#NetGalley #DeadlyStill

"If you were still alive you’d realise it was all your own fault. If you hadn’t been such a greedy bastard and forced my hand you’d still be leading your dirty little life and you’d be able to keep your murky secrets to yourself. Lucky for your legacy, if there was such a thing, I’m here to clear your crap up for you."

I enjoyed this book. It's a mystery set in a small Scottish town with likeable, small town characters. I did not figure the mystery out until everything was revealed in the end. Problem for me was it was just not exciting, thrilling, or suspenseful enough to my tastes. It was a quick read and I would read the author again if the plot interested me.

Thanks so much to the publisher for an advanced review copy received from NetGalley!

DI Torquil Mc Kinnon are called to investigate the death of a teenage boy in book six of the series. Set in rural Scotland, this book is filled with interesting characters, is well written and filled with sub plots. This is a lovely series of books and I would recommend them. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I have red just one in the Torquil McKinnon series "The Gathering Murders" but I really enjoyed it that I didn't mind so much jumping ahead and reading the latest one. DEADLY STILL is the sixth in the series but honestly, the books can be read as standalones. There is some background story going on in each but the reader is given enough information to be kept up to speed and in any case it isn't the main focus of the books...which is, of course, whatever the current investigation is.

The locale for this series is the Scottish isle of West Uist in the Outer Hebrides. Sergeant Morag Driscoll is out for a morning run when she hears a scream. In the mist, she comes across teenager Catriona McDonald in serious distress by the old WW2 pillbox. Screaming hysterically that she cannot see and reeking of alcohol, Catriona claims that she cannot wake her friend Jamie. What's more...there was a third teenager, Vicky Spiers, who had been with them but is nowhere to be found.

With one teenager dead, another in a critical condition in hospital and a third missing, Morag needs to contact Detective Inspector Torquil McKinnon but her phone is dead. When the local Royal Mail driver is passing and stops to help, Morag borrows his phone to call for assistance. But Torquil, who is down in the caves on his early morning ritual of playing his bagpipes, does not get Morag's frantic messages until he returns to his motorbike. But once help is summoned, Torquil jumps into action immediately attending the scene when he should be meeting the ferry from the mainland with their team's new DC.

And then, another body is found. An adult male also reeking of alcohol. All have been poisoned with homemade "peatreek" whisky laced with methanol. Are the incidents related? And where did they get the deadly "peatreek"? Then the police station is burgled with some of the search evidence disappearing along with some petty cash and PC MacPhee's "murder shoes" he had just received for the traditional hammer throw in which he takes part.

Torquil and his team have their hands full trying to locate the missing girl and tracking down this deadly still. With the help of the community, everyone bands together to find Vicky Spiers, while others have secrets they would prefer to keep hidden.

A solid police procedural without the cockiness or arrogance found in other books, the Torquil McKinnon series is easy to read and thoroughly enjoyable. The picturesque Scottish isles of the Outer Hebrides, along with the mist and the rain, is painted in such a way that it adds a noir-like atmosphere with an air of menace. It is in vast contrast to the cheerful characters which I have come to love.

Known as "Piper" to the locals, due to his finesse on the bagpipes, Torquil McKinnon is a thoroughly likeable character. He is nothing like the arrogant, sexist detectives with a penchant for too much alcohol and a need to bully those below their rank. He is fair, analytical and resourceful and treats all his colleagues as friends. The cast of characters are an enjoyable bunch who all become real in your imagination. Alongside Torquil, there's his uncle "the Padre", Morag Driscoll, Ewan MacPhee, the Drummond twins (Wallace and Douglas), the new DC, Lorna and of course Calum and Cora from the West Uist Chronicle.

As with the the rest of the series, DEADLY STILL is easy to read and thoroughly enjoyable. It doesn't need the complexities of other books as Keith Moray brings the story to life through the atmosphere he's created with the scenery and the weather.

I look forward to more of Torquil McKinnon and his team in this unique and beautiful setting of West Uist.

I would like to thank #KeithMoray, #NetGalley and #SapereBooks for an ARC of #DeadlyStill in exchange for an honest review.

#DeadlyStill #NetGalley This is the sixth book in the series . I honestly don't think there is any problem reading as a standalone as there is not much, if any, reference to past history. I was attracted to this book because it is set in the Scottish Isles but, for me, there were too many descriptive chapters that took me away from the action and I didn't really understand the difference between the 2 sets of 'police' teams and why it was perfectly acceptable to leave the local newspaper owner in charge of the police station when they all ran off to an emergency. When the action did happen, it was exciting and well written but the last few chapters felt a little rushed.

What a great book. Would definitely recommend to it others I no. Great work will look out for this author again

Thank you to Netgallery and Sapere Books for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest and completely voluntary review. All opinions are my own.

Deadly Still by Keith Moray is your average mystery book. I loved the descriptions of the island and it made me want to visit. While to book started off faced paced, I found myself wanting to just skip to the end because it was slowing down too much for my taste. Overall a decent mystery.

‘The killer looked down at the body with a critical eye.’

West Uist, Scotland. Sergeant Morag Driscoll is out on her morning run, up past the World War II pillbox on Harpoon Hill, when she hears someone groaning. It’s Catriona McDonald, hysterical, unsteady on her feet, and saying that she cannot see.

‘Goodness, she reeks of booze, Morag thought.’

But Catriona says that there were three of them in the pillbox drinking. Morag finds only one other, and he is unresponsive. So, with one young person dead, another ill and a third missing, Morag needs to contact Inspector Torquil McKinnon. Her phone is dead, as is the only other phone at the scene. Once help is summoned, it seems that the injuries are inked to illegally distilled alcohol. But where is the missing girl? And where did the teenagers obtain the alcohol from?
And then, another body is found: an adult male also reeking of alcohol.

Torquil ‘Piper’ McKinnon and his team, (including a new team member) have their hands full, trying to find the missing girl and tracking down the illegal still. Some of the locals are helpful, some have secrets they’d like to keep hidden.

This is the sixth novel in the Inspector Torquil McKinnon series. I’ve read (and enjoyed) three of the novels so far and I must track down the other three. I love the setting, most of the characters, and the twists that Mr Moray inserts into the stories to keep me on my toes.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

The first book I've read from this author and the rural island setting gives a unique perspective. Whilst the plot is interesting for me there are too many characters to keep track of, yes it's a small island but we don't need to be introduced to every resident.

West Uist, Scotland. On her morning run Sergeant Morag Driscoll comes across Catriona McDonald screaming that she has gone blind. In the nearby pillbox another teenager is dead but there seems to be one female missing from their overnight party.
Meanwhile a male is being murdered with the scene set as an accident. Are there connections between the two cases. Inspector McKinnon and his team investigates.
An enjoyable and well-written crime story with its cast of likeable characters.

Someone is lacing homemade whisky with Methanol and Sergeant Morag Driscoll needs to find out who and why they supplied it to a dead teen, a teenager who cannot see due to the poisoning and many more who are sure to follow

Another well written police procedural and the sixth in the series. Thank you to Netgalley and Sapere books for the ARC

4 stars

Sergeant Morag Driscoll is out for her morning run when she comes upon a young teenager screaming that she cannot see. She smells strongly of alcohol. She states there are two more inside the pillbox that was left over from WWII. Inside, Morag finds a dead teen boy named Jamie and no one else. Another teen, Vicky, is missing.

All been poisoned by drinking methanol-laced homemade whiskey. When another body is found the adult male also smells of whiskey. Are the four incidents related? Where are the people getting this deadly concoction?

This book is a very well done police procedural. It is well written and plotted, but with a few typos. The characters are interesting and colorful. I liked the police officers and (most of) the villagers. I especially liked the setting of the book. The island sounds lovely and having read Peter May's island-based police procedurals, I fell in love with the islands all over. I would love to go and visit them. This is my first Keith Moray novel, but it won't be my last. Very well done, Mr. Moray.

I want to thank NetGalley and Sapere Books for forwarding to me a copy of this very nice book for me to read, enjoy and review.

Thank you NetGalley and Sapere Books for the eARC.
This was the first book I'd read in the DI Torquil McKinnon series and found it quite enjoyable. It takes place on the isle of West Uist and features a good cast of police characters. Three teens were drinking a deadly form of whiskey, one of them is blind, another one dead and one is missing. Shortly thereafter a man is found dead as well, seemingly having consumed the same whiskey.
I liked the fact that there is a good amount of information on the making of whiskey - I didn't know it's made from barley and didn't know anything about methanol and how it can blind and maybe even kill you. Very scary.
My travels in Scotland comprised Glasgow, Edinburgh and Oban, which is mentioned in the book, but unfortunately not the islands. The sense of place is wonderful, would love to visit!
A good mystery which makes me want to read the others in the series. Definitely recommended!

A good mystery, gripping and entertaining.
I liked the solid mystery that kept me guessing, the well crafted plot, and the fleshed out cast of characters.
It's the first book I read in this series and won't surely be the last.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

West Uist, Scotland
While out on her morning run, Sergeant Morag Driscoll stumbles upon a teenager in serious distress.
Catriona McDonald is screaming hysterically and claims she has gone blind and her friend, Jamie, is in an unresponsive state…
With one young person dead, another missing, and a third in a critical condition, Morag quickly summons Inspector Torquil McKinnon and the rest of the team to action.
This is the sixth book in the series & yet again I found it to be a page turning read that drew me in from the start & gripped me until the end. String characters & a well written well paced story all added to my enjoyment. There are twists & turns, some of which I didn’t see coming. I look forward to more stories from West Ulst
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I would like to thank Netgalley and Sapere Books for an advance copy of Deadly Still, the sixth novel to feature DI Torquil McKinnon set on the Scottish island of West Uist.

Sergeant Morag Driscoll is out for a run when she hears a scream. Teenager Catriona McDonald is drunk and says she has gone blind, her friend Jamie Mackintosh is unresponsive and her other friend Vickie Spears is missing. It looks like they have been drinking peatreek, illegally distilled whisky. How did they get hold of it and were they the intended victims?

I thoroughly enjoyed Deadly Still which is a good mystery with pleasant characters. It is mostly told from the investigative point of view with scenes described by the various police officers with the occasional switch to the unnamed killer and their actions. This is well done as I was totally clueless about both the perpetrator’s identity and motive until all was revealed, despite speculating continuously throughout the read. It is not a long novel so there is not much room for padding and it held my attention throughout.

I like the characters and the location. I am a sucker for Scottish novels but this is somewhat outside my experience, having never visited any Scottish islands, bar the local ones in Ayrshire and they hardly equate to the Hebrides. I thought the descriptions of the weather conditions (mist and rain) made for a good atmosphere, emphasising the difficulty of the hunt for Vickie and adding to the air of menace. It also provides a dark background to the cheerfulness of the characters and the sense that nothing will stop them, not even the weather.

The characters are, on the whole, upbeat and resourceful, seemingly unfazed by anything thrown at them. They aren’t drawn in any depth but don’t have to be when the plot’s the thing.

Deadly Still is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.