Showing results by narrator "Cathleen McCarron" in All Categories

When a much-loved Kilmarnock police constable is found beaten to death in his home, all signs point to a burglary gone wrong. But, when a second officer is slain while walking the beat, it becomes clear that something much more sinister is afoot. Somebody is murdering cops. Harassed by an infuriating new partner and a teenage true crime podcaster, DI Heather Filson must track down a brutal killer while tensions between the police and the public explode into violence.

On a frosty December morning, lifelong friends Shauna and Lulu touch down at Glasgow Airport, determined to unearth answers from their shared past. George knows his time is running out, but can he face the two regrets that have haunted him most? Meanwhile, his grandson Tom makes a discovery that shakes his world—and the courage to track down "the one that got away" might be his only solace. And single mum Chrissie is ready to reawaken her love life, but can anyone rival the man who once shattered her heart?

When a 15-year-old girl fails to make it home after school, DI Heather Filson believes she’s dealing with just another teenage runaway. The girl’s grandfather, a notorious Glasgow gangster, disagrees. Convinced one of his underworld enemies has grabbed her, he’s prepared to bathe the city in blood in order to bring his princess home.

When all is lost, can love lead to a better future? One December wedding. One runaway bride. One winter's day to bring everyone together again. Today is the day Caro and Cammy are due to walk down the aisle. But Caro's too caught up in the trauma of her past to contemplate their happy ever after. Stacey's decision to return from L.A. is fuelled by one thing – telling Cammy how she feels, before it's too late. Wedding planner, Josie, needs to sort the whole mess out, but she's just been dealt some devastating news. Can she get through the day without spilling her secret?

When Jemima loses her beloved grandfather, keeping his allotment alive seems like ideal way to feel close to him. She's never fitted in before - is this her chance to find where she really belongs? Finally Melissa has the allotment she's been longing for to distract her while her husband works away - even if it is chest-high in weeds. But when she looks for help in the wrong place, she finds she's the hottest topic of gossip.

Over the course of twenty-four hours, four lives are about to change forever... On a freezing December morning, Caro sets out to uncover the truth: has her entire relationship with her father been built on lies? Cammy is planning the perfect proposal, until a missing ring threatens to unravel everything. Lila can't keep her secret any longer. Today, she'll confess the truth to her lover's wife. And after thirty years of silence, Bernadette is finally ready to walk away from her controlling husband, for good. In just one day, these lives will collide in unexpected ways.

Elspeth, Meggy and Xavier are locked in a flat. They don’t know where they are, and they don’t know why they’re there. They only know that the shadow man has taken them, and he won’t let them go. Desperate to escape, the three of them must find a way out of their living hell, even if it means uncovering a very dark truth. Because the shadow man isn’t a nightmare. He’s all too real.

From Chris Brookmyre, winner of the Theakstons and McIllvanney awards for Black Widow, comes a standalone psychological thriller full of twists, lies and betrayal. One family, two holidays, one devastating secret. To new nanny Amanda, the Temple family seem to have it all: the former actress; the famous professor; their three successful grown-up children. But like any family, beneath the smiles and hugs there lurks far darker emotions. Sixteen years earlier, little Niamh Temple died while they were on holiday in Portugal.

You know that ‘till death do us part’ bit in the wedding vows? Well Zoe Dalton believed it. She walked up the aisle thinking that she was strolling to her happy ever after. One month later, her heart is in pieces, she’s returning the wedding gifts and there’s a husband-shaped space next to her in bed. He’s gone, after Zoe discovered a devastating secret. But Zoe has lost so much more than her marriage. Her three sisters are not only her siblings, they’re her best friends, too. Now she’s discovered that one of them may have been the reason her husband betrayed her.

Detective Inspector Costello has resigned. No notice, no good-byes. Convinced that George Haggerty murdered his wife and son despite his cast-iron alibi, Costello has gone solo, determined to expose a ruthless killer without being hampered by police protocol. But is she right about Haggerty's guilt? And where has she disappeared to? DCI Colin Anderson has no time to ponder the loss of his partner of 20 years. With a badly beaten body found on a remote mountain pass, a woman with a serious head wound who won't communicate in any way and a substantial pool of blood discovered at the edge of Loch Lomond, Police Scotland have their hands full.

When the castle she works in is sacked by the army of Prince Edward of England, kitchen maid Agnes Fitzgerald manages to escape north of Inverness to throw herself at the mercy of the Lord and Lady at Ravenscraig Castle. Although safe for now, the people of Scotland are fighting hard for their independence, and the threat of the English hangs heavy over the land. But when Agnes spies Cam Buchanan swimming in the loch, her mind turns away from war and towards love. Agnes even dares to dream of a happy future, until she learns that Cam must go and fight alongside Robert de Brus.

It's been 17 months since the Bloodsmith butchered his first victim, and Operation Maypole is still no nearer catching him. The media is whipping up a storm, and the top brass are demanding results, but the investigation is sinking fast. Now isn't the time to get distracted with other cases, but Detective Sergeant Lucy McVeigh doesn't have much choice. When Benedict Strachan was just 11, he hunted down and killed a homeless man. No one's ever figured out why Benedict did it, but now, after 16 years, he's back on the streets again.

Standing one evening at the window of her house by the sea, Anne Quirk sees a rabbit disappearing in the snow. Nobody remembers her now, but this elderly woman was in her youth a pioneer of British documentary photography. Her beloved grandson, Luke, now a captain with the Royal Western Fusiliers, is on a tour of duty in Afghanistan, part of a convoy taking equipment to the electricity plant at Kajaki. Only when Luke returns home to Scotland does Anne's secret story begin to emerge, along with his, and they set out for an old guest house in Blackpool where she once kept a room.

1846. Glasgow is a city on the cusp of great social change, but behind the curtains, neighbours are watching, and rumours of improper behaviour spread like wildfire on the respectable Blythswood Square. When Charlotte Nicholl discovers that the fortune she has been bequeathed by her father is tied up in a secret collection of erotic art, she is faced with a terrible dilemma: sell it and risk shaming her family's good name or lose her home.

From the outside, Glenfarach looks like a quaint, sleepy village, nestled in the heart of Cairngorms National Park, but things aren't what they seem. The place is thick with security cameras, and there's a strict nine o'clock curfew, because Glenfarach is the last safe haven for people who've served their sentences but can't be safely released into the general population. For Detective Constable Edward Reekie, this was supposed to be a simple delivery job—drive his new boss up to HMP Grampian and collect Marky Bishop, take him to Glenfarach, then head back home again.

Apprentice Sarah Fisher is helping to fund Dr Will Raven's emerging medical practice in exchange for being secretly trained as a medic, should the rules barring women ever change. Sarah needs no instruction in the inequalities that beset her gender, but even she has her eyes opened to a darker reality when a relative seeks her help in searching for her missing daughter. Annabel Banks was promised a situation in a prestigious household, but there has been no word from her since she left home, and the agency that arranged her position says she never appeared.

It's the summer of 1822, and Edinburgh is abuzz with rumours of King George IV's impending visit. In botanical circles, however, a different kind of excitement has gripped the city. In the newly installed Botanic Garden, the Agave Americana plant looks set to flower - an event that only occurs once every few decades. When newly widowed Elizabeth arrives in Edinburgh to live with her late husband's aunt, Clementina, she's determined to put her unhappy past in London behind her. As she settles into her new home, she becomes fascinated by the beautiful Botanic Garden.

Even perfect mothers have secrets... Meet Leah, the perfect wife and mum with a closet full of skeletons - and if the secret gets out, her carefully crafted world could crumble. Then there's Annie, the gangster's moll with a sharp mind. She's not afraid to get her hands dirty, but no one knows the devastating secret haunting her. And lastly, Terry, the king of Glasgow gangland. He's ruthless when it comes to growing his empire, but his weakness is women.

My nine-year-old daughter Hollie should be leaving school smiling and laughing with all the other children but she’s not here. I run frantically, checking everywhere, my voice growing louder, but I can’t see her bright blue eyes and heart-shaped face anywhere. Pure panic washes over me. This is my worst nightmare. Her teacher asks me if she should call the police. My heart stops. I shake my head and pretend I’ve made a mistake. I see a look of suspicion creep into the teacher’s eyes. But the police can’t know. No one can. My hands shake as I realise I’m completely on my own.

The death of legendary jazz trumpeter Joss Moody exposes an extraordinary secret. Unbeknown to all but his wife Millie, Joss was a woman living as a man. The discovery is most devastating for their adopted son, Colman, whose bewildered fury brings the press to the doorstep and sends his grieving mother to the sanctuary of a remote Scottish village. Winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize, Trumpet by Jackie Kay is a starkly beautiful modern classic about the lengths to which people will go for love.