Have enjoyed this series of books very much. Great characters and storyline. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing. Would definitely read her next novel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Have loved Marion Todd books from the first one. Great characters and storylines set in St. Andrews and Fife. Great story with clever twist in the tale.

Closed caption writing. The premise is extremely juicy but poorly executed. Despite not being a lot of characters, I kept forgetting who the MC bf was because I couldn't sense any chemistry. Obtuse police work. DNF at 20%. 3 stars for fairness given the DNF. Maybe it picked up, but I couldn't get past the bad writing.

I really enjoy this series of books featuring DI Clare Mackay and this one sets off at a steady pace with the escape of a prisoner attending a family funeral. I liked the plot and the characterisation, as well as the setting of St Andrews. The writing was good but too much time was taken up with making coffee! The ending left me slightly disappointed but overall, still a good police procedural which I would recommend. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

This is Marion Todd's latest in her great St Andrew's based crime series featuring DI Clare Mackay, now sharing her home, Daisy Cottage, with DCI Alan Gibson. The novel opens on a Saturday night where 2 friends and prison guards, Alan and Gavin, along with their wives Kim and Debbie, have just taken delivery of their Chinese takeaway, when armed men wearing balaclavas abduct the wives, want the men to follow their instructions. Clare finds herself in charge when reports come in of a missing prison van, along with the 2 guards, and their jewellery robber prisoner, Paul Devine, who they were transporting to his uncle's funeral. Order is upset when the worried and frantic DS Chris West has to be removed from the case, prison guard Alan is his cousin, he is to work on the theft of farm machinery instead.

Matters are escalated when a woman is found murdered in her garden shed, a murder that looks to be connected with the missing prisoner. With West unavailable, Clare acquires a new team member, the chatty DS Max Evans with his puppy dog enthusiasm and ability to make a terrific cup of coffee. She is not happy when she is taken off the case of the guards and their prisoner, which is taken over by the all too laid back and suspiciously secretive DCI Ben Ratcliffe, what is she being kept in the dark about? She is left in charge of investigating the murder of the woman who was employed at the jewellery store that Devine had been convicted of robbing. Convinced in her mind that the two cases are linked, Clare cannot stay away, insinuating her way into Ratcliffe's inquiry whenever she can. This is a twisty case where not everything is as it appears and which culminates in Clare being offered an opportunity that she is tempted by.

Overall this was an okay crime read, but this addition lacked the sparkle of the previous books in the series, although it all comes good nearer the end when then narrative becomes significantly more tense and suspenseful. All the different threads are tied together in some surprising ways, and at the end Clare makes the decision to disobey orders, despite knowing that this could adversely affect her career as a police officer, but she feels its more important to do the right thing. I look forward to reading the next in this engaging Scottish crime series. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

The sixth DI Clare Mackay novel starts out with the disappearance of two prison guards and the dangerous prisoner they were transporting. Not only are the guards missing but so are their wives. As the search for the missing begins to heat up, a woman’s body is discovered. Is it linked to the disappearance? And what about a rash of farm thefts.? With so much on her plate, Clare is forced to hand the disappearances over to another team parachuted in. However she can’t quite keep her nose out of that investigation and her qualms that something isn’t quite right with the DCI leading the inquiry.
It’s an excellent, fast paced read. I’ve read the others in the series and I very much enjoy this detective and her team.

Some may say it's a bit crazy to jump into a series at book 6 but this is exactly what I did here. All good though. The story was easy to pick up even if I didn’t have all the backstory.

I found Clare to be a likeable but fallible character and I found it kind of refreshing that she didn’t always make the right decisions in breaking the case. Too often the detective is almost infallible or at least thinks they are but not in this case.

I grew up close to St Andrews in Cupar and must admit to a wee thrill seeing so many places I knew so well being mentioned.

Good story and well paced, this was an enjoyable and easy read with a few twisty turns to keep you guessing. Enjoyed the ending and how it wasn’t all neatly wrapped up with a bow.

As I said it was my first Clare Mackay book and certainly won’t be my last. Planning to go back and read the rest

Huge thanks to Net Galley & Canelo for the chance to read an early copy

Old Bones Lie is the latest book in the DI Clare Mackay series by Marion Todd and it is another worthy addition to an entertaining series with numerous twists and turns that keep the pages turning at a good pace.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this eARC.

I really enjoyed this book and think it is a great addition to the DI Clare Mackay series. The book got off to a great start and immediately grabbed my attention. There are several story threads here which certainly kept me guessing - a murder, a missing prisoner and prison guards, the theft of farm machinery and an old jewellery robbery. Are they all linked? I thought this was a great book to read, it had mostly likeable and believable characters although I wasn’t keen on the new DCI introduced, I thought he was cagey and secretive although there is good reason for this. I liked the descriptions of the area, scenery and countryside and could picture them in my mind as I was reading. This is a very well written and absorbing read that flows really well and all the threads come together nicely towards the end. It didn’t quite have the wow factor for me though and one minor irritant I had was that Clare’s partner was constantly referred to as ‘the DCI’ which I didn’t really like. Saying this it is still a very entertaining read which I would recommend if you like good, solid police procedurals with several twists along the way. If you are new to this series then I’d suggest you read the books in order so you get to know the characters right from the start.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.
To be honest there isn't much to say as I've followed DI Clare Mackay form book number one in the series and the stories just keep getting better and better.
This book in keeping with those that have gone before it, could in fact easily be read as a standalone read, but for those that have been on the journey we see the regular characters back together with a new sidekick for Clare.
A five out of five yet again.

crime-fiction, criminal-acts, international-crime-and-mystery, law-enforcement, Scotland, abduction, procedural, detective, escaped-prisoner, family, friction, friendship, murder, murder-investigation, office-politics, small-town, suspense, thriller, threats*****

It starts with the abduction of the wives of two corrections officers followed by those same officers transporting a prisoner to a family funeral during which said prisoner escapes. Turn the page and a jewelry store employee who had been the very one to ID said prisoner after a robbery at the store is found dead at her home. And a large amount of money is found in the compost. In an area near the dead woman's home there have been thefts of very expensive farm equipment and that wants solving as well. Then DI Clare Mackay is told that she will be working under a different DCI for this operation, and he turns out to be a closed mouthed, secretive sort who has his own agenda. AND THEN comes an enormous plot twist! This blessed book kept my nose to the page far into the night!
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Canelo via NetGalley. Thank you!

Book 6 already and this is a series which still has plenty to offer. I think maybe I’m a lazy reader as I like that I don’t need to learn a whole set of new characters each time. There is some change in DI Clare Mackay’s team from book to book though which gives it a sense of reality. The new DS who makes the ‘good’ coffee sounds like a keeper and we still had an abundance of cakes. There was a lot packed into this book with enough twists to keep it interesting throughout. As usual I’d recommend reading the others in the series first for the development of the characters but I’m sure it would work as a standalone.

When the wives of two prison officers are kidnapped and then the officers disappear as well as a prisoner they are escorting to a family funeral.. DI Clare Mackay is called in to find them . Then a woman's body is found in a garden shed and Clare and her team have to investigate the death. While trying to juggle both cases they discover that the woman worked in a jewellers that had previously been robbed by the missing prisoner.. Clare gets allocated the murder while DCI Ben Ratcliffe gets called in to take over the missing prison officers and prisoner case.
I enjoyed this book it had everything which kept you wanting to read to the end.

It all starts on a Saturday with a takeaway delivery for two couples followed a few moments later with the frightening arrival of two balaclava clad, gun toting men who take away the women. Why? A few days later there’s a murder of a female. Is there a connection? By the Monday DCI Claire Mckay at St Andrews is alerted to a missing prison van along with two officers and a prisoner, Paul Devine, a convicted armed robber. Clare is convinced there is a connection between the cases but the prisoner case is taken away from her and given to DCI Ben Ratcliffe and she is to concentrate on the murder. What is going on?

First of all, I’ve read several of the series and enjoyed them as I like the characters and the Saint Andrews setting, however, this one isn’t as exciting as the previous ones and after a good start it becomes a bit of a PC Plod. This does improve further into the book but the ending is not especially dramatic and could definitely have been better.

There are moments of a really good puzzle as there are distinctly off notes that are intriguing and there’s certainly something fishy going on about the appointment of DCI Ratcliffe. There are some good twists but there are also some that are predictable. There’s a great deal of mention of coffee and cake but what’s missing is the usual good banter within the team. It’s a decent enough police procedural but not as good as I’m expecting missing some of the previous sparkle.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Canelo for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

The kind of twisty, jet-fueled thriller mystery that explodes on page one and has you happily abandoning work, sleep, and life as you race to the stunning end. Don't miss it!

DI Clare MacKay is tasked with finding out what happened to a prisoner who disappeared along with his two guards and, later, their wives. She has new sergeant supposedly working with her, but who does make brilliant coffee, because her own has a conflict with the case, being cousin to one of the missing prison officers. She has a new and aloof DCI as well which doesn't help, he hinders more than anything else at times. Plenty of frustration for her, plenty of twists and turns with the addition of a murder of a jeweller's assistant, thefts of fancy GPS tracking tractors as well as rogue farmers,. Well-written and a "good story". which all tie together neatly in the end. Thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Another excellent novel by Marion Todd, in this one DI Clare Mackay is searching for a missing prisoner and two prison officers who have disappeared from the face of the earth. The case is more complicated when neither of the wives of the prison officers can be found either and then an assistant from a prestigious Jewellers in the town is found in her shed and she’s been murdered. To top things up there is also a spate of expensive equipment going missing from local farms. DI Clare Mackay and her team really have their work cut out for them trying to get to the bottom of it all. I really love reading this authors books as St Andrews is a place my wife and I really love and certain places get mentioned in her books that we either know or we recognise.

Another great addition to the Clare Mackay series. I have read and loved every one in this series. Plenty of twists and turns and action going on to keep me gripped. I love all the main characters and find them very relatable and likeable. Although it is better to read the series in order so you get the back story this book could also be read as a standalone. I can't wait for the next instalment. I highly recommend this book and author..

I found this be a great addition to the series. I have read and enjoyed the previous books and I found this to be just as good.

I am loving this series, it is a gripping story with many twists. I look forward to reading more.
I would definitely recommend everyone reads this