Walking on through the woods, I emerge onto the road that leads eventually to Ard Choille. The folk hereabouts no longer refer to it as the Party House. It, together with the estate, is up for sale. Not wishing for any more absentee landlords, there are plans afoot for a community buy-out which looks very promising indeed. They hope Ard Choille itself will be reopened as a wildlife centre. Locals will once again swim in An Lochan Uaine and sit on its sandy shore.

My breath is condensing in the cold air as I trudge up the track to Beanach. Greg, still surprised by my return, wanted me to wait for him at the hotel, but I insisted that I welcomed the walk, after so many months in London.

The strength to fight Richard Longman QC came because of the time I spent here in Blackrig. I thank all of you who supported my endeavours to expose him for what he was, especially the women who found the courage to come forward and add their voices to mine.

Greg predicts snow soon, possibly in time for Christmas. He says he can smell it in the air.

Acknowledgements

Firstly, a big thank you to gamekeeper Ewan Archer, who patiently answered all my questions regarding my mythical small West Highland Estate, Blackrig.

Thanks also to his wife Karen, for offering her husband’s services for research purposes.

To Doug Macdonald, Watch Manager of Carrbridge Community Response Unit, for his expert knowledge on firefighting, and to Bunty, his wife, for her help with research.

To Donald Findlay QC who advised me on sentencing in the Scottish Courts, and to Dr Jennifer Miller, Associate Professor of Forensic Science, Nottingham Trent University, who I first met when I did the Diploma in Forensic Medical Science course at Glasgow University, and who continues to be an inspiration.

Lastly, a special thanks to my wonderful editor Alex Saunders, and all the team at Pan Macmillan for their support for The Party House.

Driftnet

Introducing Rhona MacLeod . . .

Lin Anderson’s series of crime novels featuring forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod are set in and around Scotland. From the beautiful remoteness of the Orkney islands to the dark underbelly of urban Glasgow, the locations she chooses to write about play as much a role in her novels as the characters that she populates them with.

Go back to where it all began with the thrilling first novel in the Rhona MacLeod series. Read on for an extract now . . .

1

THE BOY DIDN’T expect to die.