The Missing Dead

J M Dalgliesh’s Misty Isle series is a masterclass in atmospheric police procedurals, transporting readers to the remote and rugged Scottish islands where secrets run as deep as the surrounding seas. Following the investigations of D.I. Duncan McAdam, each novel weaves intricate murder mysteries with the unrelenting beauty and isolation of the Hebridean landscape. If you crave crime fiction that immerses you in place and character, this is the series for you.

The Misty Isle books are celebrated for their taut pacing, emotional depth, and the kind of twisty plots that keep you reading late into the night. D.I. McAdam is a detective haunted by his own past, especially his complicated relationship with his son, adding a compelling personal dimension to the police work. As he delves into cases from desecrated graves to tragedies at sea, the line between professional duty and private anguish blurs in the most gripping ways.

With the first installment, The Missing Dead, readers are plunged into a chilling case: three empty graves, a ransacked home, and a body where it shouldn’t be. Every clue points back to a fateful night on a trawler years ago, proving that on the Misty Isle, even the dead can’t rest easy. Start the series that has readers raving about its ‘fantastic’ tension and calling it ‘the best detective series I’ve read.’