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Marsali Taylor
Latest book: DEATH IN A SHETLAND LANE (April 2023) A SHETLAND WINTER MYSTERY (November 2021)
It’s the dark nights in the run up to Christmas, and sailing sleuth Cass Lynch’s first night on dry land is disturbed by strange noises outside her isolated cottage. Tiny footprints in the moonlit snow trail from her front door before mysteriously disappearing. Soon Cass learns others were visited by the same tiny feet in the night. It looks like ingenious local teenagers playing tricks – but what happens when festive games turn deadly? Cass soon finds out as a schoolboy disappears, leaving only a trail of footprints into the middle of a snowy field. She’s determined to investigate, but uncovering the truth will also put her in danger…
THE SHETLAND SEA MURDERS
While onboard her last chartered sailing trip of the season, Cass Lynch is awoken in the middle of the night by a Mayday call to the Shetland coastguard. A fishing vessel has become trapped on the rocks off the coast of one of the islands. In the days that follow, there’s both a shocking murder and a baffling death. On the surface there’s no link, but when Cass becomes involved it is soon clear that her life is also in danger. Convinced that someone sinister is at work in these Shetland waters, Cass is determined to find and stop them. But uncovering the truth could prove to be deadly…
DEATH FROM A SHETLAND CLIFF
As summer draws to a close in Shetland, indomitable sailor Cass Lynch is preparing to look after eccentric, outspoken Tamar, who is returning from hospital following a fall. Recuperation should involve a peaceful week in Tamar’s isolated cottage, but on arriving at the house Cass finds there has been a break-in… curiously, only some old papers are disturbed. Then the body of a man is found in a cove close-by and while it looks to be an accident at first glance, suspicions are quickly aroused – and soon the police have a murder on their hands. At the same time, Cass begins to suspect Tamar knows more than she’s letting on about her family’s ties to the local laird. As the family start to gather, secrets won’t stay buried for long . . . This eighth novel in the series brings Cass back to her home waters, where she becomes entangled in a family saga of greed, inheritance and hidden truths.
DEATH ON A SHETLAND ISLE
Indomitable Cass Lynch has a shock as her tall ship Sorlandet prepares to leave for the Shetland Islands: the new third mate looks like, is, her dead lover Alain – but why is he pretending to be a Spanish stranger? She’s also concerned about Laura and Oliver Eastley, trainees on her watch. Laura is still recovering from the shock of their parents’ car-crash death. An accident in the Neolithic Mousa Broch makes Cass suspect that another death is planned.... but how can she protect Laura from her own brother? This seventh investigation for Cass and Gavin reunites them with Cass’s parents, her friends Inga and Magnie and of course the engaging Peerie Charlie in a summer investigation on Fetlar, one of Shetland’s outer isles.
DEATH IN SHETLAND WATERS (November 2017)
Liveaboard sailor Cass Lynch has achieved her ambition: she’s now third mate aboard the historic sail training ship Sorlandet. However all is not well aboard. She and her Norwegian friend, Anders, keep glimpsing a thickset man who’s not part of the ship’s company, but a police search finds nobody. Cass’s tearaway cousin Sean is on board, but not willing to answer questions about his work. When she spots him hiding a gun, Cass gets into trouble with the ship’s captain … then, one foggy night, a trainee disappears. When the ship’s First Officer also goes missing, Cass’s lover, DI Gavin Macrae is called in. Everyone is relieved to arrive in Belfast … but a visit to the iconic Titanic exhibition puts Cass in even greater danger. This sixth adventure of Cass and Gavin combines a fast-moving, intricate plot with life aboard a tall ship.
THE SHETLAND POISONINGS (Ghosts of the Vikings, November 2016)Cass Lynch has been persuaded to spend Christmas in the Highlands with her friend DI Gavin Macrae, but their romantic walk by the loch is cut short when they find a skeleton among the bracken. Back home in Shetland, Cass hears about Ivor Hughson, who left his wife and failed business months ago, and hasn’t been heard of since. A near-disaster aboard Cass’s yacht suggests someone wants to stopher asking questions about his disappearance. Meanwhile,there are eerie reports of sightings of a njuggle, a Shetland water-horse which drowns curious passers-by. Soon it's taking Cass all her wits to stay alive ... ‘Marsali may not go for the gory detail, but she's very skilled at creating atmosphere … Ghosts of the Vikings kept me up late one night because I wanted to know how it ended before I could sleep.’ Mary Blance, The Shetland Times. ‘Once again Marsali Taylor has pulled off a difficult feat: a convincing murder mystery set in an environment where crime more usually means a traffic offence or too much to drink. What’s more, she does it with style, originality and that essential quality, readability.’ Lynne Patrick, Mystery People GRAVE OF A SHETLAND SAILOR (The Body in the Bracken, May 2015) IBSN: 9781783758548Cass Lynch has been persuaded to spend Christmas in the Highlands with her friendDI Gavin Macrae, but their romantic walk by the loch is cut short when they find askeleton among the bracken. Back home in Shetland, Cass hears about Ivor Hughson,who left his wife and failed business months ago, and hasn’t been heard of since. Anear-disaster aboard Cass’s yacht suggests someone wants to stop her askingquestions about his disappearance. Meanwhile, there are eerie reports of sightings of anjuggle, a Shetland water-horse which drowns curious passers-by. Soon it’s taking Cass all her wits to stay alive... Praise for The Body in the Bracken: '... the real joy of Marsali Taylor’s work is the richness of her portrayal of the Shetland background and inhabitants, and the effortless weaving in of Cass Lynch’s sailing background, which is intrinsic to her personality and the USP of this growing series. ... Cass Lynch is an unusual protagonist, a stand-out in an overcrowded genre.’ Lynne Patrick, Mystery People. THE SHETLAND NIGHT KILLINGS (A Handful of Ash, September 2014) IBSN 9781783755127Liveaboard skipper Cass Lynch is busy with student life at the marine college in Shetland’s ancient capital of Scalloway – until she finds a dead girl, whose hand is smeared with peat ash. Is this part of some strange ritual linking back to the witches once burned in Scalloway? What was the horned figure seen carrying the body? Rumours begin to spread, encouraged by local Hallowe’en traditions. Then there’s a second murder ... Praise for A Handful of Ash: BURIED IN A SHETLAND TOMB (The Trowie Mound Murders, November 2013):When a visiting yachting couple go missing from the Shetland oil capital of Brae, sailing skipper Cass Lynch overcomes her mistrust of the land world to ask for help from her old adversary DI Gavin Macrae. He discovers a link to international art theft, and warns Cass to steer clear – but when one of her sailing pupils goes missing, she goes alone to disvcover the secrets of the Neolithic tomb known locally as a ‘trowie mound’ ... Ghosts, folklore and a nail-biting finale at the local show come together to make an atmospheric, fast-moving thriller. Praise for The Trowie Mound Murders: DEATH ON A SHETLAND LONGSHIP (Death on a Longship, November 2012) IBSN 987-1-78375-545-5When she wangles the job of skippering a Viking longship for a film, Cass Lynch thinks her big break has finally arrived - even though it means returning home to the Shetland Islands, which she ran away from as a teenager. Then the ‘accidents’ begin - and when a dead woman turns up on the boat’s deck, Cass realises that she, her family and her past are under suspicion from the disturbingly shrewd Detective Inspector Macrae. Cass must call on all her local knowledge, the wisdom she didn’t realise she’d gained from sailing and her glamorous, French opera singer mother to clear them all of suspicion - and to catch the killer before Cass becomes the next victim. Praise for Death on a Longship: AUTHORS
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Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh, and came to Shetland as a newly-qualified teacher. She lives with her husband and three cats on Shetland’s scenic west side. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland’s distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women's suffrage in Shetland. She's a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own 8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group.
Days before the final Shetland fire festival, in broad daylight, a glamorous young singer tumbles down a flight of steps. Though it seems a tragic accident, sailing sleuth Cass Lynch, a witness at the scene, thought it looked like Chloe sleepwalked to her death. But young women don’t slumber while laughing and strolling with friends. Could it be that someone’s cast a spell from the Book of the Black Arts, recently stolen from a Yell graveyard? A web of tensions between the victim and those who knew her confirm that something more deadly than black magic is at work. But proving what, or who, could be lethal - and until the mystery is solved, innocent people will remain in terrible danger…