A novel of mid-life in MANHATTAN
A tale of folklore and murder, set in the SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS
16th June 2026
The Bone Mother by Suzy Aspley, a tale of folklore and murder set in the Scottish Highlands.
A stunning glen, way up in the Scottish Highlands, is set to be flooded for a hydroelectric project. If it goes ahead it will totally destroy a pristine environment. Many locals are opposing the plan, others are in favour of the jobs and investment it will bring to the area.
But there is more to the glen than just the environmental impact. It is a pagan religious site of great consequence. It is believed to be the birthplace of the Bone Mother, a mysterious being with power over the weather and seasons. Ceremonies are carried out at a cairn twice a year, once in the Spring and again at Halloween in the Autumn. In Spring the cairn (and the animal bones it contains) are opened up to celebrate the fact that Winter has been survived; in the Autumn the bones are returned to the cairn ahead of the harshness of winter.returning.
An ear bearing a Celtic earring is found on a train track between Glasgow and the Highlands. Martha Strangeways, a semi retired journalist and friend of D I Derek Summers, is called in by the police to help with the investigation as to its origin. Then the owner’s body itself is found, ritually laid out in a local village churchyard. By luck and coincidence Martha manages to identify the victim – the police have the breakthrough they need. They trace the girl back to a Facebook group that talks about the Bone Mother and the threat she is under. Girls who are site members are encouraged to make a three or four day solo hike from Oban to the Bone Mother’s glen. They are given a piece of Celtic jewellery to protect themselves en route. Martha discovers that the girl whose body they have discovered was the second to have undertaken the journey. She worries about the first who has not been seen since she completed the wall. Where is she and is she OK? Who runs the Facebook page?
To get more background she contacts the businessman who is intending the flood the glen. Her approach is not well received. She ‘doorsteps’ him and hears a blazing row between the businessman and his wife. She also gathered that their daughter had recently walked out of the family home. Do these events have anything to do with the wider story? Is there family dissent about the proposed flooding?
Events move apace and the story progresses to a fast moving and thrilling finale. The book has many chilling (indeed frightening) moments in it. Explanations do not always have a rational basis to them. There would appear to be room for folklore and magic. Perhaps the stories of the Bone Mother are not all folklore…?
An excellent book. A great mystery with sinister overtones.
Tony for the TripFiction Team
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