The Wolf Tree

Praise

“Laura McCluskey has created two wonderful new detectives in George Lennox and Richie Stewart. I would follow them anywhere—even to the foreboding, windswept island of Eileen Eadar, where they must grapple with the dark secrets of the small and insular local population. The Wolf Tree is a marvelous mystery, rich in atmosphere and quick in pace. And with such well-drawn characters, one can hope it marks the beginning of a terrific new series.” —Cristina Alger, author of Girls Like Us

“The Wolf Tree is an exquisitely executed tale. Laura McCluskey’s debut is a great gothic slow-burn that will keep you thinking and guessing even after you’ve reached the end.” —Louisa Luna, author of Tell Me Who You Are

“Laura McCluskey’s The Wolf Tree is a spooky delight. When Georgina ‘George’ Lennox comes to the Scottish island of Eadar, she’s barely recovered from a devastating accident at work and eager to investigate an apparent suicide. What happens next on the barren rock surrounded by the North Atlantic brings George face to face with a primal force she could never have anticipated. Smart, deliciously creepy and simply pitch-perfect – I tore this through this spectacular debut!” —Hayley Scrivenor, author of Dirt Creek

“Mare of Easttown meets The Wickerman in Laura McCluskey’s deft, intricate, perfectly executed debut thriller. The Wolf Tree is a darkly brilliant synthesis of hard-nosed procedural and folk eerie.”—Nick Newman, author of The Garden

“Laura McCluskey’s thrilling debut blends detective novel and folk horror to terrific effect. Eilean Eadar’s ancient secrets and vibrant present-day characters—including our beautifully complex mainlander heroes—had me riveted to the page.” —Jennifer Thorne, author of USA Today bestselling Diavola

“An atmospheric mystery, set on a remote Scottish island, that at times chilled me to the bone, other times made me laugh, but always kept me turning the pages as secrets from the island’s past and present elegantly unfolded. I was right there on the isolated, windswept Eilean Eadar with its old-fashioned ways and undercurrent of threat, and fully rooting for DI George Lennox as she tried to negotiate it. A detective novel with a twist; I loved it.” —Helen Cooper, author of The Couple in the Photo
 
“Absorbing, unsettling, and deeply accomplished.” —Dervla McTiernan, author of the award-winning Cormac Reilly series 
 
“Atmospheric and immersive, The Wolf Tree‘s isolated and storm-battered Hebridean setting is vividly evoked, and McCluskey has a sharp ear for rhythm and cadence, which lends a persuasive authenticity to her dialogue. Her descriptions of the sodden landscape and its outwardly welcoming but secretly watchful inhabitants creates a mounting chill that seeps into the bones.” —M.K. Murphy, author of Blood Debt
 
“The Wolf Tree is a stunning debut: a wild, vivid landscape and a propulsive mystery that will have you on the edge of your seat, desperate to know what the small Scottish community is hiding.” —Leah Pitt, author of The Beach Hut
 
“Cold Atlantic noir. The Wicker Man meets The Lord of the Flies. An eerie debut.” —Matthew Spencer, author of Black River
 
“An exciting new voice in crime fiction.” —Pip Drysdale, author of The Close-Up