Cover Image: The Girls in the Glen

The Girls in the Glen

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Member Reviews

Thank you to Netgally, the publishers, and Lynne McEwan

When I requested this book I was unaware that it was apart of a series, one that requires you to read the previous books for this one to make sense. I am unable to read all the previous books along with this one before the publish date. Therefore, I will rate this a fair 3/5 stars and will adjust the rating and review when I am able to read all the books in the series along with this one.

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This is the third book in the series. I havent actually read the other 2. What attracted me to this book was was the corpse discovered was from the 1980's and the archaelogical dig.

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Not having read any of this author i was unsure what to expect but can honestly say i did enjoy it

Detective Shona Oliver and her daughter are spending time on an archaeological dig and when human remains are found they are definitely not from years past but before Shona can start looking into the recently buried body she is called to a shooting of a local MP

Interspersed in the plot line are the goings on of her husband and his problems but not having read the previous two in the series i did not fully understand

Will have to read the first to fully immerse myself in this series

Thank you to Netgalley and Canelo for this arc

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*4 Stars*

Copy kindly received via NetGalley for an honest review.

This was an interesting read with interesting characters. Shona and her team worked hard to get the truth. Would recommend.

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I'm a sucker for mysteries that involves archeology and this was right up my alley. I liked the books I read in this series and thoroughly enoyed this one.
Shona is a complex character and a clever woman, the twisty mystery is solid and kept me guessing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

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A police procedural involving historical and recent crimes in the borders between Scotland and Cumbria. Shona is the main detective, supported by her team . She, herself, has some family problems and her husband is in London and her daughter involved with an archeological investigation for much of the book. Although I have read othes in the series, this book reads fine as a stand alone . Perhaps having read previous episodes would give more insight in Shona's family circumstances but it doesn't necessarily add to the investigation or the action in the book.
I like the location and the team of detectives , in this book the main emphasis is on Murdo and others in the team have more of a background role. Some of the book is written in the dialect of the region, which I am never too keen on. I suppose in some ways it does indicate local ties between characters which go back years. Mostly things are resolved in the book, though there are some issues for a new installment , which I look forward to reading.
THanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

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This book picks up months after the previous book, but there is enough references given to events in the second book, that a new reader would not be lost. Shona is a strong female lead character and more fierce in this installment, as her daughter is involved in the case at hand. What seems like an ancient burial soon becomes a historical one, but with present repercussions. It's an interesting case , that puts Shona in the crosshairs more than once, as she gets too close to the truth..Fast paced, this is a great Summer read to get you into the series! .

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DI Shona Oliver book 3.

When Shona visits her daughter at a local archaeological dig the last thing she expects is for a body dated from the 80s to be discovered. Have they found a victim of the notorious Girls in the Glen murders?

When Shona is ordered off the case to investigate the shooting of a local MP she feels torn. Are the past and the present cases connected?

With plenty of drama in her private life can Shona keep it together and find the shooter while also keeping her investigation into the missing girls from her superiors.

This is a great book that had me hooked from the first page. With plenty of twists to keep you guessing this is a must read for all crime genre fans

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DI and RNLI lifeboat volunteer Shona Oliver is far from the water in The Girls in the Glen, third in this excellent series. While her ex-banker husband Rob prepares for his trial in London, their daughter is working on an archeological dig in historic Bield Moss. However, the body Becca discovers is not that old. It’s that of a young child, one of two girls, victims of a serial killer, and nicknamed The Girls in the Glen. While Shona tries to keep Becca from becoming over involved in this death, there’s an attempted murder. Someone has tried to assassinate Nicola Baird, a member of Parliament. She was at a grouse shoot at the estate of Alexander Douglas, an American and the newly minted Earl of Langdale. Douglas is in the middle of a disagreement with villagers over land use and preservation. Will that lead to another act of violence? Are the deaths of the two girls somehow connected to these events?

The Girls in the Glen has a complicated, satisfying plot line, well developed characters, especially Shona, Murdo, Kate and Ravi. There are deeper problems in Shona and Rob’s relationship and I look forward to seeing how this develops in the next in the series. I loved learning about Scottish history and reading about the Border Reivers and the Debatable Land. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Canelo Crime and Lynne McEwan for this ARC.

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I am enjoying this series, it gets better with each new book. This has a story line full of twists and turns and great characters. Once I started reading I didn't stop . Fantastic

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The story starts a bit slow, but gets more interesting and picks up the piece as the story unfolds. Shawna is a major detective in Scotland and is assigned to work a shooting of an MSP. While working on this case they find the body of a girl from 30 years ago, major case that took over Scotland. While trying to find out, what happened does she discover that the killer really isn’t the killer?

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This is my first introduction to the Detective Shona Oliver series, and it certainly was an engaging one. As The Girls in the Glen is filled with detail and a nice amount of mystery.

As DI Oliver and her daughter Becca are out spending time together on an archelogical dig. When Becca helps uncover some human remains. Which are quickly identified as being recently buried.

But before Shona can act. An officer arrives informing her of a shooting at a nearby estate.

Only when Shona arrives, she learns the victim is a rather opinionated Scottish MP. Who has been hit with a bullet from a rifle rather than the shotguns of the shooting party. Which means there is a gunman on the loose and with plenty of places to hide and targets to hit the race begin's to find them.

But who could want an MP dead? And what about the remains? Could they really be one of the missing 'Girls in the Glen' ?

And as DI Oliver investigates she has to deal with a husband on trial and secrets. Not just those buried on Belid Moss but from her team and higher ups who'd rather she concentrate on the present and forget the past.

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This book has so many elements I enjoy, a strong, intelligent woman who knows her team and is happy to rely on their strengths, an atmospheric setting in a moor on the borderlands between Scotland and England, an archaeological dig, and the history of this wild area. Lynne McEwan makes her characters come alive as Shona and her team are tasked with finding who shot a politician during a grouse hunt as she stood next to the newest Earl. When her daughter, on a near by archaeological dig nearby, finds a human skeleton, the police team also needs gets pulled into a cold case. The author’s way of pulling the various threads of the story together made for a great read, I’ve already purchased the first two books in the series and added the author to my watch list so I’ll know when the next book comes out.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Canelo Publishing for an advance copy of this book, and to the author for her wonderful book.

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The third outing for DI Shona Oliver. A shooting at a grouse party and a body discovered in the peat are the mysteries under investigation. The story never really got going for me, it was rather slow paced, with too many descriptive passages. There was no sense of excitement and everyone seemed at odds with each other. Following on from the previous two books, I thought that the characters would be developed a lot more than they were. In this book they lacked substance and were rather one dimensional. Reasonably entertaining but definitely lacking some energy.

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A solid story but the writing style wasn't for me. I prefer more action and less description. Certainly this would be a must read for those who do prefer a more descriptive style

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This thriller was unputdownable!! So good!! I was absolutely entrantsed with this and quickly read the whole book on tender hooks! 6 out of 5 star!!! One of the best I've read this year! I can't wait to see what happens and what Shona gets into next!
I just reviewed The Girls in the Glen by Lynne McEwan. #TheGirlsintheGlen #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

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Thanks to Lynne and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Girls in the Glen before the publication date.

Whilst the main storylines focus on the skull found in the archaeological dig and the shooting of the self important MSP on the Glorious Twelfth, Lynne has included so much information about the borders and the environment.

She describes some of the history of the Debateable Lands and the Border Reivers, comparing them to the actions of families descended from the Reivers.

The explanation of the environmental issues surrounding the peatlands and the so called Green Lairds (banks and large companies buying land to offset their carbon footprint) was informative and thought provoking.

The local dialect used by DS Murdo O'Halloran’s character and his knowledge of the local community adds to the atmosphere.

I have only recently started to read Lynne’s books and I find that her combination of crime/mystery and details of history and scenery make them enjoyable.

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The first time I have read this Author but I enjoyed the style of writing. A solid four star read. Great premise. Good characters. Page turner. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing Would definitely read the next novel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

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This is the latest in Lynne McEwan's Scottish crime series featuring Dumfries and Galloway DI Shona Oliver, her life more complicated and stressful, her husband Rob is in London preparing for his trial, her reputation as a result taking a hit in the police force, exacerbated by her less than supportive, obstructive new boss, Superintendent Davies. Her headstrong daughter, Becca, is working on a student archaeological dig led by Dr Cameron Armstrong on the sinister peat moors of Beald Moss with its buried secrets, and history of the Border reivers and their violent notions of retribution and redress. Shona is called to a shooting at the Langdale Estate with its new American Earl, the handsome Alexander Douglas, determined to keep his grouse shoots in the face of opposition from a local community group's attempt at a buyout, with the aim of rewilding instead.

Unfortunately, the shot but alive victim is the SMP widow of the dead DCI Gavin Baird, Nicola, who blames Shona for his death. At the archaeological dig, Becca discovers a child's body, who turns out to be one of the two missing Girls in the Glen, apparently victims of a now dead convicted serial killer. Shona investigates with her team, the reliable and hard working DS Murdo O'Halloran with his own personal worries, rivals DC Ravi Sarwar and DC Kate Irving, with help from Cumbrian DC Dan Ridley. Shona has questions about the original investigation into the Girls in the Glen case and the other female victims, but she faces obstacles from every direction, including a boss who refuses to let her try and find into the missing dead girl, or gain access to the cold case files, and from longstanding local cop, Sergeant Graham. Could there possibly be past connections with the present day?

Shona is swamped by changes coming at her from every direction, her problematic new boss, how her and Rob's marriage will fare with Becca expected to leave for university soon, Rob is refusing to say how planning for his trial is going, other than everything is fine, and Tommy McCall is preparing for someone else to take over his role as skipper of the lifeboat team. She finds herself in charge of a dangerous shooting investigation whilst instigating below the radar inquiries into the past, there are hidden agendas and a number of unexpected twists and turns in this exciting addition to the series. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

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DI Oliver has a lot to contend with - her daughter is straining at the reins and off on an archaeological dig before college, her husband is on trial in London for money laundering and she's thrown into a new case - the shooting of a local MP during a grouse shoot and the discovery of a child's skeleton on the archaeological dig. All set in Reiver Country and a bit too much about reiving overall. We get it. The local police are a closed bunch - it's Reiver Country, the new laird is American and wants to do the right thing for his estate but locals are again him or are they? The girl's body raises old history - Reiver families you know by now - serial killer, did they get the wrong man? Plenty of twists, lovely feel of place even if reiving ott, typical characters and a generally good read but not quite the edge that previous stories had. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

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