The Malt Whisky Murders

Shortlisted for the 2025 Bloody Scotland Debut Prize

Natalie Jayne Clark author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Birlinn General

Published:5th Jun '25

Currently unavailable, our supplier has indicated it should be available around 22nd August 2025

The Malt Whisky Murders cover

Whisky is a bloody business . . .

When a dilapidated distillery comes up for sale in rural Kintyre, Eilidh and her wife Morag jump at the chance. But their ambition to run the first women-owned whisky distillery in Scotland seems to be scuppered when a grisly, decades-old secret is revealed: two dead bodies have been stuffed into barrels, perfectly preserved in single malt.

To add to their woes, a TV crew has just arrived and the townsfolk will not leave them alone. Eilidh becomes obsessed with solving the murders while juggling whisky tastings, ceilidhs, protests and scandals – everything you’d expect from a wee Scottish town imprisoned by its own geography. And no matter how hard you try, the locals will always find out your secrets.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 BLOODY SCOTLAND DEBUT PRIZE

'a visceral authenticity, deliciously tempered with dark humour... a bloody marvellous debut'

* Sunday Post *

'From the fabulous opening sentence to the final page, this tasty tale of love, humour, intrigue, murder and distilling is the perfect dram'

-- Lin Anderson

'I raced through this lively, funny, charming tale with great pleasure, and learned a lot I didn't know about whisky too'

-- Ajay Close

'A deft debut full of dry wit and enticing intrigue. The Malt Whisky Murders announces Natalie Jayne Clark as a bold new writer for crime fiction, putting a welcome queer twist on Tartan Noir. Savour this wee dram of mystery, mirth and murder'

-- D. V. Bishop

'Hilarious, brave and original'

-- Helen FitzGerald

'This is a novel which informs as it entertains as it thrills, managing to achieve the perfect balance between mystery and malt... while the thrills and literal spills are ramped up, a love for the drink and fascination with the industry shines through'

-- Alistair Braidwood * SNACK Magazine *

'A tale told with humour and intensity, jam-packed full of murder, amateur sleuthing, relationships, community, and whisky!’

-- Liz Robinson * LoveReading, Book of the Month *

'an entertaining novel, feather-light, flowing along at a good pace. The main characters are likable... It is brisk and frothy'

-- Allan Massie * The Scotsman *

'A terrific novel'

-- Nicola Meighan * A Kick Up the Arts podcast *

'such an entertaining read . . . educational without being stuffy. And it is all delivered with a generous dose of sincerity and fun'

-- Ken Lussey * Undiscovered Scotland *

'[Clark is] the next big thing in crime fiction' 

-- Alex Watson * The Couri

  • Short-listed for Bloody Scotland Debut Prize 2025

ISBN: 9781846976780

Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 17mm

Weight: 237g

272 pages