TARTAN NOIR 2026: NEW BOOKS BY MARION TODD and EVA MACRAE
Tartan Noir certainly gets off to a good start in 2026 with books by two of the quietly performing champions of the genre.
Eva Macrae is better known as the author of the DI Shona Oliver novels under her real name of Lynne McEwan. Now as Eva Macrae is heading in a new direction with A Death In Glasgow (Century, 8 January 2026).
After a brief Prologue, A Death In Glasgow opens with the discovery of a young woman’s body on the tracks at Glasgow Central Station. The transport police are quick to rule it a suicide, but Holly’s mother is not so convinced that she killed herself. Sergeant May Mackay isn’t either, especially when she finds a return ticket in Holly’s coat pocket. Why would she buy a return ticket if she was going to end her life? Despite the directions from her superiors, May works away at the case with the assistance of a rogue transport police officer. Through Holly’s dodgy, and violent boyfriend, the pair discover links to a major drug gang, and gradually find themselves caught up in something very nasty.
A Death In Glasgow is a well crafted police procedural that steadily draws you in and keeps you interested. The beginning is a bit of a slow burn, but once underway the tension rises and the final sections are quite suspenseful. Eva skilfully broadens the story out from its initial focus, but successfully draws it back to Holly’s death to deliver a good surprise or two at the end.
May is a credible and interesting character who is dealing with her own tragedy, which colours her dealings with Holly’s mother and helps her to see the truth. She is believably tough when she has to be, but also very fragile at times. She is very convincing. The other characters also have a gritty, plausible feel to them and Eva’s use of local slang and phrases helps to build the sense of place. The book is rich in atmosphere and the storyline is drawn from everyday experiences in Glasgow.
In all, A Death In Glasgow is an enjoyable police novel that really grew on me as it progressed. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to review.
Marion Todd has established herself as a leading member of the Tartan Noir brigade with her novels about Scottish police detective DI Clare Mackay.
Based in Dundee, Clare is a caring and effective policewoman with just the right amount of grit and determination. In her latest book, Watch Them Fall (Canelo, 12 March 2026), Clare is on hand when a body is hauled out of St Andrews harbour. The cause of death a blow to the back of the head. To Clare and her team it is obvious that this was no accident and local Dennis Gibb was murdered.
Meanwhile a string of burglaries across town divide Clare’s attention and she is drawn into a world of property developers, holiday lets and protestors determined to put a stop to the new building works. When another person linked to Dennis is murdered, the investigation becomes even more urgent and Clare is led down a winding path to local secrets, hidden animosity and dodgy business deals.
I have not received a copy of Watch Them Fall for review yet, but it certainly sounds interesting and I am keen to read it. Watch Them Fall is released in the United Kingdom on 12 March 2026.
Here is a link to my review of Marion’s last novel, Dead Man’s Shoes, from earlier this year: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/british-police-detectives-2025-new-novels-by-hannah-richell-marion-todd-and-fiona-mcintosh/
So two good Scottish police novels to start 2026 off with. There are also other promising Scottish crime tales scheduled for next year, including Neil Lancaster’s The Dark Heart, the promising concept novel The Ending Writes Itself by the pseudonymous Evelyn Clarke and Alan Parks’ Deception, which is the sequel to his excellent World War II thriller Gunner: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/recent-reading-new-books-by-lisa-jewell-tom-mead-riley-sager-and-alan-parks/