The Books
The Books...
The Drumbeater
“A word of warning, you will be hooked!” – Scottish Field Magazine
“With more questions than answers, and with mounting pressure from his cynical boss, Neil embarks upon a race against time to discover the truth” – Police World Magazine
When skeletal remains are found buried on a beach near the tiny Scottish village of Glendaig, the evidence points to murder... to a crime dating back seventy years to World War Two. The task of unravelling the mystery falls to history graduate Neil Strachan, now a career cop, fast tracked into a new role on Northern Scotland’s Major Enquiry Unit. When Neil calls upon German naval historian, Matthias Fuchs, to help identify the remains, a name soon emerges, that of a dashing young U-boat ace who mysteriously disappeared in 1941 - Korvettenkapitän Max Friedmann.
In a bid to discover what happened on that remote beach half a century before, Neil seeks the assistance of Glendaig ’s elderly residents. He encounters an impenetrable wall of silence, causing him to suspect that they know far more about the young submariner than they are willing to impart. With more questions than answers, and under mounting pressure from his cynical boss to wrap up the enquiry, Neil embarks upon a race against time to unearth the truth. He begins to unravel a tale of subterfuge, escape and astounding loyalty. A tale that will ultimately reveal a secret that could have changed the course of World War Two…
PUBLISHED January 2014
ISBN: 9781783062195
Available in paperback for £9.99 and ebook for £4.99.
The Well of the Dead
Readers will come face- to-face with the gritty world of modern day policing in Clive Allan’s second crime thriller…
Inspired by 30 years of Clive’s personal experience in the police service, The Well of the Dead is the second DI Strachan story. The brutal murders of distillery owner, Duncan Fraser, and his wife Laura, shock the remote rural community of Strathnairn in the Scottish Highlands.
Detective Inspector Neil Strachan, who we 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 criminal, apparently obsessed with his Jacobite ancestry. Strachan also faces problems of his own. His long-term partner, Catriona Duncan, is acting strangely and he suspects an affair. His determination to bring the Frasers’ killer to justice, and to uncover the truth behind his erring partner’s behaviour, take him to a place where his personal and professional priorities become blurred, a place where both his judgement and reputation are on the line.
The book combines Clive’s experiences in policing with his longstanding love of military history when the investigation unearths an ancient clan feud, a mystery dating back to 1746 and the Battle of Culloden. The Well of the Dead also draws on Clive’s profound knowledge of the Scottish Highlands to create a unique setting for the story.
“DI Strachan’s adventures are played out amongst the rugged beauty of Britain’s last great wilderness,” states Clive, “a setting that is rarely focused upon in detective novels.”
“A gripping and intelligent tale which seamlessly spans 250 years told through wonderfully authentic characters. Superb!” – Graham Bartlett, police advisor to crime fiction writers and television. Times bestselling co-author of Death Comes Knocking.
PUBLISHED: 28th March 2017
ISBN: 9781788036634
Paperback Price: £9.99 ebook £3.99
