1869: The few people that live in the remote area of Sutherland, in the Scottish Highlands, have scraped together an existence for years in this harsh environment, since the mines were closed. Farming is hard in these parts, but the people here have had little choice.
Now gold has been found and the subsequent Gold Rush has attracted the attention of the Pan-European Mining Company.
Solveig McCleery is keen that the Brora coal mines her father fought so hard to save, should be re-opened to bring prosperity back to the area and she has recruited the help of the Pan-European Mining Company's own agent, Brogar Finn, to help her.
However, as soon as work begins on the mines, one of the prospectors turns up dead, wrapped in a sack and surrounded with some curious artifacts bearing mysterious inscriptions. More bodies follow and each one seems to be conveying some sort of message, that Brogar's colleague, Sholto McKay, is working hard to decipher.
Can the mines be re-opened to bring back prosperity to the people of Sutherland? Are the murders connected to some strange prophecy of doom? Can Brogar and Sholto solve the mystery in time to save Solveig's plans?
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Clio Gray's Deadly Prospects is the first installment of The Scottish Mysteries and establishes the partnership of man of action Brogar Finn and his erudite assistant Sholto McKay.
This book offers a fascinating glimpse into the history of this remote part of the Scottish Highlands, which was badly affected by the disastrous closure of the Brora mines and the land clearance that followed, instigated by the Duchess of Sutherland's preference for the company of sheep over that of her tenants. Thousands of Scots were forced to emigrate from the Highlands to look for work elsewhere, when they were dispossessed of their land and heritage, and those times are still looked back on with bitterness by many. Those that remained lived a hard life indeed.
I like to think that there were some charismatic characters like Solveig around at the time to bring about the re-opening of the mines and there is no question that the people who remained behind after the clearances were certainly made of strong stuff.
I did find the first part of the book a little difficult to get into, and it took me a while to work out the significance of the Icelandic eruption right at the beginning, but once the story took off, I could not put this book down. The wild and wind-swept Highland landscape comes across so well, that you can almost feel yourself battling through the elements alongside the characters.
I loved the creepy thread that plays out throughout the story - who is the murderer? What do they want? - as the tension ramps up to the very exciting climax, which has a twist I certainly did not see coming.
Deadly Prospects is a thoroughly enjoyable historical mystery, which really opened my eyes to the events that happened during this time period in Sutherland.
I am really looking forward to reading Brogar and Sholto's next adventure, Burning Secrets, to see what else Clio Gray can teach me!
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From the cover of the book:
Deadly Prospects is book one in the Scottish Mysteries series. 1869: Sutherland, Scotland. For years the people of this remote area of the Highlands have lived a hard life. Now a local Gold Rush has attracted the Pan-European Mining Company to the area, and Solveig McCleery is determined to re-open the Brora mines and give the population the riches they deserve. But when work starts on re-opening the mines, the body of a prospector is discovered, and odd inscriptions found on stones near the corpse. Before the meaning of these strange marks can be deciphered another body is discovered.
Are these attacks connected to the re-opening of the mines? Will Solveig's plan succeed in bringing peace and prosperity back to the area? Or has she put in motion something far more sinister?
Deadly Prospects is available now, from your favourite book retailer.
About Clio Gray
Clio was born in Yorkshire, spent her later childhood in Devon before returning to Yorkshire to go to university. For the last twenty five years she has lived in the Scottish Highlands where she intends to remain. She eschewed the usual route of marriage, mortgage, children, and instead spent her working life in libraries, filling her home with books and sharing that home with dogs. She began writing for personal amusement in the late nineties, then began entering short story competitions, getting short listed and then winning, which led directly to a publication deal with Headline. Her book, The Anatomist’s Dream, was nominated for the Man Booker 2015 and long listed for the Bailey’s Prize in 2016.
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