A new detective/crime novel from relatively new author R. Michael Brown starts off innocuously enough at the Highland games where Barron and his team are providing security. By the end of the day a body has been discovered with its head severed by a sword.
When the victim is identified, it turns out he was a crook, well known to the police, who disappeared without trace ten years previously. When the murder of a further two gangsters takes place it is obvious the murders are connected and it is up to Barron and his team to find out exactly what the connections are and what these deaths mean.
Trekking from Inverness to Edinburgh, putting together the clues, Barron and his team carefully unravel some mysteries from the past ten years and finally crack the gang that caused so much havoc previously.
Although this is a crime novel it is a cosy, heart warming one as the team are like one big family headed by Barron and MacGregor. The team members have their own personal 'stuff' going on with their families but Barron always takes the time to make sure everyone is okay and to listen. He has a very caring nature about him although he gives the impression of being a big, hard, ex-SAS man who takes no nonsense; he is however, well thought of and respected and we see his softer side when his old friend and colleague MacGregor suffers a bad angina attack.
All the main characters come through as real people who have their own worries but are devoted to their job of tackling crime and work well together, for the most part, to make a difference. I personally felt I was getting to know the characters and that there is more to find out about them.
Although spanners are thrown into the works regarding the investigation, it is clear that cool-headed Barron knows what he is about and will save the day. There are some good twists and a bit of a surprise at the end as the culprit is revealed.
All in all a very enjoyable read and one I would recommend.
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