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Rhona MacLeod
Series · 18
books · 2003-2023

Books in series

Blood Red Roses book cover
#0.5

Blood Red Roses

2005

This is a prequel to "Driftnet" with forensic scientist Dr. Rhona MacLeod. When does desire become obsession? A hen night in Glasgow leaves the bride-to-be dead on a toilet floor. Her body is twisted, her face a mask of terror. Who would kill a girl just before her wedding? Dr Rhona MacLeod and her team are called in to find out. As they go through the evidence, they find themselves in a world where sex is bought and sold, and more violent death is lying in wait.
Driftnet book cover
#1

Driftnet

2003

Book by Anderson, Lin
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#2

Torch

2006

When a young homeless girl dies in the latest of a string of arson attacks, Dr Rhona Macleod is called in. But here in Edinburgh she is off her patch - the Chief Fire Investigator is hot-tempered misogynist Severino Macrae, and he doesn't like to lose face. As the attacks escalate, will their growing chemistry distract them from the murderous arsonist who seems to be infiltrating their personal lives as well as their work?
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#3

Deadly Code

2005

" The left foot had been severed from the leg ten centimetres below the patella. Both fibula and tibia bones were divided at the same place. All the toes were intact, although the nails had disintegrated or been eaten off during the foot's time in the water." Dr Rhona Macleod travels north to investigate a grisly discovery - a severed foot, caught in a fishing net off the Isle of Skye. Where is the rest of the body, and who is the dead man? What links him to a sinister secret society in America? And why is the Ministry of Defence so keen to shut down the case? Rhona's investigations embroil her in an international conspiracy from which she will be lucky to escape unharmed..
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#4

Dark Flight

2007

A six-year-old boy has vanished following the horrific murder of his mother and grandmother. At the scene forensic scientist Rhona Macleod finds a chilling African talisman made from the bones of a child. Can she decipher its meaning and track Stephen down before he becomes the next link in the killer’s chain?
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#5

Easy Kill

2008

A young female prostitute has been brutally slain and left on top of a grave in a local cemetery. Rhona Macleod—a forensic investigations expert—has no doubt that the depraved killer's motives were sexual. When the removal of the girl's corpse reveals another woman buried secretly underneath, the case takes on a disturbing new dimension. This killer has attacked before, and will certainly strike again. When another girl is reported missing, Rhona knows she must track the killer down herself.
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#6

Final Cut

2009

When Claire regains consciousness after a stranger causes her car to crash in a snowstorm, she is frantic to discover her nine-year-old daughter Emma missing from the back seat. Then Emma is found in the woods nearby, unharmed but cradling a child's skull.
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#7

The Reborn

2010

The clown suddenly appeared beside a group of kids at the candy floss van, bringing Kira to an abrupt halt. Then it began. The rapid heartbeat, the burst of perspiration, the gasping breath. The baby lurched inside her, as though sharing her panic. When the body of a pregnant teenager is found in a Hall of Mirrors with the full-term foetus surgically removed, forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is called in to assist the police. Suspicion falls on Jeff Coulter, a psychotic inmate at a nearby hospital whose hobby is making Reborns ' chillingly realistic baby dolls intended for bereaved parents or those unable to conceive. But how could he have orchestrated the murder from a secure mental facility? The investigation leads to a group of teenage girls who seem to have all got pregnant at the same time. Then a Reborn doll is discovered near the crime scene and a second girl from the group is found dead.. Creepy, compelling and heart-stoppingly tense, The Reborn is Lin Anderson's most powerful novel yet.
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#8

Picture Her Dead

2011

The eighth outing for Rhona MacLeod, forensic scientist—think CSI Glasgow She began to scrape at the mortar. A few minutes later she was able to prise the edge of the brick loose. The resulting rush of foetid air made her gag, but she focussed her torch beam on the enlarged hole and peered inside. Her eyes widened in horror. When art student Jude Evans disappears on a photographic visit to a derelict Glasgow cinema, her friend Liam he enlists the help of his birth mother, forensic scientist Dr. Rhona MacLeod, in his search for Jude. Visiting other derelict cinemas on her list, they find clues to her disappearance and to the horrifying secret she may have discovered behind those walls. Throughout the investigation, Rhona must deal with the news that a face from her past is literally back from the dead—but for how long?
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#9

Paths of the Dead

2014

It was never just a game . . . Paths of the Dead is the next novel in Lin Anderson's esteemed Rhona Macleod crime series. When Amy MacKenzie agrees to attend a meeting at a local spiritualist church, the last person she expects to hear calling to her from beyond the grave is her son. The son whom she'd only spoken to an hour before. Then the body of a young man is found inside a neolithic stone circle high above the city of Glasgow and forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is soon on the case. The hands have been severed and there is a stone in the victim's mouth with the number five scratched on it. DI Michael McNab is certain it's a gangland murder, but Rhona isn't convinced. When a second body is found in similar circumstances, a pattern begins to emerge, of a killer intent on masterminding a gruesome Druidic game that everyone will be forced to play . . .
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#10

The Special Dead

2015

When Mark Howitt is invited back to Leila's flat and ordered to strip, he thinks he's about to have the experience of his life. Waking later he finds Leila gone from his side. Keen to leave, he opens the wrong door and finds he's entered a nightmare; behind the swaying Barbie dolls that hang from the ceiling is the body of the girl he just had sex with. Rhona Macleod's forensic investigation of the scene reveals the red plaited silk cord used to hang Leila to be a cingulum, a Wiccan artifact used in sex magick. Sketches of sexual partners hidden in the dolls provide a link to nine powerful men, but who are they? As the investigation continues, it looks increasingly likely that other witches will be targeted too. Working the investigation is the newly demoted DS Michael McNab, who is keen to stay sober and redeem himself with Rhona, but an encounter with Leila's colleague and fellow Wiccan Freya Devine threatens his resolve. Soon McNab realizes Freya may hold the key to identifying the men linked to the dolls, and the Nine will do anything to keep their identities a secret.
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#11

None but the Dead

2016

Sanday, one of Britain's northernmost islands, inaccessible when the wind prevents the ferry crossing from the mainland, or fog grounds the tiny, island-hopping plane. When human remains are discovered to the rear of an old primary school, forensic expert Dr Rhona MacLeod and her assistant arrive to excavate the grave. Approaching midwinter, they find daylight in short supply, the weather inhospitable and some of the island's inhabitants less than co-operative. When the suspicious death of an old man in Glasgow appears to have links with the island, DS Michael McNab is dispatched to investigate. Desperately uncomfortable in such surroundings, he finds that none of the tools of detective work are there. No internet, no CCTV, and no police station. As the weather closes in, the team - including criminal profiler and Orkney native Professor Magnus Pirie - are presented with a series of unexplained incidents, apparently linked to the discovery of thirteen magic flowers representing the souls of dead children who had attended the island school where the body was discovered. But how and in what circumstance did they die? And why are their long forgotten deaths significant to the current investigation? As a major storm approaches, bringing gale-force winds and high seas, the islanders turn on one another, as past and present evil deeds collide, and long buried secrets break the surface, along with the exposed bones.
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#12

Follow the Dead

2017

"Follow the Dead is the thrilling twelfth book in Lin Anderson's Rhona MacLeod series. On holiday in the Scottish Highlands, forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacLeod joins a mountain rescue team on Cairngorm summit, where a mysterious plane has crash-landed on the frozen Loch A’an. Added to that, a nearby climbing expedition has left three young people dead, with a fourth still missing. Meanwhile in Glasgow, DS McNab’s raid on the Delta Club produces far more than just a massive haul of cocaine. Questioning one of the underage girls found partying with the city’s elite reveals she was smuggled into Scotland via Norway, and it seems the crashed plane in the Cairngorms may be linked to the club. But before McNab can discover more, the girl is abducted. Joined by Norwegian detective Alvis Olsen, who harbours disturbing theories about how the two cases are connected with his homeland, Rhona searches for the missing link. What she uncovers is a dark underworld populated by ruthless people willing to do anything to ensure the investigation dies in the frozen wasteland of the Cairngorms . . ."
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#13

Sins of the Dead

2018

While illegally street racing in the underground tunnels of Glasgow, four Harley-Davidson riders make a horrifying discovery: a dead man left in the darkness, hands together on his chest as if peacefully laid to rest. The cause of death is unclear, the only clues being a half glass of red wine and a partially eaten chunk of bread by his side that echo the ancient religious practice of sin-eating.Called to the scene, forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is perplexed by the lack of evidence. But when another body is found near her own flat, laid out in a similar manner, she fears a forensically aware killer stalks the city and is marking the victims with their unique signature. Even more worryingly, the killer appears to be using skills they may have learned while attending her forensic science lectures at Glasgow University.There are signs that Rhona is being targeted, that the killer is playing with her and the police, drawing them into a deadly race against time, before the sin-eater’s next victim is chosen
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#14

Time for the Dead

2019

Forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod investigate a brutal series of killings on Scotland's Isle of Skye, in Time for the Dead, a gripping crime novel by Lin Anderson. When forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod returns to her roots on Scotland’s Isle of Skye, a chance encounter in the woods behind a nearby activities centre leads her to what seems to be a crime scene, but without a victim. Could this be linked to a group of army medics, who visited the centre while on leave from Afghanistan and can no longer be located on the island? Enlisting the help of local tracker dog Blaze, Rhona starts searching for a connection. Two days later a body is found at the base of the famous cliff known as Kilt Rock, face and identity obliterated by the fall, which leads Rhona to suspect the missing medics may be on the island for reasons other than relaxation. Furthermore, elements of the case suggests a link with an ongoing operation in Glasgow, which draws DS Michael McNab into the investigation. As the island’s unforgiving conditions close in, Rhona must find out what really happened to the group in Afghanistan, as the consequences may be being played out in brutal killings on Skye . . . ' Forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod has become one of the most satisfying characters in modern crime fiction.' – Daily Mail
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#15

The Innocent Dead

2020

The present day discovery of a child’s remains in a peat bog south of Glasgow looks to finally solve the decades old mystery of ten year old Mary McInally’s disappearance.Karen Marshall had been devastated by her best pal’s abduction on the day of her confirmation. Questioned by the police but traumatised by the loss of her friend, nothing Karen remembered back then had helped.Now decades later, the news of the possible discovery of Mary’s body brings the nightmares back, but added to that are returning memories long buried by Karen. Memories that begin to reveal her role in her friend’s disappearance and perhaps the identity of the killer.Are these memories the truth or just a figment of an aging brain?Called in to excavate the body on the moor, forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod uses the advances made in forensic science since Mary’s death, to unravel a horrific tale that encompasses more than just one child, and not only in the past.The Innocent Dead moves between the past and the present. Those who sought and hid the truth back then and those intent on discovering it now.But can this be done before the killer puts his next plan into operation?
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#16

The Killing Tide

2021

The Killing Tide by Lin Anderson sees forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod investigating a mysterious abandoned ship which has swept ashore in the Orkney Isles. After a fierce storm hits Scotland, a mysterious cargo ship is discovered in the Orkney Isles. Boarding the vessel uncovers three bodies, recently deceased and in violent circumstances. Forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacLeod’s study of the crime scene suggests that a sinister game was being played on board, but who were the hunters? And who the hunted? Meanwhile in Glasgow DS Michael McNab is called to a horrific incident where a young woman has been set on fire. Or did she spark the flames herself? As evidence arises that connects the two cases, the team grow increasingly concerned that the truth of what happened on the ship and in Glasgow hints at a wider conspiracy that stretches down to London and beyond to a global stage. Orcadian Ava Clouston, renowned investigative journalist, believes so and sets out to prove it, putting herself in grave danger. When the Met Police challenge Police Scotland’s jurisdiction, it becomes obvious that there are ruthless individuals who are willing to do whatever it takes to protect government interests. Which could lead to even more deaths on Scottish soil . .
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#17

The Wild Coast

2023

A remote shoreline. A lethal killer. The height of summer in Scotland. Small west-coast campsites are the go-to for wild campers and campervans. Remote, loch or beach-side, most occupy a field on a highland croft. No CCTV. Small overnight fee paid for in cash. Friendly and ideal if you long for solitude, beauty and safety. Until a lone camper disappears. Then another. It appears that a killer has found the perfect way to operate. Remote, unnoted and lethal. Meanwhile in Glasgow, Police Scotland is facing allegations of sexual assault by its male officers. Young women from all walks of life have come forward to reveal the names of their police attackers. In that list is one DS Michael McNab. Did McNab overstep the mark, or is the accusation against him a w ay of putting him out of action forever?

Author

Lin Anderson
Lin Anderson
Author · 23 books
Lin Anderson was born in Greenock of Scottish and Irish parents. A graduate of both Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities, she has lived in many different parts of Scotland and also spent five years working in the African bush. A teacher of Mathematics and Computing, she began her writing career four years ago. Her first film, Small Love, which was broadcast on STV, was nominated for TAPS writer of the year award 2001. Her African short stories have been published in the 10th Anniversary Macallan collection and broadcast on BBC Radio Four.
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