A Polish detective in a Scottish crime novel

I picked The murder stones up at my local library as I was intrigued by the idea of a Polish detective in a Scottish crime novel. The author, Hania Allen, was born in England to Polish refugees. Allen once worked in information management at the University of St Andrews before she gave up her job to write full time. I found this on her Goodreads bio: Hania has lived in Scotland longer than anywhere else and loves the country and its people, despite the nine months of rain and three months of bad weather. She currently resides in a fishing village in Fife. Lovely!

The murder stones | Published February 2022 | Read October 2024

The murder stones is book 4 (of six, currently) in the DI Dania Gorska series, set in Dundee. In this outing the detective inspector is called upon to investigate a fatal road traffic accident as the victim has unexplained injuries and a witness reported seeing a man fleeing from the scene. The murder is linked to a sprawling country estate and the disappearance of the man's two brothers many years ago. The murder stones of the title refer to carved headstones that appear on the estate grounds, suggesting the missing brothers were murdered.

I liked Dania and found the concept of a Polish detective working in Scotland intriguing. There isn't a lot of context, though, so I assume that the reader would need to work their way through the series from the first book to fully appreciate book 4. Allen does a good job of conveying the atmosphere of the estate and the magic convention held there that Dania is forced to join as she investigates the murder. While there was enough to hold my interest, the pacing s a bit slow and there are a bunch of subplots going on that seem a bit unnecessary.

There isn't anything in The murder stones that made me dislike the book, it is just a mediocre read. There is a solid premise for story, but it isn't terribly convincing or interesting. That said, I might still check out the other books in the series.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐