Bloody Scotland established itself as the leading Scottish International Crime Writing Festival in 2012 with acclaimed writers Lin Anderson and Alex Gray at the helm, then joined by Craig Robertson and Gordon Brown. Based in Stirling, Bloody Scotland has brought hundreds of crime writers new and established to the stage with always enthusiastic attendees who make the festival every bit as much as the writers do.
Priding ourselves as the literary festival where you can let down your hair and enjoy a drink at the bar with your favourite crime writer, we strive to put on entertaining as well as informative events during a weekend in September, covering a range of criminal subjects from fictional forensics, psychological thrillers, tartan noir, cosy crime and many more. With an international focus at the heart of Bloody Scotland, we are always looking to bring in crime writing talent from outside of Scotland whom you may not have heard about. You might, however, knows us for our annual Scotland vs England football cup which always draws a crowd and inevitably ends in tears for someone…
The Bloody Scotland Team 2022: Lin Anderson, Gordon Brown, Craig Robertson, Muriel Binnie, Catriona Reynolds, Bob McDevitt, Dawn Geddes, Abir Mukherjee, Fiona Brownlee & Tim Donald.
Bloody Scotland is running the 15th – 18th September. Book your tickets here: https://bloodyscotland.com/about-us/booking-information/
I am thrilled to be part of the blog tour celebrating the upcoming Bloody Scotland festival. For my stop I couldn’t be more excited to be spotlighting author Jo Spain who will be attending the event. The author will be taking part in the Filthy Rich panel on Friday 16th between 3 – 4 pm. You can find out more and book tickets here.
I’ve read quite a few of Jo’s books now and needless to say I am a fan. If you haven’t discovered her books yet, then you are in for a treat! Here is my review for her latest novel, The Last to Disappear.
Ooh, this was another fabulous read by the author!
Lapland usually has you envisioning Santa, reindeer and Christmas. This story made me realise just how cold this part of the world gets which adds an added chill to the story throughout as there is nothing comforting about this story. If anything the weather is just as threatening.
The story flicks between present day with Agatha and Alex in their hunt to find out who murdered Vicky, Alex’s sister. In the past we are introduced to a character called Kaya who is a registered missing person with the police. I do love a small town setting as it gets to the point that you never really know who to trust and mud very much sticks.
This feels like a crime thriller with Agatha being a detective who plays a big part in the story. I would love to see more of Agatha and could certainly see scope for a new detective series. It would also make a chilling series for television. Both Agatha and Alex have things going on in their personal lives which has them fighting their own demons. I enjoyed how through the story we learn more not just about the going ons in the town and getting closer to revealing the killer but getting to know these two characters better also.
The Last to Disappear has a very sombre and atmospheric feel to it. Readers of authors such as Will Dean and Ragnar Jonasson I think will especially love this book. Jo Spain has a way of hooking you straight into a story and not letting go. Each of her standalone’s I have read so far have been so very different in tone and style and I love that I never know quite what to expect when starting one of her novels. The author has vast become one of my favourites and she sure knows how to pen a compelling and thrilling read that had me turning the pages well into the night! Chillingly addictive!
About the author:
Jo Spain is the author of the bestselling Tom Reynolds detective series and several No.1 bestselling standalone thrillers. She began writing full-time when her first book, top ten bestseller With Our Blessing, was chosen as one of 7 finalists in the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition.
Jo is a full-time screenwriter. Her first show, critically-acclaimed crime series ‘Taken Down’, aired in 2018. In 2021, she co-wrote Harry Wild, starring Jane Seymour, with its creator, Emmy-award winning David Logan (to air 2022). She is currently working on several international productions, including adaptations of her own novels.
A graduate of Trinity College, Jo lives in Dublin with her husband and four children.
bytheletterbookreviews 