Treat yourself to some Tartan Noir!

Shadow Man, by Margaret Kirk

by Liz Treacher, Author

I always enjoy reading books by local authors and if the book is set locally, then it’s even better! Shadow Man (Orion, 2017) is set mainly in Inverness, but Helmsdale and Dornoch also feature. The novel has a great sense of place and I loved the mentions of Harry Gow’s and dream rings!


Shadow Man is Margaret’s debut noel and it won the Good Housekeeping First Novel Competition in 2016. The genre is ‘Highland Noir’ or ‘Tartan Noir’. Shadow Man is the first of a crime series and the first nail-biting case for DI Lucas Mahler, an intellectual loner who is transferred from the Met to his hometown of Inverness where he finds himself in charge of two murder enquiries which may be linked.


Val McDermid described the story as ‘A harrowing and horrific game of consequences.’ The twists and turns of the plot and the interesting characterisations make the book a real page turner. I finished it in two sittings. If you enjoy crime set in the Highlands, and also the themes of absence and homecoming, then read it without delay!


A postscript: I met Margaret recently at a book festival, and she told me that her grandfather, Roy MacDonald, was stationmaster at Ardgay. He retired some time in the late 60s and looked after the community hall for many years after that. Margaret remembers loving her visits to the station house, as she could look out of her grandparents’ bedroom window, right down onto the trains standing at the station.

Liz Treacher is a writer and teacher based in Dornoch. Her two romantic comedies (The Wrong Envelope and The Wrong Direction) are set in 1920 and tell the story of an impetuous artist and his determined post lady. Both titles are available to buy from Dornoch Bookshop.