Review: The Wild Coast by Lin Anderson

The Wild Coast (Rhona MacLeod, Book #17)

by Lin Anderson

Release Date: December 3, 2024

2024 Pan

Ebook ARC; 464 Pages

ISBN: 978-1529084573

ASIN: B0BTDF5VG8

Audiobook: B0C24MGQNP

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary

The height of summer in Scotland. Small west-coast campsites are the go-to for wild campers and campervans. Remote, loch or beach-side, most occupy a field on a highland croft.

Until a lone camper disappears. Then another. It appears that a killer has found the perfect way to operate. Remote, unnoted and lethal.

Meanwhile in Glasgow , Police Scotland is facing allegations of sexual assault by its male officers. In that list is one DS Michael McNab.
Did McNab overstep the mark, or is the accusation against him a way of putting him
out of action forever?

 

 

My Thoughts

The Wild Coast is the next entry in the long-running Rhona MacLeod mystery series, and this one explores the challenges women face while traveling alone as well as how easily someone's reputation an be destroyed through allegations. I absolutely loved the setting of the book as the wild coast of Scotland's northwest seemed to contrast beautifully with the difficult case and subject matter of the book. It made me yearn to get on a bike and do a road trip.

 

Because this is the seventeenth entry in this series, I don't really feel like there was much character development especially if you have read the previous installments.  As a result, I was much more interested in the secondary characters that populated this book, the family members, the ones involved with the victims and the reasons for their choices and actions.  While I wasn't completely satisfied with the characters and didn't emphasize with all of them, I was still invested in what was happening in their lives.  Rhona and Chrissie were quite active in the investigation, but they come across as old acquaintances. I always love when Pike makes an appearance as his psychological insights are always fascinating, and McNab is always three steps away from falling off a cliff, if in a literal sense. I keep waiting for the book when he finally ends up over the edge.

 

The plot moved along rather quickly as the team investigated missing women as well as a couple of bodies that were discovered. The plot focused on women and the difficulties they have when traveling and escaping abusive relationships, and many important issues were discussed including sexual assault and mistreatment of women.  McNab finds himself caught in the middle of a possible sexual assault case due to choices he makes, and the team has to work hard to figure out if he is guilty or innocent. This secondary plot line poses the question about how well you actually know someone even after having worked with them for years and how easily someone's reputation can be ruined.  One of the things I have always liked about this author is the way all the threads are wrapped up in the end, and this one satisfies on all counts as well.  

Verdict

The Wild Coast was an interesting read and I liked how the author contrasted the difficult themes of the book with the beautiful setting. The plot moved rather quickly and while the character development wasn't a focus of the book, for long-time readers, being familiar with the characters and their lives definitely helped. While this could be read as a standalone, I do think it reads better if you have read the previous entries in the series as the author doesn't explain the relationships, assumptions are made that you are already familiar with them.  As a woman, I appreciated the subject matter and the difficulties and dangers of traveling alone. And if you like forensic work, that is a main part of this series as the main character is a forensic scientist.