Thanks to Alex and NetGalley for allowing me to read Echo of the Dead before the publication date.

I cannot improve the precis of the story, so I will instead focus on the writing.

Alex has once again created a raft of believable characters whose strengths and weaknesses, and not a few secrets, are revealed as the story evolves.

The description of the beauty of Glencoe and the ’brooding’ mountains evoked strong memories of the chill and sense of foreboding which can be experienced there even on a summer day.
I found the use of mythology and the story of the Massacre of Glencoe was interesting and just long enough to be interesting and short enough not to feel like a lesson in Scottish history.
It is obvious that Alex’s books are well researched, particularly with the details of flora and fauna.

Interweave all that with a story of 3 dead bodies and a missing teenager and it is another very readable book in the Lorimer series.

This is another excellent read from the author. Set in Glencoe, I was transported right to this beautiful part of Scotland reading the descriptive passages. This book finds DSI Lorimer on a hillwalking trip when Daniel, his friend, discovers a body near to Glencoe. This unravels a tale with a potential serial killer on the loose and a hunt to find a missing teenager. It's well written, has excellent character development and a very interesting plot. I highly recommend this 5* read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

DSI William Lorimer has travelled to historic Glencoe in the western Scottish highlands with his friend Daniel Kohi. Daniel, a police inspector in his native Zimbabwe, has fled violence in his native country and hopes to join Lorimer in the Glasgow force. However, they are in Glencoe for the hiking. But when, after a difficult (for Daniel) first climb, they discover the dead body of a hiker who has fallen from the summit to a ledge below. Another body is soon found and Lorimer is now in charge of the complicated investigation since Glencoe is served by a lone policeman.

Although Echo of the Dead is the 19th is the series, it is as fresh as the first. The plot is complicated, the characters are multi-faceted but Glencoe and the highlands are the stars here. Scottish clan history, legends, flora and fauna and even the weather make Echo of the Dead one of the best in this compelling series. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Little Brown Book Group UK and Alex Gray for this ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advance copy of Echo of the Dead, the nineteenth novel to feature Detective Superintendent William Lorimer of Police Scotland.

Lorimer and his friend Daniel Kohi are hill climbing in Glencoe when they find a body in a ravine, the victim of an accident. When the body of a missing American is also found in Glencoe Lorimer and his team head there to investigate with the first death niggling at the back of his mind. When Daniel finds a third body the pressure is on.

I enjoyed Echo of the Dead, which offers readers a fascinating glimpse of Scottish history alongside the more traditional police procedural. In Scotland the word Glencoe is often attached to the word massacre, and the author nods to this with her opening and ending chapters. In between she offers a murder investigation.

I have been reading this series for years so the characters are like old friends. I like the familiarity of the language used and, normally, the setting, although in this case I don’t know it. I don’t know if it was this lack of recognition but I didn’t enjoy this novel as much as it’s predecessors. There is still an interesting plot with plenty of twists, misdirection and a well concealed perpetrator but it seems to lack clarity and clear sightedness. Perhaps the author tried to fit too much in. I did, however, like the resolution which offers a surprise and a hint of the famed Scottish Presbyterianism which is fitting for the location.

Echo of the Dead is a good read that I can recommend.

A slow burner with well developed characters complete with back stories. The 19th in the series, but my first encounter with the author, I did not find this a disadvantage at all. The author effectively welcomes you into the sphere of Superintendent Lorimer and his Glasgow team. Although this time the setting is Glencoe and Lorimer discovers a body on a climbing holiday. Soon another two bodies are discovered and the Glasgow MIT team are called out to solve the crimes. The history and the beauty of the setting as well as the gentle highlanders who reside there are an integral part of the story. Lorimer is no Taggart, you’ll not find excesses of language, violence or sex. Safe to recommend to all ages.
Many thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this advance copy.

Alex Gray's latest addition to her DSI William Lorimer shifts from its Glasgow location to the grandeur and magnificence of the Scottish Highlands and Glencoe with its gruesome history of the massacre which Zimbabwean Daniel Kohi learns of from Lorimer on a hiking break to the region. However, there is drama when they come across a dead man, Dutchman Hans Van Der Bilt, from what looks like a fall. His grieving wife, Juliet, suffering from a broken leg, is pregnant, as she arrives to find out as much as possible as to what had happened to her husband. Prior to this incident, Dwyer, a young American, a climbing enthusiast had gone missing, leaving locals worried. A teenager, Tilly MacFarlane is walking her dog, Fly, when she discovers Dwyer's body, and the PM establishes that he was murdered.

This sees Lorimer and his Major Incident Team coming to Glencoe to investigate, joined by Maggie, Lorimer's teacher and writer wife, there for a Easter break. Daniel is invited too, to keep Maggie company, although he can't help being drawn to the case and has niggling concerns over the Dutchman's fall which he is tasked to look into. He goes on to make a grisly discovery in a bothy, the body of a unidentifiable man who had been dead for some time, with his boots taken, and nothing to point to his identity. The police team struggle to find any leads or connections, and there are concerns that they might have a serial killer on their hands, their worries and fears heightened when a local teenage girl goes missing, triggering numerous search parties involving locals.

This was an engaging crime read with characters I have become invested in and I particularly appreciated the shift in location, the stunning landscape, the flora and fauna, the echoes of its dark macabre history, the close knit, supportive and helpful local community, and the courageous mountain rescue team. This is a terrific and enjoyable read that I became completely immersed in, with plenty of suspense and tension, which I recommend to those who love their Scottish crime fiction. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

A favourite author and a favourite part of the country, so this book could do no wrong.
In Lorimer, Alex has created a detective to rival any other out there and one that I hope has a few more books in him.
With any of Alex Gray’s books, they are hard to put down and this one is no different, although I have to confess I did make up my mind “who did it” a good few pages before the end. It did not however, spoil the rest of the book, as that little doubt always crept back.
This one will be eagerly received by those who know the author and for those who don’t, you are missing out.
Recommend, with the five stars for both book and author.