This crime novella introduces D.C.I. Duncan Bone, a police officer working in the Campsie Fells area of Scotland. He is married to Alice, and has a three year old son. Bone drives a 1996 green Saab.The case – a body is found in a car submerged in a local reservoir. The dead man is Paul Conlan who the local people all thought was in Alaska, so didn’t realize he was missing. The investigation proves problematic, partly due to a set of unstable, identical twins at war with one another.

It is August in Scotland and the area is suffering under an uncharacteristic heatwave.

DCI Bone works with a team that includes:

Detective Superintendent Roy Gallacher – Bones superior officer.

D.I. Rhona Walker – Originally from the Isle of Lewis, she now lives in Campsie Fells with her female partner, Maddie.

D.S. Mark Mullens – is single and has a father who is suffering from dementia. Mark has an insatiable appetite, loves crack jokes, and really minds the heat.

D.S. Sheila Baxter – is a chain smoker and wears tweed in all weathers.

Andrew Cash – the senior forensic pathologist.The author’s evil ploy worked. He offered this novella for free to introduce readers to his series character DCI Duncan Bone. Now I am eager to follow the series which, so far, includes the following titles:I very much enjoyed this quick crime read. Duncan Bone is a character I want to follow. The writing kept me absorbed, the descriptions were vividly portrayed, and the police team were interesting. The setting, the Campsie Fells area in Scotland, was one I appreciated.The ending provided a segue into what could be an interesting case for the first book in the series. If you’re looking to start a new series and enjoy police procedurals, then why not make the acquaintance of DCI Duncan Bone and his team?  I’m glad I did.

I downloaded a complimentary digital copy of this novella from the author’s website for my own reading enjoyment and the writing of this review.

TG Reid (Tom) is a Scottish-born novel and short story writer, now living in exile in Bath, England. His award-winning novels and stories been published worldwide. TG Reid also writes dark literary thrillers under the pen name of Tom Gillespie. Tom (Gillespie’s) latest novel, The Strange Book of Jacob Boyce, has been praised by critics as ‘utterly spellbinding’, ‘brilliantly unsettling’, ‘obsessively compelling’, and ‘a masterful composition’.

The DCI Bone series is set in Tom’s hometown, among the the hills and glens of the Scottish Campsie Fells. This is Tom’s first foray into the murky, pulse-pounding world of police thrillers.

Connect with TG Reid via his Website, or via Twitter