After I enjoyed reading the Liar's bones, the first episode in the Rachel McKenzie series I was quick to request the second book in this series from Netgalley. Though this one lacked a bit the scenic setting on an isolated island that I loved about the first book set on Uist in the outer Hebrides the book is an excellent story and I loved reading it.
Although i've been to Inverness ones I don't recall much of the city, except the tourist highlights Therefore it was nice to learn a bit more about the other "face" of the city.

In this book Rachel dives into the deaths of a couple of young women, who all of them seem to have a link to a (former) friend of Rachels from university. Because at face value Dr Kirsty Burns seems to be the only linking pin between all the victims she soon gets blamed for everything that goes wrong in the hospital and is every-bodies most likely culprit for the murders. Everybody but Rachel, who stands by her friend and urges everybody to keep digging deeper until the real murderer is found.

The author keeps you on the point of your seat and devouring the book until the last page. Great book with a lot of suspense en interesting plot twists and supporting characters. Luckily Rachel McKenzie also seems to have cleared up her act and has dropped the sometimes very naive behaviour she displayed in the first book. She also makes some headway with the investigation into the murder of her own mother (by her father) but not as much as I had hoped. Well, makes me look even more forward towards the next book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC I got in exchange for my unbiased review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5(4.5/5)

Review:
I loved book one! Book two didn't disappoint! Absolutely magnificent! 🤌 I can't wait for book three!
*Not a stand alone. Definitely read book one if you haven't yet.*

A lawyer working for the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit, itself under the Procurator Fiscal, Rachel gets involved in the deaths of several young women, most were pregnant and all needed hospital intervention. Although the police mainly believe in natural albeit unfortunate deaths at first Rachel feels otherwise. She works with the police as in the previous book of the series but strays rather off the straight and narrow following her own lines of evidence. Her bullying boss has a heart attack and the unpleasant second in command takes over- think greasy pole climber. This is where a star fell off as it has too much similarity, for me, to MJ Lee's Ridpath series (English Coroner's Office versus Police, boss in a coma, unpleasant number 2 etc etc). Anyhoo, dire goings on in the hospital, mistaken blood types, wrong IV drugs tied in with sex workers, more drugs and both police and Rachel has a lot of red herrings to separate good from bad. DI Du Toit and PC Selena from the previous book return and I'm glad to see Selena has passed the relevant exams and is now a DC. Rachel's dark family history continues and, I'm sure, will be a continuing thread in future books. It helps understand her character and why she acts as she does at times without taking over the story. There are chapters spoken by with very little to say how they fit in until a rather abrupt and physically nasty last couple of chapters. Well-written twisty tale, lovely descriptions of the Inverness area. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

While this is the second book in this series, it can be read as a standalone.
I found that while this story along with the first one is a bit slower paced at least until we get to the end, the plot and the characters are where this story really shines. We learn more about Rachel and her past as this story deals with a couple of girls she went to school with. I like that Rachel follows her instincts when it comes to the cases she investigating, even though investigating isn't exactly her job. She's just supposed to determine whether or not a death needs to be investigated or not.
The characters are more interesting, especially Rachel's neighbor Mags, and I loved that we get to see Selina again. This mystery kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end, and I didn't figure out who the killer was until it was revealed.
I will definitely be keeping up with this series and I can't wait to see what kind of case Rachel will be solving next

The Highland Dead
by Morag Pringle
Pub Date: Jun 21 2024

The Highland Dead is book 2 of Rachel McKenzie Mysteries, a crime series. I can be read as a stand-a-lone. It's a very interesting story, it has great characters, the visualization from the authors description is amazing! I was totally captivated by this book, I highly recommend it.

Synopsis: Rachel is no stranger to the darkness in the hearts of men. When the body of a young woman is found, tragically killed in her own hometown, Rachel is devastated to discover she knew the victim. The death of the school friend forces Rachel McKenzie to confront the remorseless killer.

Many thanks to #TheHighlandDead #NetGalley & #StormPublishing for providing me with an E-ARC of this book.

This book is about Rachel McKenzie who works for the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit or "death unit". Since it's the second book, she is recovering from the past and back on to solve more cases. This one focuses on a group of women from different walks of life and are all connected to the hospital in some way. When women start turning up dead, at first there doesn't seem to be a connection and as the book continues, all the odds and ends are tied up. The killer and the reasons behind his murders is sadly tragic and you do feel bad for them. The book has a lot of strong female characters which is always a bonus. My biggest struggle was that even though the book was in English, there were a lot of Scottish words/terms/phrases that I struggled to understand. There was also a lot of story telling and I wish the book was a bit more fast paced. Over all a fun read and I look forward to the next one.

Rachel Mckenzie book 2
This is the second book in this crime series. Equally as good as the first you never know what Rachel Mckenzie will get up to next... when a pregnant woman dies in hospital, the finger points firmly at her friend and doctor Kirsty Burns., but why would she hurt her best friend? Rachel went to school with kirsty and gillian., , kirsty is convinced someone is out to get her.. Rachel ,DI Du Toit and Selena whom features in the first book, have a major task on there hands.. when another 2 pregnant ladies die under Burns care, can she clear her name and reputation??? This is action packed, great characters and plot, definately worth a read. Hope there's a book 3 ?

Rachel McKenzie is a lawyer working in the Scottish ‘Death Unit’ as it’s know. Her job is to decide if any fatal incident file that comes into their office requires further police or forensic investigations. When she takes a call from an old school friend, she is drawn into a case that is much too close to home . She gets a feeling that this case is not nearly as straight forward as it seems, and is pulled further into it all when her next door neighbour, Mags, asks her for help too.

Rachel’s own background means she can empathise with the distraught friends and relatives who want answers and someone to stand up for their loved ones. She is intuitive and not afraid to step on colleagues toes when she believes there is something that needs looking into. This is the second book in the series, and am glad I read The Liars Bones first, as it really helps with the background to Rachel’s own life and how and why she is so determined to stand up for the victims, even if she puts herself in harms way.

I love the neighbour, Mags, who is fiercely protective of her ‘girls’, and Inspector Du Toit and Selena, who she worked with one her last case. I liked the feel of the characters in the Death Unit, especially her irascible boss, and the career driven colleague Alistair. There is lots of action, plenty of leads, several POVs and suspects that make you think you know where the story is gong - until you dont. Add in the fact that Rachel’s father is in prison convicted of the murder of his wife, and you have a really good, well written thriller, with a surprising twist.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm not usually a big reader of things that happen in other countries. I've not been there so I can't set the scene in my head. With that said, I really enjoyed this book. It kept me locked in the entire time!

I am officially hooked on the Rachel McKenzie series. In addition to being a super interesting
and well crafted story, the colloquialisms and wonderful settings in the book are so much fun
to experience. I thoroughly recommend this book! My thanks to NetGalley via Storm Publishing
for a download copy, of ,this book for review purposes.

Morag Pringle is a new author to me but I will definitely look out for her books in the future, my only disappointment was soon realised that this was the second book in a series so I had missed the backgrounds of the main characters, having said that, it didn't defer from my enjoyment.
Rachel McKenzie works for the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit or "death unit" as it was usually called, little did Rachel know that a phone call to the unit on her first day back was to trigger a chain of events that would put her life and the lives of many others in danger.
Dr Kirsty Burns didn't believe that the death of her friend, nurse Gillian Roberts, was due to natural causes, when Rachel realised that she knew both Kirsty and Gillian from school and that Gillian had been there for her more than once she agreed to look into it.
Rachel's life hadn't been a bed of roses, her father was in jail for murdering her mother, Rachel was a bit of a loner.
This book is fast paced, the body count escalates and it takes all Rachel's skills to work out how the deaths of prostitute, a school teacher and a nurse are connected, but connected they are.
The suspects are many and the rumour mill is running wild, lives are in danger........who will be next.
I love the author's descriptive powers, the beautiful Scottish mountains and glens, I love the characters, I love Mags, Rachel's elderly, shoot from the hip, prostitute next door neighbour.
I admit that I had no idea how this story would end so well done Morag, I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Thank you Storm Publishing and Net Gallery for my ARC, my review is voluntary.

A good murder mystery of a serial killer set in Scotland. Follows the cops as they try to solve the case. Did enjoy this overall, as it is well written, but must admit do not like being in the mindset of the killer or the murder victim. Still though, would recommend.

This was a great read, loved it being set in the highlands and enjoyed reading the Doric words.
Rachel is a lawyer and her friend ends up dead, the police aren’t investigating her death. When her neighbours friends is missing and ends up dead she knows it’s not normal. Who’s the killer and why?

A great crime mystery, full of twisty plots and brilliant chapters. Quick and easy to read. A great ending that I didn’t see coming. 5 stars can’t wait to read the next book in this series.


Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

Having not read the previous book in this series was not sure what to expect.

I was pleasantly surprised this was a little gem. Very easy to read and get lost in

Thank you for the opportunity to review

This was a compelling murder mystery full of twists and turns and I did not predict the ending at all.
This is book 2 in a series but I read it easily as a standalone. Although I do feel that this book would have been even better with some background and context on Rachel's character.
Rather than being a police procedural, this novel is from Rachel's lawyer POV.
Despite the many characters, it was easy to keep track and follow the story as they were all unique and fleshed out that you could connect with them all!
This book was written cleverly, and has me turning the pages as quickly as possible to find out what happens next.
Bonus points for being set in the highlands where I grew up before moving to Australia! It was nostalgic reading of places I was very familiar with!

What an enjoyable read! Rachel McKenzie just can't leave a stone unturned on her mission to seek justice for murder victims and their family or friends.

You are left constantly guessing right through to the end on who the killer could be and my gosh what a character Mags is!

If you enjoy your murder mystery TV shows and crime thriller books this is definitely a series you will enjoy.

Thanks NetGalley and Morag Pringle for the ARC!

#NetGalley #TheHighlandDead

The Highland Dead by Morag Pringle is full of twists and turns with a serial killer on the loose. Who is he, why is he killing pregnant single women, and why is he targeting patients of Dr. Kirty Burns?

Releases June 21st. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

If anything, this book was even better than book 1, The Liar's Bones! Rachel discovers, through her work at the Scottish Fatalities Investgation Unit, that a friend who'd been kind to her during her school years, had died. Again, something about the case doesn't quite add up and Rachel starts digging into it. As more murders occur, she and Detective Dutoit (from the previous book), have their work cut out for them trying to figure out who is doing this. I didn't work it out at all until it was revealed! Rachel is also digging into her mother's murder on the side and there are some interesting developments on that front too. A very well written, fast paced and edge-of-your -seat mystery. Brilliant.
Thanks to Netgalley, Storm Publishing and Morag Pringle for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second in this series. I wish I had read them in sequence but will buy the first book now. This was really good and a bit different as it was from the view of a lawyer in the fiscals office. Looks like the ending is set up for the next book. I can’t wait .

I really loved the first book in the well written series featuring Rachel Mc Kenzie and this was equally as good. I like the slow, steady character development and the team dynamics within the fiscal's office. The book flows really well and is compulsive reading, with the search for a killer and the plotting was quite convincing as events unfolded. I loved the tantalising ending which leads into book 3 and I really hope we don't have to wait too long for another engrossing, Scottish Highland adventure. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.