Why a Booktrail?
2000s: Snow in Kintyre and a mystery shrouded in more mystery…
The Rat Stone Serenade (DCI Daley 4)
What you need to know before your trail
It’s December, and the Shannon family are returning home to their clifftop mansion near Kinloch for their annual AGM. Shannon International is one of the world s biggest private companies, with tendrils reaching around the globe in computing, banking and mineral resourcing, and it has brought untold wealth and privilege to the family. However, a century ago Archibald Shannon stole the land upon which he built their home and his descendants have been cursed ever since.
When heavy snow cuts off Kintyre, DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott are assigned to protect their illustrious visitors. As an ancient society emerges from the blizzards, and its creation, the Rat Stone, reveals grisly secrets, ghosts of the past come to haunt the Shannons. As the curse decrees, death is coming but for whom and from what?
Travel Guide
Denzil Meyrick’s tour of “Kinloch”
Those of you who have knowledge of Kintyre may recognise that Blaan is my fictitious various of the village of Southend – originally St Blaan – located on the southern tip of the Peninsula. This settlement has such a rich history
There does exist a real Rat Stone or Stane as it is referred to locally. It can be found in the shore of Pennyseorach, two miles or so from the centre of Southend. While its origin and age are uncertain, it has long been associated with fertility. Indeed well within living memory, local farmers would place metal pins in its carved stone bowl as a traditional offering to guarantee a good harvest.
Tradition has it that what is now Southend was the first stopping off point of Saint Columba when he left his native Ireland to spread the gospel throughout Scotland. ?You can see where he is said to have left his footsteps close to the local graveyard – and even stand in them for yourself.
The Kintyre Peninsula was the first part of the country settled by the Scoti tribe who eventually gave Scotland its name.
The old Castle used to stand in the shadow of Dunaverty Rock – where one of the great massacres in the history of the islands took place
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Rat Stone Serenade (DCI Daley 4)
Author/Guide: Denzil Meyrick Destination: Southend, Kinloch, Kintyre Departure Time: 2000s
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