issues, which is why I rated this book four stars and not five. In one instance, the detectives race off from a suspect’s home because another suspect’s car has been found and that person has gone missing. They get ambushed inside a dark bothy, and a scuffle ensues, yet both detectives feel their attacker is the man whose home they had come from in the first place. Another problem arose when Hope followed a suspect into a hidden passageway with a trapdoor located in a closet under a stairway. The suspect just went through the trapdoor but was somehow able to replace a vacuum cleaner back on top of the opening?

I enjoyed the first book in the series, Water’s Edge, but I liked this one even more! I’m so glad there are already more books in the series available. I recommend THE BOTHY, book two in the Highlands & Islands Detective series, to mystery readers who enjoy stories of good detective work set in remote, wild locations such as the Scottish Highlands can offer.

• Bothy – a simple, basic structure that can be used as a shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use without charge.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again, a mixed reaction to this. The interesting part is the working through of grief and coming to terms with changing gender roles, especially in a religious context. The narrative presents some gender related issues, in particular the notion of men as protector and initiator, from several perspectives, this time within a quasi-cult setting.

I am sceptical, however, of the continual focus on sexuality. It is certainly relevant to the core interest, but I shall abandon this series if it continues to dominate. At some point greater balance needs to emerge. At the moment the personal/professional split equates to sexual/rational.

The Scottish setting emerges a little more strongly in this volume. Action, injury and recovery continues a little improbable.

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series. Who needs superheroes when you have Seoras and Hope. How those two survive themselves is beyond belief. Freezing, burning, drowning, being hit in the head repeatedly, being thrown off cliffs, hanging by a thread off a forty foot rock pile... Hope is able to take down any man. My goodness, those Scottish deep fried Mars bars must have something in them. (That's a joke since they did not eat any. I am not sure they ever eat anything, just slurp coffee.) Lovely depiction of the Black Isle, great character development, very convoluted, coherent and exciting plotline. On to the next...

[Daniel Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

MCLeod is improving

Seoras (how to say that name?) is still having issues in dealing with his partner, Hope McGrath , and his newfound romance with Jane is tenuous, but developing. In his most troubled moments he still talks to his wife (also named Hope) even two decades after her suicide. Events in this story revolve around the seaside shack of the title, and the charred bodies that a morning hiker finds there. Lots of red herrings in the plot and the eventual solution kind of forced itself in me, but it does work.

[Beth Stewart · Rating 1 out of 5]

i bought this one by mistake. It is almost as bad as the first book. the main character is unrealistic. Anyone with such male chauvinistic beliefs would never make it in the real word of today. And his continual interest in everyone's cleavage gets tiresome very quickly.

the plot is weak and one skims very quickly through the last chapters just to get it read and tossed away.

[Kim Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one I liked a bit less

A tiny bit of grammar editing and some more detail about the land and culture would have been nice. Still sticking with the series, sticking with Scotland?

For the love of Mike, when, WHEN, are Hope and Seoras going to have the good sense and likely proper police protocol to call in backup BEFORE they follow villains into tight and remote spaces?

[Maryanne R. Marcellin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting read, lots of drama and confusion for all. The inspector and sergeant got knocked around a bit on this one. A cult, with a lot of history. It was confusing at times but got the answers in the end.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoying these books. While the mystery is good, although I guessed the culprit before the reveal, the strength of these books is the relationship between the two main characters. Looking forward to book three.

[Sarah Young was smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great twisting read

I enjoyed this more than the first book in this series. Very well written. I highly recommend this author's books.

[Glenda Bettin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book

[Janey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, interesting story with unusual but believable characters. Not so much religion as the first book, and the better for that. Exciting in parts, but not too stressful.

[kevin jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cracking read with plenty of twists and turns

Full recommendation from me. This book will keep you riveted. An put a downable. Enjoy as much as I have.

[Angelica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the first book but really loved the second one. The story was really interesting with a twist I didn't see coming. Enjoyed it a lot! Can't wait to read the 3rd one!

[suzanne Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant read

Great read kept you guessing couldn't put it down. Read it super quick. Looking forward to the next in the series

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird story

I kept reading but it just got worse - sorry. Unanswered plot lines and then the stupid ‘cult’ and crazy matriarch.

[Anne MacLennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant story, wow certainly had no idea till the end who the killer was, kept me guessing and had lots of twists. Another brilliant read from this author.