Really liked this. I like it when the books are set in the Islands as it is such a great setting that brings in great characters. In this one, a whale pod is beached and when trying to bury the calf, a grave is discovered with Viking jewellery and more recent skeleton. DI Flett fears he has links to the body, so McNab is brought in to lead the investigation. The story is pacy with a lot happening in different locations and the author really brings the area to life, evoking the senses really well. A great addition to the series.

Thanks to Lin and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Dead and the Dying before the publication date.
It is the latest in the Dr. Rhona MacLeod series, but can be read as a standalone book.

Set in Orkney, this story has so many layers.
When a pod of pilot whales is grounded in a bay, the community rally to try to keep them alive until they can be refloated.
Only 2 survive and the carcasses of the remainder have to be disposed of, including the new born which will be buried in the sand. As the grave is dug, a Viking cist is exposed, containing a skeleton which is of more recent times.
The investigation stirs concerns with some of the locals.

20 years ago, as teenagers, they were wild, making the most of summer to party in the bays around Orkney, drinking and taking drugs. Those same teenagers are now adults who have put their youthful indiscretions behind them and now hold respectable positions in the community.
What will be the implications of the discovery on them?
With Police Scotland using A.I. to perform facial recognition, there is an interesting battle of technology versus a human super recogniser.
In addition to interesting details about Pilot Whales, the book provides a lesson in the history of Orkney with descriptions of the beautiful and haunting scenery of the island and uses of a smattering of ‘broad Scots’.

Is finding a skeleton in a Viking age crypt on Orkney anything unusual for forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod?

It is when the skeleton is nowhere near that old...

Brilliant