The Liar’s Bones is a thrilling new novel by by Morag Pringle. In it, we follow Rachel McKenzie, a member of the procurator fiscal’s office, as she decides which suspicious deaths should be investigated further in her assigned region of Scotland. Being a lawyer and not a doctor, her role is different than one might find in other countries, but it certainly still brings drama into her world, especially when her boss demands that she investigates a case in person. Rachel tries to back out of having to return to her former hometown, which she left after tragedy and drama overwhelmed her younger self.

When she gets to the part of the Highlands where her grandparents lived, she was surprised at how much had changed, and yet, how much it had stayed the same.

She quickly finds that not only does everyone still know everyone else’s gossip, but that the person whom she is investigating did not die by stumbling and accidentally falling to her death. Unfortunately, that’s all that she can initially suss out.

Slowly, other clues begin to show themselves, and they intertwine with clues that can help make sense of the death that Rachel is investigating, but can she figure it all out before she gets fired by her cranky boss, a once-in-a-century storm hits, and Rachel gets too close to a deeper and darker secret held by that area?

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this exciting ARC!!

A completely compelling book. I loved everything about it. The story was interesting and the plot unfolded well. A great book. Highly recommend

This is book #1 in the series A Rachel McKenzie Mystery. Ellen Hargreaves is found dead on the island of Uist in the Upper Hebrides. Her death was ruled an accident but Rachel is convinced there's more to the story. I loved the setting of the isle of Uist and the characters of Rachel and Selena. It was a fast-paced mystery that I read until the final page and surprised ending. I am looking forward to more books by this author. If you like gripping crime thrillers, then you will love this book.

Murder and drugs make a interesting cocktail in this Scottish thriller that twists and turns. A quick and interesting read. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Readers who like a blend of police procedural with familial and village drama will surely enjoy this debut series from Morag Pringle. The setting on the remote islands of Uist combined with a complex, well-developed mystery will draw readers in and keep them glued to page after page.

Protagonist Rachel McKenzie has the potential to become a favorite character. She’s smart, resilient, and empathetic, fully determined to speak for the dead and find answers.

Pringle is equally skilled at plot development, dialog, and description. Her descriptions of the remote and sometimes desolate Uist landscape are some of the best I’ve read. As I worked my way through the book, I kept thinking that Ann Cleeves’ successor has arrived.

Very well done.

Great story with a strong female lead who is very sure that there is more to the death of a local. This story shows that you can’t trust small town folk unless you’re part of them and then it’s still up for debate.

"The Liar's Bones" by Morag Pringle is a fast-paced, entertaining 5-star read! Rachel McKenzie is a lawyer working for the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit. Her job is to decide which deaths require further investigation and which can be filed away. A death on a remote island raises questions that she needs to see answered. She gets approval to visit the island to look for answers but just keeps uncovering more secrets.

The first thing I really appreciated about this book is all the authentic language from that region. I am from the US, so I found myself looking up a lot of the words and phrases, which I really enjoyed. The story was interesting and kept me engaged throughout. There are a lot of characters in the book, but it was easy to keep them all straight. There are plenty of twists, and right up until the end, you won’t know the truth. If you are planning to read this book, I would skip the description and just jump right in. A portion of the description isn’t revealed until 70% of the way into the book, which was a bummer to know about going in.

Thanks to Storm Publishing, Morag Pringle, and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest review.

Interesting beginning of a new series. I really enjoyed Rachel. There is a large cast of characters and no one is who they seem which kept things interesting. Then there was twist after twist that had my head spinning. I never could have guessed how things would turn out. I'm definitely reading the next one!

I didn’t know what to expect from The Liars Bones as it is the first of a new series but I really enjoyed it. The story is interesting and full of twists, turns & red herrings to keep you guessing & Morag Pringle manages to weave a very atmospheric tale. I liked Rachel’s tenacity she’s a woman who just won’t give in & there is definitely scope for more tales to come & I look forward to reading more.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley. First book by this author.. Great police procedural book, I like the authors indepth descriptions of the scenery and how fierce the weather can really be in remote places.. Rachel Mckenzie is looking into the death of Ellen Hargreaves who is found on the rocks., she lives on her own In The middle of nowhere. Rachel's colleagues think the death isnt worth investigating, but rachel has other ideas........ rachel takes it upon herself to find out the truth. Everyone knows everyone on the island, but do they know rachel has a secret of her own? Lots of twists, just as I thought I had solved it, up came something to make me change my mind. Definitely worth a read, looking forward to the next book. ....

The Liar's Bones is a gripping crime thriller which takes place in the Scottish Highlands. I enjoyed this mystery of a drowned woman found in the water, featuring the local inhabitants, and an investigator with a traumatic past.

Rachel McKenzie has returned home to where her estranged family lives. Her father murdered her mother, and she has dedicated her life to seeking justice for others. When newcomer Ellen Hargreaves is found dead in the water, Rachel is called in to investigate. The locals seem friendly, but are the members of this tight knit community telling Rachel the truth?

I was fully invested in not only Rachel's investigation into Ellen’s death but also into what happened to Rachel's mother as well. Can you imagine having one parent kill your other parent? Rachel is dealing with some trauma in her life while working hard to bring justice. I admired how Rachel was unwilling to give up and was determined to solve the case even when it became clear that not everyone was on her side.

I found this to be a riveting police procedural which kept me on my toes. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions, the writing, the atmosphere, the tension, the location, the mounting danger, the secrets, and the trapped feeling that the storm created in this book.


This is the first book in a new series, and I look forward to reading what comes next. I enjoyed Rachel and Selena who proved herself to be an intelligent asset.

A Gripping and hard to put down crime mystery thriller.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Mystery and twists make for a perfect combination! I could not put this down. I had never read anything by this author so I was definitely pleasantly surprised. I will definitely be checking out more books by this author!

This was an amazing book. I highly recommend it to everyone. Great characters and a great plot. I will be looking for more books by this author. The book is superbly written. Lots of twists, turns and shocking turns of events. Quickly becoming a go to author for me!!!! If you love to read a book and be shocked by the ending then check out this author for sure. You will love this book and this author. Very enjoyable and I highly recommend this book. Make sure you add this to your TBR list. This is my first book by this author but it won't be my last.

'The Liar's Bones' is an excellent read, one that I am glad to hear will be a start of a new series. Set on an island in The Hebrides with an
oncoming storm fast approaching the plot is fast paced. Rachel McKenzie, a lawyer for The Crown Office Procurator and Fiscal Service, is a great character with a troubled history, one that I look forward to reading more about. Morag Pringle has captured the scenes and remoteness of the western isles of Scotland so well and delivered a great 5 star read. Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for an arc.

Book Title: The Liar's Bones
Author: Morag Pringle
Publishing Date: May 20th, 2024
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

Review:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Liar's Bones. The book has a great cast of characters and is packed with mystery. The author's beautiful and detailed writing made me feel like I was there in Scotland Islands. I even had the Google Earth app opened to locate the places Rachel went to and to understand the places better. 😆 Although it could benefit from some polishing up, it's understandable as this was an ARC and not the final copy. The first half of the book felt a bit slow to me, but it was worth it in the end!

I'd like to thank NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and the author for providing me with this ARC.
Also posted on Goodreads.
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Morag Pringle does a great job in creating this new series, it had that mystery element that I was looking for and enjoyed how good everything worked. The characters were interesting and had that mystery element that I wanted. It left me wanting to read more in this series and from Morag Pringle.

I felt like I was in Scotland reading this book. Morag Pringle hit a home run with this book. So many well written characters. I thought the plot was a little hidden at first, but it came out swinging. Well done.

Excellent! A very well crafted murder mystery, well, several murders actually! Rachel McKenzie is a lawyer working for the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit. Her job is to go through files of fatalities and decide which cases need to be handed back to the police for further investigation. If a case is deemed an accident, natural causes, etc, the file is closed. However, one file that's about to be closed, deemed to be an accident, catches her eye. Something tells her this was no accident. This triggers a chain reaction of events that leads to Rachel personally going to Uist in search of answers. As the case unfolds, it gets bigger and bigger. It was nice to have a murder mystery where the investigator wasn't police although Rachel does work closely with them. A great story, well written and quite exciting as the reasons for the murders becomes clear and old secrets are revealed. I look forward to more of Rachel's 'adventures'.
Thanks to Netgalley, Storm Publishing and Morag Pringle for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The story begins with a teenage girl discovering a body of Ellen Hargraves by the cliffs in the sea on Uist in the Outer Hebrides. Rachel McKenzie from the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit North in Inverness takes an interest in Ellen's file and feels something in her gut is wrong about the unascertained verdict. Rachel speaks with her boos, who grudgingly agrees to her going to investigate it further. One thing leads to another as DI Du Toit is sent from MIT in Inverness to investigate the goings on. All in all, I found it to be well written and very descriptive in particular the locations. All the strands of the sub plots lead to a satisfying ending! I will be recommending this book. Really hoping there will be a book 2.

A excellent start to what seems to be a strong new series with a good female lead who has an interesting backstory, more of which we find out about along the way.

Set in the Scottish Highlands, Rachel McKenzie is a lawyer working in The Procurator Fiscals office, deciding which deaths warrant investigation. She has a gut feeling that Ellen’s Hargreaves’s death isn’t a straight forward accident, and is determined to get justice for her. She just didn’t expect to get sent to the island to make enquiries in a place where she has her own past firmly set.

It’s an atmospheric read, you get such a sense of community on the island, how news is carried so quickly through word of mouth, how overbearing it can feel, whilst still feeling isolated as an incomer.

Interesting characters without them feeling like caricatures, you feel the tension ramp up as more information comes to light, and how frustrating it is for Rachel and Selena, a keen young police officer, with ambitions of being a detective, to have little support, bad communications and trying to contend with an approaching storm. An intense but highly entertaining read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.