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Alex Walters

A massacre in the Scottish Highlands is far more than the family tragedy it first appears to be, in this riveting police procedural.

 The slaughter of the Dawson family seems to be a heartbreaking case of murder-suicide—another deeply troubled man who violently snapped and killed his wife and children before ending his own life. But DI Alec McKay doesn’t think it’s as open-and-shut as it looks. Why was a BMW parked at the Dawsons’ holiday home on that last day of tourist season—and why are its owners also now dead? Why is the new senior investigating officer acting so erratically? And most chillingly of all, who is sending out packages containing toys taken from the crime scene?

 Before McKay can close the case, he will have to face down a threat from the past—and a crime that could shatter his heart—in this twist-filled thriller from the acclaimed author whose previous police procedurals, written under the name Michael Walters, were praised as “pulse-pounding” (Chicago Tribune) and “compulsive reading” (The Independent).

Bloodhound Books

The DI Alec McKay Series

A Parting Gift

In these three crime thrillers set in the Scottish Highlands, DI Alec McKay hunts down killers and grapples with his own tragic past.

Candles and Roses
 When bodies start appearing on the Scottish Black Isle—each with roses and candles placed around it—Det. Inspector Alec McKay search for a pattern behind the twisted killings.

Death Part Us
 When a retired cop is murdered on a remote Scottish Isle, Det. Inspector Alec McKay must dig into the man’s corrupt past—a past that involves McKay himself.

Their Final Act
 A killer is targeting washed-up entertainers—all of whom are connected to past allegations of sexual assault—and Det. Inspector Alec McKay believes there’s one final victim to go.

The Inspector McKay Series Books One to Three: Candles and Roses, Death Parts Us, and Their Final Act

In this gritty crime thriller set in the Scottish Highlands, a detective’s hunt for a serial killer leads him to confront his own past.

Haunted by the loss of his daughter, Detective Inspector Alec McKay obsesses over a missing person case that’s going nowhere. But that investigation is interrupted when bodies start appearing on the Scottish Black Isle—each with roses and candles placed around it. As McKay and his team begin to identify a disturbing pattern behind the killings, the killer’s twisted intentions remain allusive.

 Meanwhile, the young woman who discovered the first victim has begun an investigation of her own—one that catches McKay’s attention, and possibly the killer’s as well. As the case unfolds, McKay is forced to face his own demons. Now, to catch the killer, McKay must untangle a nightmarish web of truth and lies.

Candles and Roses: A Serial Killer Thriller

When a retired cop is murdered on a remote Scottish Isle, DI Alec McKay must dig into the man’s corrupt past in this British crime thriller series.

Twenty years ago, Jackie Galloway was a senior cop with a bad reputation. But after crossing the wrong people, his career was ruined. He eked out his last days succumbing to dementia on Scotland's Black Isle, supported by his long-suffering wife, Bridie. When he’s found dead, the police assume it’s an accident—until Bridie reveals that he’s been receiving mysterious letters containing only the phrase: “NOT FORGOTTEN. NOT FORGIVEN.”

 Struggling to come to terms with the loss of his estranged wife Chrissie, DI Alec McKay is living in isolation on the Black Isle. McKay had once worked for Galloway as a junior officer and has bad memories of the man and his methods. Now he finds himself investigating Galloway's death. But when suspicion falls on him and more police officers are murdered, the pressure is on for McKay to solve the case.

Death Parts Us: A Serial Killer Thriller

A serial killer is targeting washed-up entertainers in the Scottish Highlands in this gritty crime thriller by the author of Candles and Roses.
 
 Former comic Jimmy McGuire is found dead on the streets of Inverness, his body garroted. Years ago, McGuire had been half of a promising double-act until his partner, Jack Dingwall, was convicted of rape. Soon after, a second corpse is found in an abandoned industrial site on the edge of the Moray Firth—also garroted. Identified as a former musician turned record producer, it is learned that he had also been accused of rape.

 Meanwhile, Det. Inspector Alec McKay and Chief Inspector Helena Grant are still wrestling with the fallout from a recent case following a devastating acquittal. As the body count rises, the police think they have the killer in their sights. But McKay is concerned that the evidence is too neat. And as the trail leads to a final victim yet to come, time is running out to find the real killer.

Their Final Act: A Serial Killer Thriller

As a detective’s personal life unravels, he must piece together the clues to a baffling series of murders in this Scottish Highlands crime thriller.

A family day out turns sour for DI McKay when he stumbles across an unidentified corpse. The day becomes darker still when his brother-in-law goes missing and is eventually found dead, the result of a seemingly accidental fall.

Meanwhile, DCI Helena Grant has a disastrous on-line date with a senior manager of a local hotel chain whose behavior escalates from pompous to downright disturbing. And, as she arrives home, she receives a threatening text from someone who has clearly been watching her. When a further body is found at the edge of the Cromarty Firth, McKay and Grant begin to piece together a grim tale of violence, human trafficking, and the darkest family secrets.

Expiry Date: A Gripping Crime Thriller

A gruesome killing spree resurrects the past and makes the present all the more dangerous for someone close to DI Alec McKay in this explosive thriller.

In the depths of a cold Scottish winter, an unidentified body is found in the heart of a solstice bonfire, apparently burned alive. Over a tense Christmas, a retired businessman goes missing, his body eventually found hanging from a tree in the coastal town. Another associate is found brutally murdered in his remote Highland home.

DCI Helena Grant wants to spend a romantic Christmas with her new partner, the crime writer Bill Emsworth. In her absence, DI Alec McKay and his team struggle to investigate the killings, their work hampered by staff shortages and hostile weather. As he tries to connect the murders, McKay discovers that the victims have links to a notorious investigation, the subject of a ‘true crime’ exposé written by Emsworth.

When another local businessman disappears, McKay fears that Emsworth, and even Helena herself, maybe in danger.

It seems the real answers lie deep in Grant’s own past, and, with the killer closing in, her future becomes increasingly perilous . . .