Mostly Murders

Many thanks to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and Highland Quill Publishing for this ARC via Netgalley.

‘Let’s photograph crumbling castles at foggy dawn,’ you said. ‘It’ll be atmospheric,’ you said. You left out the part where it might get us killed.

Travel writer Joana and her friend and photographer Brian are working on a Scotland travel guide, when they learn that several drone photography influencers have been killed at tourist hotspots. Joana is determined to investigate, and drags Brian with her on a green tea and vegan scone-fuelled journey through the Scottish Highlands in search of the killer.

Along the way, the two encounter a long range of colourful characters and potential suspects, including an eighty-three-year-old granny, a police officer with a peculiar speech pattern and a vegan haggis praline-selling influencer.

Deadly Cairns is a contemporary cosy mystery filled with snappy banter, a love of authentic nature and culture and reflections on social media and its role in shaping the world around us.

From fun, light-hearted banter to beautiful descriptions of Scottish nature in its full, unedited glory and lamentations of the effects of overtourism and the craze for fame and fortune fuelled by social media, this mystery mixes humour and serious reflections on modern society with haggis, rugged rainy landscapes and a serial killer lurking in the mist.

Cosy mystery