I came to this series after reading Gray's "Legacy of the Lynx" so was looking forward to a change of scenery - 1860s Scotland - a time of pivotal change in the Scottish Highlands.

The stories in Clio Gray's "Scottish Mysteries" are spread across both the Scandinavian world and northern Scotland. For centuries there were political links across the North Sea.

Each of the books feature a mining theme: coal and gold, strontium, copper; as well as links to events in the past. As we are taken on a journey over the northern parts of Scotland, what I appreciated in the all the books was the location map - for whilst I was familiar with a few of the place names, the maps help put things into perspective.

The author makes use of the chapters to introduce characters that form part of the narrative - whether fleetingly or on a more permanent basis - so the setting of each scene is crafted before things begin to take off. I especially enjoyed the characters of Brogar Finn and Sholto McKay, trouble-shooters for the Pan-European Mining Company, who make a nice change from your standard fictional amateur investigator.

With each book, Gray tempts us - the reader - with a story peppered with well researched historical fact and a carefully woven plot, that like the dangerous quicksand of the Solway Firth mudflats, can suck the reader in unawares, escape being nigh on impossible.

I have not finished this book, so won't be writing a full review. It was sadly not my cup of tea, but I can see how it could be a fascinating read for someone else. Abandoned at 20%

This is one I just couldn't get into, and I couldn't force myself to finish it. I'm not sure if it was just me, or the mood I was in at the time I received the ARC. Others seemed to really enjoy it, but for me it seemed very scattered (something that might have changed farther into the story, but I couldn't push myself that far).. The writing style was smooth, but it took a lot to get myself to focus. The story seemed like it should have been an interesting one, it just never really captured me.

A good read, although it took me some time to get really into it & to engage with both characters & plot - probably a personal thing, but I am so glad I persevered. Great plot & well written

1828. Sutherland,Scotland. Landowners decided to clear the population by closing the Brora Mines. Joseph Lundt, co-owner of the Lundt and McCleery Mining Company, was absolutely appalled. He had presented meticulous, detailed studies showcasing the profitability of the mines. The closure of the mines would be devastating to town residents.

The Helmsdale Pick of 1828 was Lundt's attempt to give eighty-seven families, chosen by straws, a berth on a ship to Norway to find better opportunities. The remaining residents turned to fishing or sheep herding to ward off starvation. Some traveled "Destitution Road" seeking employment. The Brora Mines were boarded up.

In 1869, Solveig McCleery, daughter of the mine co-founder, was determined to reopen the Brora Mines. She petitioned the company to reevaluate her request by dangling "a proverbial carrot"......some gold dust was unearthed in Kildonan. Two company men were sent to check the feasibility and restructuring of the Brora Mines Project. Brogar Finn's family had traveled down "Destitution Road" but were able to better themselves and eventually emigrate to Holland. Sholto McKay's parents were recipients of a new life having secured transport to Norway from the Helmsdale Pick. Brogar and Sholto were sent to investigate the gold rush in the valleys of Kildodan and Suisgill and to help Solveig in her quest to reopen the coal mines in Brora. Solveig wanted the remaining families to get back what she felt was their due. No one expected murders to occur. Why were rune messages crudely carved in Gaelic and left near the victim's bodies? Were the victims randomly or selectively chosen? Who would be next to die?

"Deadly Prospects" is historical fiction at its best. Author Clio Gray's descriptive language draws you in, challenging you to help solve the mystery. The perpetrator(s) were well concealed and very unexpected! A great read!

Thank you Urbane Publications and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Deadly Prospects".

This is a good example of historical crime fiction, being well paced and with good attention to detail. I must confess that it took me a few chapters to get into the narrative. Whether these opening chapters are confusing or whether I simply didn't immediately get to grasp with the prose style, I honestly couldn't say. What I will say is that the book has a satisfying climax and that the characters are well crafted and drawn with a deftness of touch that suggests great skill in the author. The book has not blown me away and I have my suspicions that I won't remember the details further down the line, but for those who enjoy the genre, it is definitely worth a look.

Gray’s writing is as vivid and painstakingly detailed as it is dynamically atmospheric. Although it takes place in 19th century Scotland, the novel starts off in Iceland, which is exotic and unexpected… Because it’s so detail-oriented, it’s very fact heavy in terms of world building, so much so, that it’s almost a detriment to introducing the characters. I’d rather be introduced to someone in some capacity in my novel openers than have full blown world building without much else. As a result, it reads like a documentary segment on Mount Vesuvius you’d get at a museum. It’s very matter of fact. I don’t need a timeline of events. I want plot and characters introduced in reasonably quick succession.

As for the writing itself, it’s beautifully worded, the language is rich, it plays well with the atmosphere, which feels very dark, misty and appropriately Scottish. It’s just very slow moving and not necessarily a book you could pick up and switch off with. If you’re looking the type of escapism that’ll transport you to a distant land, this book will give you that. It’s just a bit of a slog to get through it.

1869, Sutherland,and Solveig McCleery wants to re-open the mines on the estate to help improve the lives of the remaining population. She hopes with the help of Brogar Finn and Sholto McKay sent from the Mining Company. But when a mine is re-opened a body of a gold prospector is found. And his will not be the last of the murders. But who and why is doing the killings.
Although there was some likeable characters, at times for me there was too much description, and the use of a couple of modern idioms distracted from the telling. But I will probably read the next in the series.

4 and 1 / 2 stars

This book starts out explosively. A volcano is erupting and few escape its wrath. It continues to erupt for several months. Five years later some of the survivors return. One of them, the woman highlighted in the opening scene, uncovers a satchel belonging to a man they called the “bean counter.” This man, Joseph Lundt, tries valiantly to save the people of the village from the mining company who closed their mine without reason. He has shown it was very valuable, but his bosses wouldn’t listen and closed the mine anyway. He found passage to other ports for only 87 of the families – to find new lives.

In 1869, Soveig appears on the scene, along with Sholto McKay and Brogar Finn two men from the mining company. There is a gold rush in the Scotland Highlands area where the closed mine exists. Solveig hopes to get the mine open again. To give it back to the village; to help the people. But before she can get the mine open, murders are committed.

This book seems to have everything: drama, suspense, old cult religion, lost languages and archeology. It is very well written and plotted, although on occasion it seems to lose its way.

The murderer comes as somewhat of a surprise. I had the wrong suspect all along.

This book is so well written that I can hardly say enough. I truly enjoyed the descriptions of the countryside and the people. I could literally see them in my mind.

This is my first Clio Gray novel, and it won’t be my last. I've already ordered the next in the series and am anxious to read it.

I want to thank Netgalley and Urbane Publications for forwarding to me a copy of this very nice book to read.

It’s 1869 and the people of Southerland Scotland live a hardscrabble life, barely eking out enough to survive. All that changes when gold is found in an abandoned mine. The Pan-European Mining Company takes up residence and Solveig McCleery is thrilled that the local populace will finally be able to make a decent living, even prosper. But when they begin to reopen the mine, they find the body of a prospector, with strange writing inscribed on the stones near his body. Soon a second body is found, and as Solveig rushed to try to decipher the strange inscription, she wonders if reopening the mine has awakened something more than simple greed