I
was having dinner with a prospective director for my upcoming film Dead Close, which is based on a long
short story of mine of the same name. He was reminiscing about his early career
when he and a friend had been out on the town, celebrating a short film they’d
just completed. They met two girls who professed to be witches, which seemed
very sexy at the time. I immediately thought, beware of what you wish for, and
thus the opening scene of The Special
Dead was born.
My
former Professor of Astronomy at Glasgow University, Archie Roy was an
authority on the paranormal in Scotland. A scientist who was willing to
investigate, that which we don’t yet understand. He told me about the famous
Ferguson Collection on the occult housed in Glasgow University Library, which
features in the story, along with the practice of witchcraft, or Wicca. Number
patterns are important too. The quote on the front of the book, “If you
are reading this then I am dead”, is exactly nine words long, for a reason.
And 9 is the square of 3…
They
say bad things come in threes. But good
things can too. Being nominated for the Scottish Crime Book of the Year with Paths of the Dead, followed by the
launch of The Special Dead, and a
spectacular Bloody Scotland to look forward to in September is definitely a
good threesome.
The Special Dead by Lin Anderson
If you are reading this, then I am dead!
When
Mark Howitt is invited back to Leila's flat and ordered to strip, he thinks
he's about to have the experience of his life. Waking later he finds Leila gone
from his side. Keen to leave, he opens the wrong door and finds he's entered a
nightmare; behind the swaying Barbie dolls that hang from the ceiling is the
body of the girl he just had sex with.
Rhona
Macleod's forensic investigation of the scene reveals the red plaited silk cord
used to hang Leila to be a cingulum, a Wiccan artefact used in sex magick.
Sketches of sexual partners hidden in the dolls provide a link to nine powerful
men, but who are they? As the investigation continues, it looks
increasingly likely that other witches will be targeted too.
Working
the investigation is the newly demoted DS Michael McNab, who is keen to stay
sober and redeem himself with Rhona, but an encounter with Leila's colleague
and fellow Wiccan Freya Devine threatens his resolve. Soon McNab realises Freya
may hold the key to identifying the men linked to the dolls and the Nine will
do anything to keep their identities a secret.
The Special Dead by Lin Anderson is out
on 13 August 2015 (£12.99 HB/ £8.99 Ebook Macmillan)
An extract
from The Special Dead can be read over
on the Shots website here.
Lin
Anderson has published several novels and one novella featuring forensic
expert Dr Rhona MacLeod, which has been widely translated. Her short
story Dead Close was chosen
for the Best of British Crime 2011 and is currently in development as a feature
film. Also a screenwriter, her film River
Child won a student BAFTA and the Celtic Film Festival best fiction
award. Currently Chair of the Society of
Authors in Scotland, she is also co-founder of Bloody Scotland, Scotland’s
International Crime Writing Festival.
No comments:
Post a Comment