The Dead Shall Inherit by Raye Anderson

The Dead Shall Inherit by Raye Anderson is a Scottish mystery feast! Elspeth Laird, who lives in Winnipeg, is notified she’s inherited a cottage from her famous aunt, Scottish mystery-writer Deirdre MacPhail.

This house is located on Sulla, a fairly remote place on the Hebridean island “that Deirdre made famous”. A location her aunt made popular as a setting in her mystery novels which were responsible for plenty of tourism to the island. Elspeth and her aunt were not close and Elspeth is rather in need of money. She has been subjected to a downturn in her theatre prop company, that has suffered the effects of the pandemic, and is slow to return to a money-making position. Elspeth is eager and curious to head to Scotland, her birthplace, to revisit the area she hasn’t seen in many years, and to reap a financial reward in the offering.

Once Elspeth arrives on Sulla, she encounters a colourful cast of characters who have as many opinions as secrets. Not everyone loved her aunt, making Elspeth question how her aunt really died, why the police case was closed so quickly, and what do the islanders know that she doesn’t.

Author Raye Anderson, a Scots Canadian, creates a wonderful escape to Scotland and this mystery wraps around the beauty and vibrancy of Scottish culture and the island as a distinct location. The setting is a character itself, a living, breathing entity, central to the story. I felt as though I had been transported to this location, with the people, the scenic descriptions, and tone of the story.

The setting is a character itself, a living, breathing entity, central to the story.

There is much to discover and uncover for Elspeth about her aunt, the place she lived, and those who lived with her. Anderson throws in twists and turns, and with events taking place during Elspeth’s stay, making it apparent there is a murderer nearby, further complicating idyllic life on the island.

If you love a good mystery set in a great Scottish location, filled with characters you can’t help but get attached to, then The Dead Shall Inherit is the book for you! I did find the number of actors in this story to be plentiful, so the cast of characters list at the beginning of the book was helpful to keep them all straight. I’m looking forward to more from Raye Anderson. The book cover says this is ‘An Elspeth Laird Mystery’, so in book two we can perhaps meet up again with this motley crew! Pick up a copy of The Dead Shall Inherit by Raye Anderson and be transported into a cozy mystery with a bit of teeth and at least one dead fish.

The book cover says this is ‘An Elspeth Laird Mystery’, so in book two we can perhaps meet up again with this motley crew!

Raye Anderson is a Scots Canadian who spent many years running theatre schools and presenting creative arts programmes for arts organizations, notably at the Prairie Theatre Exchange in Winnipeg. She now calls Manitoba’s Interlake home, where she is part of a thriving arts community. She has published four books in the Roxanne Calloway Mystery series: And We Shall Have Snow (shortlisted for the 2021 CWC Best Crime First Novel and the 2021 WILLA Literary Award for Original Softcover Fiction), And Then Is Heard No More, Down Came the Rain, and Sing a Song of Summer as well as her new mystery book The Dead Shall Inherit. Her work has taken her across Canada, from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast, and as far north as Churchill and Yellowknife, as well as to the West Indies and her native Scotland.

Publisher: Signature Editions (September 1, 2024)
Paperback 8″ x 6″ | 230 pages
ISBN: 9781773241463

Carrie Stanton

Managing Editor

TMR’s Managing Editor Carrie Stanton has a BA in Political Science from the University of Calgary. She is the author of The Jewel and Beast Bot, and picture books, Emmie and the Fierce Dragon and The Gardener. Carrie loves to write stories that grow wings and transport readers everywhere. She reads and enjoys stories from every genre.