Unknown

An atmospheric, gripping amateur sleuth crime thriller from a must-read new voice in Scottish crime fiction

Heather Critchlow author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Canelo

Published:7th Aug '25

Should be back in stock very soon

Unknown cover

A woman with no name, a reckoning with the past, a present fraught with danger.

In the most remote spot of the hills surrounding Loch Tay, a woman’s remains were found. She had lay there a while, but any evidence of who she was had long gone – or never existed. Crime podcaster Cal Lovett seeks to put ‘Hillside Jane’ to rest, but is he merely running from his own troubles?

With the wife of his sister’s alleged killer missing and a sense that any chance he had of getting justice for Margot is slipping from his grasp, Cal is at a crossroads. Perhaps peace for Hillside Jane will soothe his own fears. But events in the village don’t bring the results anyone expected. Is Cal so stuck in the past that he won’t spot the risk he faces in the here and now?

A gripping instalment of the bestselling Scottish crime series from Bloody Scotland Debut Prize for Scottish Crime-shortlisted author Heather Critchlow. Perfect for fans of Jane Casey, Claire Douglas and Neil Lancaster.

Praise for Heather Critchlow

‘One to watch’ The Critic

‘Evocative, immersive, well written’ Harriet Tyce

‘Exceptionally good’ A. J. Finn

‘Assured and compelling’ Dominic Nolan

‘Gripping and taut’ Sam Holland

‘A darkly twisted tale’ Rachael Blok

‘A tense and gripping tale that explores the complexities of motherhood’ Heather Darwent

‘Heart-racing storytelling with very-real characters’ James Delargy

‘Will keep you reading long after you should have turned out the light’ Kate Simants

What readers are saying about Unknown

‘A heart-pounding case, spanning past and present. Absolutely brilliant’ Sam Holland

‘This series goes from strength to strength... the evocative setting is a blast of fresh Highlands air. A must-read for Scottish crime fiction fans’ Jo Furniss

The perfect true-crime thriller. It was suspenseful and kept me turning the pages until the end’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

Heather Critchlow’s storytelling is superb. She weaves threads and timelines together seamlessly and keeps up the page-turning suspense. An outstanding crime series’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

My goodness what a story! With such exquisite writing and plot twists you won’t see coming, you really will be up all night! An absolute must-read’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

As always Heather has written a truly immersive world. I was immediately hooked until the very end. I can’t wait for the next one (already)’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

An excellent series. Cal is...

ISBN: 9781835981009

Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 20mm

Weight: unknown

336 pages