The Innocent Dead (Rhona MacLeod Book 15)

First off, this is the 15th book in a series so if you don’t want to feel really sheepish later on you might want to either go in just knowing that before you read it or be really prepared and go back and read all the others first. The good news? I didn’t feel lost or out of place reading this one first but it really made me wish I had started the journey with these characters from the beginning.
Second, and really having nothing to do with this book, I’m typing this while one of my cats is persistently trying to rub on my face and walk on the keyboard. Please forgive me for any typos I overlook while trying to get this done. Now, on to the book!
A young girl’s disappearance ripped apart a local community and left wounds that are still incredibly raw to those whose lives she touched. So, you can only imagine the reactions when, in the present day, a child’s remains are found in a peat bog south of Glasgow. Now, with the help of more modern technology, it seems that this case may finally be solved and the responsible party brought to justice.
When Rhona MacLeod is called in the excavate the body, she uses the tools available to her as a forensic scientist to figure out what actually happened all those years ago.
Karen Marshall was one person who was key in the initial investigation. She was absolutely devastated by her best friend’s abduction and was questioned by the police at the time. Unfortunately it lead to a dead end and the case went cold. Now though the news of the body brings back nightmares for poor Karen and also causes her to start remembering things. Memories that begin to reveal that she may have had a role in the disappearance and just maybe she knows the identity of the killer.
This book was really fun if you can possibly find the fun in a book about a child murder. I think maybe fun isn’t the right word. It was a really good read and the characters are all well written and know each other so well that it’s sort of like you are walking into their lives and hanging out with them. This is what made me wish I had started these books at the beginning. To grow along with the characters. I highly recommend you do that!
This book takes place in Scotland, specifically the Glasgow area, so I think if you live there, have been there, or just enjoy books set there you’ll be interested in this. Me, I’ve never been but my husband is from Glasgow so I had a heads up on some of the towns and areas mentioned just from him talking about it. Things like that, that you can associate with on one level or another also really brings this book/the characters alive. The topic of the case isn’t the most pleasant, but those put on this case have the determination and intelligence to pull you in and not let you go till the very last word.

Excellent mystery and characters are real. Maybe a bit more exciting than real. Those introduced in her previous books are people we know well yet new circumstances keep us learning more and more.

The locations are places I see although I’ve never been.

I’m rereading the earlier books in the Dr. Rhonda McLeod series because I’m not read to let go.

THE INNOCENT DEAD by Scottish author Lin Anderson, is Book #15 in the Rhona MacLeod series.
Rhona MacLeod is a forensic scientist who works very closely with Glasgow police investigators.
“The present day discovery of a child’s remains in a peat bog south of Glasgow looks to finally solve a decades old mystery.”
Well-drawn characters, tense plots and a great sense of place , all contribute to one of my favorite mystery series. ****

In this latest novel by Anderson, The Innocent Dead, we head back to Glasgow where forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacLeod and her team at Police Scotland find themselves investigating and unravelling the 1975 cold case of a missing eleven-year-old girl after a child’s body is accidentally discovered in a nearby peat bog.

The prose is seamless and crisp. The characterization is stellar with all the usual gang back including the meticulous, intuitive Dr Rhona MacLeod who’s still grappling with the psychological and emotional toll left by the sin-eater case. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unwind seamlessly into an engrossing tale full of abuse, deception, secrets, familial drama, red herrings, manipulation, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Innocent Dead is a gripping, atmospheric, highly entertaining tale by Anderson that is another fine example of her exceptional ability to write police procedurals that have catchy storylines and fully-developed characters.