Nightingale Static

by Allan Watson

When iconic elder statesman, Sir Wallace Cairney, succumbs to a fatal coronary, shock waves reverberate around Scotland. These shock waves become earth-shaking tremors when two mutilated children are discovered in his basement, creating a scandal of epic proportions. DI Will Harlan is the unlucky detective handed the poison chalice of running the investigation. It doesn’t take him long to realise that Cairney was a member of the Circle of Thirteen Apostles, a murderous religious sect who worship a god of Chaos. Past dealings with these sexual sadists have taught him that they are above the law, protected by a twisted web of coercion, bribery, and blackmail. Harlan knows if he allows even the slightest hint of their complicity to come to light, his life will be on the line. As the Circle of Thirteen Apostles exert pressure on the investigation, tightening the thumbscrews on his personal and professional life, Harlan must decide whether to let the investigation stagnate and die, or find a way of fighting back. Then everything changes when he realises someone out there is killing Apostles.

452 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 5, 2020

About the author

Allan Watson is a writer whose work leans towards the dark end of the fiction spectrum. He is the author of seven novels - Dreaming in the Snakepark, Carapace, The Garden of Remembrance, 1-2-3-4, Monochrome, Heart Swarm and Wasp Latitudes.
In between the books, Allan wrote extensively for BBC Radio Scotland, churning out hundreds of comedy sketches, in addition to being a regular contributor for the world famous 'Herald Diary'.

He occasionally masquerades as a composer/musician, collaborating with crime writer Phil Rickman in a band called Lol Robinson with Hazey Jane II whose albums have sold on four different continents (Antarctica was a hard one to crack)

Allan lives and works in Glasgow, Scotland, but has never worn the kilt or eaten a deep fried Mars Bar. He also once spent three days as a stand-in guitarist for the Bay City Rollers, but he rarely talks much about that...

Reviews

[Cathi Penman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book with all the darkly disturbing atmosphere we have come to expect from Mr Watson. His books are unique, unsettling and not for the faint of heart. They haunt the mind long after the last page is read but this is what good books are meant to do. I am just longing for the next one.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big on atmosphere, even bigger on chills and thrills.