I’ve been looking forward to the publication of this book as I first read the manuscript in its early stages after meeting the author on an Arvon course. It’s always interested to see what a writer has done in the revision process and Robbing The Dead, which was published last week, is a gritty addition to Tartan noir.

An RAF squaddie is killed and his girlfriend is convinced he has been caught up in a feud between locals and military stationed at the base. DI Jim Carruthers is trying to unpick the case but when a lecturer’s car is bombed and the academic can’t be found, events take a darker turn.

Robbing The Dead is a tense,  well-written police procedural which adroitly uses the Fife setting to show how tensions can fester for years. The book is a start of a new series and there’s plenty of mileage left in Caruthers and I can’t wait to read the next offering from Collins.