Two detectives, Georgina/George and Richie, are off to a remote Scottish island to investigate an alleged suicide. Some of the islanders are not welcoming to the mainlanders, while others appear to be helpful. An island divided. And then there is the unsolved mystery of the lighthouse workers that vanished back in 1919.

This one was filled with secrets, mystery and intrigue. I loved the island setting, with few links to the mainland, it was atmospheric and the isolation added to the constant feeling of danger just around the corner. I believe this is the first in a series and I look forward to the next instalment. 4.5*

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this gifted review copy.

The wolf tree is a great book. It's got a slow build up as the characters and story are introduced but once that happens it becomes a real page turner.

Despite what seems to be the apparent suicide of Alan Ferguson on a remote Scottish Island, Detective Inspectors George and Richie are sent to investigate. The villagers are distant and unwelcoming, they mistrust "mainlanders" intensely and do not hesitate to make their feelings clear. With only 5 days to discover if Alan did commit suicide, George and Richie valently try to discover what made a young man decide to end his life.
I found this novel a mixed bag, I didn't particularly like George's character, she seemed cold and unforgiving. Richie was a much more empathetic character. I found the first half slightly slow and repetitive but in the second half the action and storyline went up a notch. It was an interesting read

Two DIs, Georg(ina) Lennox and Richard Stewart are sent to a very remote island well off the Scottish west coast apparently to investigate the death of an 18 year old. This in spite of a verdict of accidental death and no apparent reason to suggest otherwise. The boat trip there was atmospheric and all too real, remembering various trips I've made out to the St Kilda group. The islands are very traditional shall we say and run by the pastor who is Catholic, unusual for the outer isles. Most of the book seems to be relations between George, headstrong and prone to go it alone and Ritchie the senior, somewhat staid but very experienced detective. I thought that there were others in the series that I had missed, given hints and George's issues with head wounds, opioid pills etc, but apparently not. The sense of remote place, isolation and weather is very realistic; the characters over the top stereotypical at times and the story rather vague. Certainly not mainly about the dead youth much. Bring in three vanished lighthouse keepers from 1917, wolves, fairies and the brutal life on a remote island essentially depending upon the fishing and there is, eventually, a good story. Bizarre ending and I do wonder what happened to the islanders and their way of life after the detectives had left. A promising debut however, there's nothing wrong with the author's descriptions. 3.5* but not quite to making up to 4*.Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Whilst this is a whodunnit, murder mystery type novel, I would also describe this as a slow burner. Given the murder takes place on a small, Scottish island with very few inhabitants, it is difficult to be anything but.

The author does an excellent job setting out a sense of place. The descriptions of the island are beautiful and she also does a great job of describing the close knit community.

The ending ramps up in pace towards a really interesting (and difficult to guess) conclusion!

I was looking forward to reading this book, to again, fulfil my passion for folklore…and I wasn’t disappointed.

There has been a suspicious death on the isolated Scottish island of Eilean Eadar, and DI Georgina ‘George’ Lennox and her partner DI Richard ‘Ritchie’ Stewart, have been tasked with investigating whether it was a straightforward suicide, or something more foul. Over the next few days of the investigation, they are hit with a town full of secrets, and the folk locked in silence.

I was not impressed with the beginning of this book, as not a lot was happening, except for the interviewing of the residents, who were all pretty much keeping shtum. But, a third of the way through, boy, did this story get exciting. This is the kind of folklore tale that I love to read, laced with pagan beliefs and rituals, and a village where the residents look on outsiders (mainlanders) as suspicious…think of movies, ‘The Wicker Man’, and ‘Midsommer’.

I’m glad I stuck with the story as this is the author’s debut, and a brilliant one it is, though persevere with the first third of the book, and you will love it.

Thanks to the Laura McCluskey, Hemlock Press/HarperCollins Publishers, and NetGalley, for providing me with this free ARC, with which I leave a voluntary review.

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Release Date: 27th February 2025

A very atmospheric story set on a Scottish Island ,it is a bit of a slow burner but when it speeds up a very good story .DI's Georgie and Ritchie are sent to investigate a suspicious suicide on an Island that rules itself .They are met with hostility from the Islanders but slowly they earn the trust of some of them and discover a terrifying truth .The characters were interesting ,I didn't like Georgie much she was too headstrong and selfish but Ritchie was a calm father figure but it was a good read .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

DI’s George (Georgina) Lennox and Richie Stewart make their way to Eilean Eadar in the Western Isles in very stormy seas, her first glimpse of the isolated island being a sheer cliff against which huge waves resolutely smash. As their captain predicted, docking in the small harbour is a challenge against the relentless seas. The two detectives are unsure what reception they’ll get with these tough islanders but their first host, Cecily Campbell, seems friendly enough. Time will tell about the others. So, why have the detectives been sent to Eadar? Their task is to investigate the death of a young man, found at the base of the old lighthouse, the very same location where three lighthouse keepers mysteriously vanish in 1919. Richie doesn’t seem to notice that nothing is quite right, he just sees the quaint, but George does and her unease builds. Who can the detectives trust as “wolves” howl and dark figures watch at the windows of their Croft at night?

Although this is a bit slow to get going once it gets into its stride a spooky, creepy, gothic tale emerges with tension you can’t fail to sense alongside the fear the island and its inhabitants elicits in George. Many of the islanders are downright hostile, some are even venomous which is palpable. Their tiny patch of home in the Outer Hebrides is rich in ancient folklore and tradition which is blended well into the unfolding storyline and these characters want to maintain their heritage.

The atmosphere the author creates is really good and what a setting. It’s a remote, breathtaking, harsh environment and the authors descriptions bring it to life with some scenes that are suspenseful and exciting, with terrific island backdrops.

The characterisation is good. Although George is very headstrong and has plenty of issues, her intentions are good although she doesn’t always think things through, to her cost. Richie is a steadying influence and I like how much he cares about her. There are quite a lot of island characters to get to grips with but it’s not hard to picture them or keep track of them. One positively exudes power from every pore and his portrayal is very good.

The novel builds well to a really good ending as the many buried secrets are forced to come to the surface because of George’s perception and persistence. There are some convolutions in the reveals but it’s not hard to work out the truth.

Overall, this is a descriptive atmospheric novel that is well worth a read. If it’s the start of a series, I’m definitely in as I’d like to know what happens to George next.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins, Hemlock Press for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

A suicide, or was it. George (Georgina) and Ritchie are sent to a small Scottish Island to investigate the death of a young man. Why did he kill himself. The story starts with the detectives arriving on the island with mixed feelings from the people living there. It is a very small community and revolves around the church. There is only a few shops and they rely on deliveries from the mainland. There is no doctor or police and the villagers have to survive with a satellite phone in the post office. George and Ritchie make enquiries and some of the villagers are helpful and some quite hostile. They decide that the death was suicide and then things begin to happen which cause them concern. Little things happen which seem very strange and leads them to believe that the island has a huge secret which needs dealing with. One or two villagers are trying to steer them in the right direction without actually telling them the story of the strange things that have happened going back centuries. Eventually the secrets come to light and this makes the book flow although I did feel that it did wander unnecessarily in parts. However I understand that for the story to come to a conclusion this was probably necessary to set the scene. The dynamic between George and Ritchie was something I enjoyed through the book. I also like Kathy the postmistress who tried to steer George in the right direction from the start of the book but failed until near the end

Wow! What started as a small mystery very quickly snowballed! This book definitely had me on the edge of my seat a few times and the twists really kept throwing me. A truly engrossing read.

I found that this book really dragged in places. How many times are they going to walk up the hill? Remote Scottish Island with supposedly many murders, wolfs and a dodgy pastor.

It was in numerous places hard to relate to with the internal atmosphere between the 2 work colleagues. Also it was always George that got in to scrapes. How many times can she get a head injury and still perform normally? It seemed to have a very quick ending. What happened to the Islanders?

Pity it could have been and interesting story.

I found this book intriguing enough to be interested in reading it. The reality was that it was very slow and hard work with bizarre characters all on a remote island. Much of the story seemed contrived and quite unbelievable. It wasn’t until 80% into the book that the story really unfolded. The end was unusual but too hurried.

Tricky mystery set on an isolated Scottish island,full of superstition. Not entirely believable that there could be such going on.

There were times when I really enjoyed this and there were times when I found it very frustrating and annoying. The ending is a cracker. Very exciting.

Descriptively Laura McCluskey does a fantastic job of describing a bleak in-hospitable island with a motley crew of inhabitants. And, the author does this really well in a highly gothic style.

Georgie, the key detective, is an interesting character. Of course she has hidden demons. It seems de riguer these days

But, all of that excellence was thrown away as the central plotline/premise was pretty ridiculous. I aas surprised cannibalism was not brought into play.

I look forward to the next novel as I believe, with more credible plot lines Laura McLuskey will become a major crime novelist

Wow! What a story. I had no idea when I started reading this, how it would end. The story takes place on a Scottish island which has few ties with the mainland. It has existed for hundreds of years, with little assistance from the mainland. They make their own rules. There is no doctor, no police, no mobile phones, only one satellite phone in the Post Office for everyone on the island. Deliveries of food can be intermittent and dependant on the weather.
The death of an eighteen year old encourages the mainland police to visit the island, or the rock as the natives call it,
Was it a suicide? Was it an accident? Or was it murder? George and Richie, two detectives, are sent to investigate, but the locals are reluctant to communicate with them, they dislike “Mainlanders”. Why is that?
We are told the details of interviews with various islanders, how they are hampered by the weather and by the unfriendliness of the locals. Finally they stumble across the answer. Most definitely not what I expected! I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers, Harper Collins, for an arc of this enjoyable book.

I found the book a bit drawn out with the endless walks up and down the freezing terrain of the Island that George and her partner had been sent to in order to investigate a suicide of an 18 year old lad or was it murder. I did find the references and flashbacks to George's attack on a previous case as the reason she needed to take pain killers and sleeping pills unnecessary, and the headaches she kept getting rather annoying.

The characters were well written and I did have to keep reading to the end to find out what happened to the young man. This is not explained until right at the end of the book and was not an expected ending..

I would like to thanks NetGallaey and the Publisher for my ARC.

This was a good story with lots going on keeping you hooked in. Makes you question if there are really islands still that live in this way.

Great storyline with interesting characters. It certainly gave a lot of insight into the close knit island community. The ending was totally unexpected. I like this author and will look for other books by her.

Started off slowly but intriguing enough to keep going as it was a well written tale and glad I did as it got better and more interesting as the tale developed. Quite atmospheric and good developed characters although a bit more of the back story of the lead detective would have been good.

Detective inspectors Georgina 'George' Lennox and Richard Stewart are sent to a tiny Scottish island to investigate the death of a young islander – was it suicide or murder?
From the beginning most islanders are wary of the intruders from the mainland. The two DIs hit a wall of superficial pleasantries and grim silence, as a strange mix of Christianity, superstitions, vigilantism and pagan rituals permeates the small community. George especially is soon faced with thinly veiled threats and increasingly strange occurences that Richie seems oblivious of.
Though the ending seems a bit far-fetched in my opinion, it was satisfying and this was a good and partly very eerie police procedural mystery thriller.

Thank you, Netgalley and Hemlock Press, for the chance to read a copy in exchange for an honest review!