The Wolf Tree - by Laura McCluskey (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Eilean Eadar is a barren, windswept rock inhabited by a few hundred humans and sheep. Until now, the island was best known for the disappearance of three lighthouse keepers in 1919, a mystery that was never solved. But when a young man is found dead at the foot of the same lighthouse and the injuries are inconsistent with suicide, two detective inspectors are sent from Glasgow to investigate."--

Book Synopsis

"If you like Tana French, you will love this one. It's fun and suspenseful and it kept me up late." --Jenna Bush Hager

Eilean Eadar is a barren, windswept rock best known for the unsolved mystery of the three lighthouse keepers who vanished back in 1919. But when a young man is found dead at the base of that same lighthouse, two detective inspectors are sent from Glasgow to investigate.

Georgina "George" Lennox is happy to be back from leave after a devastating accident. That is, until she meets the hostile islanders and their enigmatic priest, who seem determined to thwart their investigation. George's partner, Richie, just wants to close the case and head home to his family. But he hasn't heard the wolves howling or seen the dark figures at their window at night. He's too busy watching George as if waiting for her to break.

With the dark secrets of the island swirling around them, George and Richie must decide who to trust and what to believe as they spin closer to the terrible truth. Laced with Scottish legend yet sharp and modern in voice, The Wolf Tree announces a spellbinding new voice in crime and mystery fiction.

Review Quotes

"[An] eerie, gothic-tinged debut mystery . . . Thanks to McCluskey's expert melding of modern crime procedural and ancient folklore, suspenseful slow burns and intense high-stakes action, fans of stories set in closed communities with something to hide will revel in this assured and absorbing debut." --BookPage (starred review)

"Laced with Scottish legend yet sharp and modern in voice, The Wolf Tree announces a spellbinding new voice in crime and mystery fiction." --Criminal Element

"Laura McCluskey offers a powerful debut in this atmospheric thriller infused with unsettling folk horror tropes . . . McCluskey skillfully blends procedural details and looming alienation in this well-constructed mystery; highly recommended." --Booklist

"Inspired by a real lighthouse mystery, this gothic suspense develops themes both timely and archetypal. In the tradition of Shirley Jackson and Tana French, Laura McClusky's debut will keep you up at night, even when you aren't turning pages." --The Big Thrill

"If you like your mysteries and thrillers filled with gothic intrigue and just a touch of village paganism, then Laura McCluskey's The Wolf Tree should be right up your alley . . . [A] stunner of a debut novel that will have you reading long into the night." --Book Reporter

"McCluskey's gripping debut features an isolated island with a brooding, storm-tossed atmosphere, reminiscent of Ann Cleeves's 'Shetland Island' mysteries. The violence and collusion lead to a shocking conclusion." --Library Journal (starred review)

"After a mysterious death on a Scottish island with a history of mysterious deaths, two detectives from Glasgow arrive to investigate--and are soon met with hostility and dark secrets galore." --Gizmodo

"Filled with atmosphere and suspense, this story immediately captured my interest . . . Those who enjoy mysteries with atmospheric worldbuilding and hostile witnesses will likely enjoy this novel as well as those who enjoy locked room mysteries." --Mystery & Suspense

"McCluskey is masterful at building suspense around a sense of place and a feeling of otherness. And George, fretfully uncomfortable in her skin and her partnership, is a prickly, vulnerable, completely engaging heroine with a cop's instincts through and through, a stubborn streak that nearly gets her into trouble and the courage to risk herself in the quest for truth. Idealistic, maybe. But properly gothic as well." --Kirkus

"[A] haunting debut gothic mystery . . . McCluskey skillfully crafts a gloomy, brooding atmosphere of tension and isolation through her descriptions of the little isle caught between sea and sky and its inhabitants living at the mercy of both . . . Readers desiring a generous helping of spine tingles with their justice need look no further." --Shelf Awareness

"A gripping, thrilling and assured debut, not to be missed." --The Scots Magazine

"[A]n exquisitely executed, great Gothic slow-burn that will keep you thinking and guessing long after you've reached the end." --Louisa Luna, author of Tell Me Who You Are

"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

"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, USA Today bestselling author of Diavola

"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

"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

About the Author

Laura McCluskey is a Melbourne-based writer, editor and actor. She created the production company Sibylline Films and co-founded Three Fates Theatre Company. The Wolf Tree is her first novel.