The Peat Dead

On the Scottish Hebridean Island of Islay, five corpses are dug up by a peat-cutter. All of them have been shot in the back of the head, execution style. Sent across from the mainland to investigate, Inspector Angus Blue and his team slowly piece together the little evidence they have, and discover the men were killed on a wartime base, over 70 years ago. But there are still secrets worth protecting, and even killing for. Who can Inspector Blue trust? Reviews of The Peat Dead: "A mystery so redolent of its island setting that you practically smell the peat and whisky on the pages." - Douglas Skelton" This atmospheric crime novel set on Islay gripped me from the start. A book that shows decades-old crimes cast long shadows." - Sarah Ward

Describes the discovery of bog bodies in northern Europe and the evidence which their remains reveal about themselves and the civilizations in which they lived.

This fascinating and insightful tour through present-day meetings of Spiritualists, UFOlogists, and dowsers illuminates our obsession with the paranormal and challenges the misunderstanding of the paranormal as a marginal or inconsequential feature of America's religious landscape. According to a 2005 Gallup poll, 75 percent of Americans believe in some form of paranormal activity. The United States has had a collective fascination with the paranormal since the mid-1800s, and it remains an integral part of our culture. Haunted Ground: Journeys through a Paranormal America examines three of the most vibrant paranormal gatherings in the United States—Lily Dale, a Spiritualist summer camp; the Roswell UFO Festival; and the American Society of Dowsers' annual convention of "water witches"—to explore and explain the reasons for our obsession with the paranormal. Both academically informed and thoroughly entertaining, this book takes readers on a "road trip" through our nation, guided by professor of American religion Darryl V. Caterine, PhD. The author interprets seemingly unrelated case studies of phantasmagoria collectively as an integral part of the modern discourse about "nature" as ultimate reality. Along the way, Dr. Caterine reveals how Americans' interest in the paranormal is rooted in their anxieties about cultural, political, and economic instability—and in a historic sense of alienation and homelessness.

Just outside Oban, within sight of the Connel Bridge, there's a burnt out car containing the charred remains of a human body. A woman is missing - but is the body hers? In a high stakes game of business and politics, what secret does the bustling port of Oban hide that is worth killing for? "Complex, thrilling and hugely satisfying" - Marion Todd "The Dead of Appin is another cracking instalment in the Angus Blue series. Embark on whisky flavoured adventures in the west Highlands as Blue is drawn into a dangerous world of intrigue and corruption. Addictive from page one!" - G. R. Halliday "A complex mystery starring the unforgettable Angus Blue as he explores political corruption and grisly murders in the Scottish highlands. And he cooks too! Don't miss it." - Emma Christie

"What sort of book is worth a man's life? After a year away from working in the field, archaeologist Cormac Maguire and pathologist Nora Gavin are back in the bogs, investigating a ninth-century body found buried in the trunk of a car. They discover that the ancient corpse is not alone-pinned beneath it is the body of Benedict Kavanagh, missing for mere months and familiar to television viewers as a philosopher who enjoyed destroying his opponents in debate. Both men were viciously murdered, but centuries apart-so how did they end up buried together in the bog?"--

"A wild heart beats within New York City. Amid concrete and skyscrapers, the Wildlife Conservation Society works to preserve and protect the animal kingdom both within and beyond the borders of the five boroughs. But dangerous creatures don't always have claws and fangs, as Assistant DA Alexandra Cooper and NYPD detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace know all too well. Predators lurk close to home, and in the aftermath of the shocking drive-by murder of an important city employee--someone Alex has worked with for years--the trio must discover who the bigger snake is: the killer or the victim."--

The Innocent Dead is a gripping crime novel by Lin Anderson featuring forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod who must solve the case of a young girl who went missing forty-five years ago. Mary McIntyre's disappearance tore the local community apart, inflicting wounds that still prove raw for those who knew her. So when the present-day discovery of a child’s remains are found in a peat bog south of Glasgow, it seems the decades-old mystery may finally be solved. Called in to excavate the body, forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod uses the advances made in forensic science since Mary’s vanishing to determine what really happened all those years ago . . . and who was responsible. One key person had been Karen Marshall who was devastated by her best friend’s abduction. Questioned by the police at the time had led to a dead end and the case soon went cold. Now the news of the discovered body brings the nightmares back. But added to that, memories long-buried by Karen are returning, memories that begin to reveal her role in her friend’s disappearance and perhaps even the identity of the killer . . .