The Well of The Dead

 “The constable had ducked under the lintel and cautiously edged his way into the property with a stolidness becoming of his twenty-two years of police service. What he had discovered inside had brought him staggering out again, pale and staring, the sweet taste of vomit rising in his throat.” 

In April 2010, the brutal murders of distillery owner, Duncan Fraser, and his wife Laura, shock the small rural community of Glenruthven in the Scottish Highlands. The ensuing police investigation unearths an ancient clan feud… and a mystery dating back to 1746 and the Battle of Culloden. 

Detective Inspector Neil Strachan, who we first met in Clive’s first novel, The Drumbeater, once again finds himself delving into the past, as he and his partner, Sergeant Holly Anderson, go head to head with a ruthless and violent criminal, apparently obsessed with his Jacobite ancestry. Strachan also faces problems of his own. His long-term partner is acting strangely, causing him to suspect that she is having an affair. His determination to bring the Frasers’ killer to justice, and to uncover the truth behind his erring partner’s behaviour, take him on a journey to a place he never wanted to be. It is a place where his personal and professional priorities become blurred; a place where both his judgement and reputation are on the line. 

The Well of the Dead is not the usual dysfunctional, urban detective novel, but one in which the adventures are played out amongst the rugged beauty of Britain’s last great wilderness. Inspired by Mark Billingham, Brian Callison and Elly Griffiths, Clive Allan’s latest novel is a gripping crime thriller with an historical twist. It will primarily appeal to readers of Scottish and detective fiction. 

Clive’s first novel, The Drumbeater, received large amounts of media attention and was featured in Scots News, The Scots Magazine, Narpo News, Scottish Field Magazine and Police World.