The Drowning Glen (Detective Corstorphine #5)

‘Noah! Noah! Are you alright?’ Anita’s panicked voice echoed uselessly back to her. She felt the blow to her head, then the world faded into darkness. The passenger door was hanging open. The car was empty. Anita’s son was gone.

In the rain-lashed glens beneath Ben Nevis, Detective Inspector James Corstorphine arrives at an isolated road – a dead-zone for mobile signals, miles from the nearest house. The one place a mother might be forced to leave her child alone.

Then forensics find spikes in her tyres and it’s clear this was no breakdown. Someone had been waiting on that road – someone who knew Anita’s route, her routine, and the precise stretch where her phone would fall silent.

Corstorphine turns to Anita’s only neighbours – a handful of households scattered across the hillside, each with reason to stay quiet. And when he discovers what Anita has been hiding from her own family, he understands that the secret that took the boy is older, darker, and closer to home than anyone in these hills wants to admit. The longer it stays buried, the smaller the chance of finding Noah alive.

Perfect for readers who love:
- A haunting Scottish crime thriller set in a remote Highland community
- A flawed, dogged detective unravelling a small-town conspiracy
- A missing-child mystery rooted in long-buried secrets
- Atmospheric tartan noir with a strong sense of place
- A page-turning police procedural you can read in one sitting

From CWA New Blood Dagger longlistee and McIlvanney Prize finalist Andrew James Greig – perfect for fans of LJ Ross, Ian Rankin, and Val McDermid.

The fifth Detective Corstorphine novel – readable as a complete standalone, perfect whether you’re returning to the series or meeting James Corstorphine for the first time.