The Rat Stone Serenade

It's December, and the Shannon family are returning home to their clifftop mansion near Kinloch for their annual AGM. Shannon International is one of the world's biggest private companies, with tendrils reaching around the globe in computing, banking and mineral resourcing, and it has brought untold wealth and privilege to the family. However, a century ago Archibald Shannon stole the land upon which he built their home - and his descendants have been cursed ever since. When heavy snow cuts off Kintyre, DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott are assigned to protect their illustrious visitors. As an ancient society emerges from the blizzards, and its creation, the Rat Stone, reveals grisly secrets, ghosts of the past come to haunt the Shannons. As the curse decrees, death is coming - but for whom and from what?

'Absorbing . . . no run-of-the-mill tartan noir' - The Times'You'll have a blast with these' - Ian Rankin'A top talent, and one to be cherished' - Quintin Jardine'Spellbinding . . . one of the UK's most loved crime writers' - The Sunday Post'A compelling lead . . . satisfyingly twisted plot' - Publishers Weekly'Touches of dark humour, multi-layered and compelling' - Daily Record'Striking characters and shifting plots vibrate with energy' - The Library Journal'Daley is a character complete with depths, currents and sudden changes of the Atlantic ocean that crashes against Kinloch's harbour walls. The remote peninsula and the claustrophobic nature of small-town life are perfectly painted.' - Scotland on Sunday'If you like Rankin, MacBride and Oswald, you'll love Meyrick' - The Sunday Mail'Energetic, wry, and full of jolts' - Waterstones'The right amount of authenticity . . . gritty writing . . . most memorable' - The Herald'All three books have a strong sense of place, of city cops trying to fit in to a small, tightly knit rural environment' - Russell Leadbetter, Evening Times'Meyrick has the ability to give even the least important person in the plot character and the skill to tell a good tale' - Scots Magazine'Following in the tradition of great Scottish crime writers, Denzil Meyrick has turned out a cracking, tenacious thriller of a read. If you favour the authentic and credible, you are in safe hands' - Lovereading'DCI Daley is shaping up to be the West Coast's answer to Edinburgh's Rebus'-Scottish Home and Country'Well crafted and engrossing . . . Meyrick is well into his rhythm' - Journal of the Law Society of ScotlandIt's December, and the Shannon family are returning home to their clifftop mansion near Kinloch for their annual AGM. Shannon International is one of the world's biggest private companies, with tendrils reaching around the globe in computing, banking and mineral resourcing, and it has brought untold wealth and privilege to the family. However, a century ago Archibald Shannon stole the land upon which he built their home – and his descendants have been cursed ever since.When heavy snow cuts off Kintyre, DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott are assigned to protect their illustrious visitors. As an ancient society emerges from the blizzards, and its creation, the Rat Stone, reveals grisly secrets, ghosts of the past come to haunt the Shannons. As the curse decrees, death is coming – but for whom and from what?