Book Review: The Wild Coast, Rhona MacLeod Book 17, Lin Anderson
Thriller: The Wild Coast, Rhona MacLeod Book 17, Lin Anderson
Blog Tour August 14, 2023
Forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is on her way home to Glasgow when her trip is interrupted by the discovery of a shallow grave along the coast. A young woman’s body, mostly clad in a neoprene wetsuit, has been buried for about a month. The woman is soon identified as a missing student from Glasgow, however, she disappeared about two months ago, roughly one month prior to her burial.
The grave was discovered in the search for a missing child. The little girl was found unharmed, sitting on the grave. Something, though, had traumatized her enough that she was unwilling to speak to anyone. Her older brother was also carrying a secret: he had looked into the tent of another camper and found blood and vomit but the young woman staying in the tent was missing.
Is there any connection between the missing camper and the dead student? What had silenced the little girl? Where had the woman from the grave been for that month between her disappearance and her death? The team of detectives, crime scene investigators, coroners and forensic scientists work urgently to discover what is happening–even more so when another young woman is found dead near the same location.
One of the best parts of doing book reviews, especially blog tours, is that it introduces me to authors I would not normally encounter. Lin Anderson is considered a Scottish treasure. Whether my lack of knowledge of her oeuvre speaks to my deficit in awareness or to her lack of broad fame in the US I will leave others to determine. This book, despite being the 17th in this series, was an excellent introduction to Anderson, to her character MacLeod, and to this entire series.
Now, I only have 16 to go to catch up before the next one releases.
One final observation: I have noted before that Scottish authors take particular joy in painting their settings. Whether it is in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, or a more rural location, whether it is the mountains, the lakes (lochs?), or the coast, almost every Scottish writer I have read takes pains to do their home justice. Anderson is no exception. From the ferocity of the wind to the dangers of the tides, from the streets of Glasgow to the dirt where the body was buried, Anderson brings her readers with her, letting them see and feel and smell and taste and hear the Scotland experienced by her characters. Nothing is as good as actually experiencing a place, but Anderson makes me feel like I have been there–at least in my mind.
Our thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things for our copy of The Wild Coast, provided so we could prepare an honest review. The opinions here are solely those of Scintilla. For other perspectives on this book, check out the other bloggers on this tour.
Book Review: The Wild Coast, Rhona MacLeod Book 17, Lin Anderson