Bloody Scotland Reveals the Longlist for the 2026 McIlvanney Prize

Bloody Scotland Reveals the Longlist for the 2026 McIlvanney Prize
Sponsored by The Glencairn Glass

Winner to be presented on Friday 18 September 2026 on the opening night of the festival.

Bloody Scotland today reveals the longlist for the 2026 McIlvanney Prize which will be judged by author and broadcaster, Sally Magnusson, radio and podcast presenter, Nicola Meighan and crime blogger, Gordon McGhie.

The 2026 longlist includes last year’s winner, Tariq Ashkanani and last year’s debut winner David Goodman. It also includes two other former McIlvanney Prize winners, Chris Brookmyre and Callum McSorley and FOUR of the five women crime writers who have been shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize 2026:

The Hollow Boys by Tariq Ashkanani (Viper)

138 Main Street by Gavin Bell (S&S)
Quite Ugly One Evening by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)
A Bad, Bad Place by Frances Crawford (Bantam) UNKNOWN by Heather Critchlow (Canelo Crime)
Solitary Agents by David Goodman (Headline)
We Know What You Did by Kirsty Lockwood (Orion)
Rat Race by Callum McSorley (Pushkin Vertigo)
The Diary of Lies by Philip Miller (Polygon)
The Pinnacle by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill)
The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin (Viper)
Liar Thief by May Rinaldi (Black Spring Crime)

The list features eight authors who have been or are currently shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize, indicative of the important role the Debut Prize plays in developing the careers of new Scottish writers. The longlist is rounded out by Abir Mukherjee, winner of last year’s British Book Awards Crime Thriller of the Year, the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and shortlisted for the 2026 CWA Dagger in the Library; Heather Critchlow on the list for the second year in a row; Gavin Bell writing under his own name having previously been longlisted as Mason Cross and Philip Miller who previously won a major crime writing award in the US but has never appeared on the McIlvanney longlist.

Festival Director Bob McDevitt said:
“I’ve been hugely enjoying reading my way through the books that were submitted for the prizes this year and I’m excited to see that some of my favourites have made the longlist. It’s also great to see smaller independent publishers holding their own against the big guns of London.”

The McIlvanney longlist and the Bloody Scotland shortlist will be promoted in bookshops throughout Scotland in the period between the announcement and the presentation on Friday 18 September. The winner will be announced in the Church of the Holy Rude on the opening night of the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival and interviewed on stage by BBC presenter, Bryan Burnett. They will then lead a procession to the Albert Halls alongside guest programmer, Denise Mina and the winner of the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize.

Kirsty Nicholson, Marketing Director at Glencairn - sponsors of The McIlvanney Prize with the Glencairn Glass, the official glass for whisky, said:

“It’s fantastic to see four of the five women shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize also recognised on this year’s McIlvanney Prize longlist alongside some of the biggest names in crime fiction. Congratulations to all the authors who have made the longlist - it’s a tremendous achievement and we look forward to celebrating this year’s winner."

I will endeavour to review all of the books on the longlist over the next couple of months in the run up to the festival. In fact, the review (and a Q&A with the author) for 138 Main Street by Gavin Bell went up on the blog on Monday, before I knew the book was longlisted, so do check that out. 

Bad Influence by Will Carver

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Bad Influence, another original and important novel from Will Carver - it'll make you think about social media differently! My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for my invitation and to the publisher for my review copy. 

The Blurb

Alyssa wants to be seen. Less wants to be someone. She takes two buses to class, posts pictures of her lunch, and pretends it’s all effortless. He hides his privilege beneath thrifted clothes and a sketchbook full of impossible designs. Together, they are inseparable – two outsiders constructing a version of themselves the world might finally applaud.

Then Alyssa stumbles upon the hidden world of phrogging – living unnoticed inside other people’s homes. She and Less slip through Los Angeles’ glossy veneer: influencers, producers, pop stars, all so busy performing their perfect lives they don’t notice the shadows in their attics, the scratching in their walls.

An act of rebellion. A harmless thrill. A social experiment.

Until they choose the wrong house.
Until the influencer they idolise catches them in the act.
Until the cameras, already rolling, capture everything.

What begins as a reckless adventure becomes a nightmare of lies, power … and murder...

My Review

Lyss (Alyssa) and Less (Alessandro) are best friends who do everything together. They have very different backgrounds and want different things in life but they are both outsiders and they're bonded together. 

Both of them, Lyss particularly, live their lives online. Lyss has tried various things on social media but nothing has gained momentum, and she obsesses over other young women who have been successful online. And when she discovers the address of one these influencers and sees that she's not very security conscious, Lyss can't resist a wee peek inside the house. And, as always, Less comes along too. Things rapidly start to get out of control for them from this point as the week a bigger thrill.  

I really liked the way the book is presented. There are various points of view, with Lyss's and Less's written in the first person. The segments are separated by little soundbites/hashtags from social media, from the (fictional) influencers featured and others - it's a really neat little touch. I loved the two main characters. Lyss is trapped by her lack of finances and opportunities but is surrounded by the love of her family. She's a good kid, caring and loving, but frustrated and bored. Less has the money and thus more opportunities, but he is not surrounded by family warmth. They're both a little bit sad but they have each other and together they're stronger. 

I have read several Will Carver books now (you can search on the blog), all of which have been very original, and some feel quite angry, almost in your face, but I don't mean that in a bad way as he's always got interesting and important things to say, and he wants us to listen. This book isn't an angry book, but it still has important things to say, and we're still not listening. It tells a cautionary tale. An extreme one, perhaps, but one which should be heeded. After all, we don't know how much we see on social media is real, or how much of what we post is seen, used or abused. 

Bad Influence shows us what matters, and that the connectivity we all need and crave isn't going to be found online. and it does so in a very creative way with a great story. It shows that without family, friends, and something worthwhile away from our phones and devices, life can be pretty rubbish. It's ironic that I'm writing this to be shared on social media, but let's all try to spend a bit less time online, and when we are on, that we're being sensible and making healthy choices. I know, read a book or two instead, and this one would be a great place to start! 

The Author

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series and the critically acclaimed, mind-blowingly original Detective Pace series, which includes Good Samaritans (2018), Nothing Important Happened Today (2019) and Hinton Hollow Death Trip (2020), all of which were ebook bestsellers and selected as books of the year in the mainstream international press. Nothing Important Happened Today was longlisted for both the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2020 and the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. Hinton Hollow Death Trip was longlisted for the Guardian’s Not the Booker Prize, and was followed by the literary thrillers, The Beresford, Psychopaths Anonymous, The Daves Next Door, Suicide Thursday and Upstairs at the Beresford, and his highly regarded speculative thriller debut, Kill Them with Kindness. Will spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He and his partner run their own fitness and nutrition company, and live in Reading with five children and a tortoise.

138 Main Street by Gavin Bell

A number of reasons have led to today's post coming out much, much later than originally planned but I'm delighted to be sharing my thoughts on one of my favourite books of the year so far. There is also a wee Q&A with the author further down the page. 

Regular visitors to the blog may know that I'm a big fan of Gavin Bell's work. But if the name isn't immediately familiar, search the blog for Mason Cross, MJ Cross and Alex Knight. All of these are pen names that Gavin has used in the past, and I think most of the books have been reviewed here. It's been over four years since the last Alex Knight book as Gavin has been working on other projects. But he's back with a fantastic new book, 138 Main Street, a high concept thriller published under his own name by Simon & Schuster UK. Family commitments meant I couldn't be at the Glasgow launch event on 6th May but I met up with Gavin a few days before, and also saw him at an event on 14th May. My thanks to to him for sending me an early review ebook - I have since bought my own hardback copy.

The Blurb

AN ADDRESS TO DIE FOR…

There is a killer on the loose.
And he is targeting one specific address – 138 Main Street.
The problem? There are over 7,000 Main Streets in the USA.
And no clue which one will be next.

For FBI Special Agent Ben Walker and his rookie colleague, Officer Zoe Hill, the pressure to solve the case is unimaginable. There aren’t enough police officers to cover every house, and vigilante residents are attacking anyone who rings their doorbell. Main Street might be one of America’s most popular addresses, but for those living at number 138 it comes down to fight or flight.

Then a manuscript is sent to the New York Times, purporting to be the manifesto of the Main Street Killer and demanding radical social change. The killer demands that Wall Street be shut down for a day. The financial implications will be huge, but unless it happens he will escalate to bombings. Soon it won’t just be whoever lives at 138 Main Street who is at risk, but entire residential blocks.

As the effect of the terror campaign takes hold across the nation, Ben and Zoe find themselves in a race against time to stop the killer. But with their target always several steps ahead, and almost 3,800,000 square miles of ground to cover, they'll have to find him first…


Purchase Link

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Main-Street-unputdownable-cat-mouse/dp/1398542806/

My Review

Woohoo! Been so excited for this one - it's been a long time coming! 

The premise is brilliant. Murders are taking place across the US, seemingly unconnected - no links between the victims, different MOs. Until after three or four the realisation hits that all the crimes have taken place at the same address - 138 Main Street. The trouble is, there are an awful lot of those across And and nobody has any idea where will be hit next. 

Zoe Hill is one of the first attending police officers at an early crime scene and impresses FBI guy Ben Walker with her observations. Now all they, and the rest of the team, including analyst Matthew Brodie, have to do is work out who is committing these crimes, where he or she might hit next -  from thousands of potential targets - and how to stop that happening. They have an overwhelming task ahead of them. 

I loved this! As well as following the FBI investigation, we meet some of the people living at various 138 Main Street addresses, and learn a little of their lives and their thoughts around the whole thing. The characters are great and beautifully written. I particularly loved Zoe. Coming from a small town police department to a national FBI case, she's understandably anxious but determined to get the job done.  And Ben seems like a real stand up guy. They make a great team, especially when you add Brodie, with his puppy dog excitement and enthusiasm and sideways way of looking at things, into the mix - very different people, different skills, a formidable team. We see their frustrations as they fail, their thought processes and analysis as they pick themselves back up and carry on. 

138 Main Street is a complex, well thought out and beautifully written novel that fully satisfies - great characterisation across the board, brilliant scene setting, from one horse towns to big cities, plenty of tension and dread, unexpected twists and an explosive conclusion. So glad Gavin is back and has arrived in style! 

Q&A with Gavin Bell

Where did the idea for this book come from?
A couple of different ideas coming together. I was living in a house in one of those new build estates on the fringes of the suburbs where you're miles away from anything. We were at the farthest edge of the estate, over our garden fence it was just woods and fields. It was the kind of place where people forgot to lock their cars or even their front doors at night. I started to wonder what would happen if somebody came here and walked around trying doors in the middle of the night. What would happen if they wanted to do something worse than steal your car keys?

The other idea came from a different book I was writing. In one scene, the characters find a scrap of paper with an address on Main Street and one of them says, "Well that doesn't narrow it down. Which main street?" And it got me thinking about a killer who targeted that specific street name, when there are thousands of them.

Who is your favourite character and why?

Probably Zoe, because she's the character that goes on the biggest journey in the book (figuratively and literally). In the beginning, she's kind of set up to be more of a supporting character, but as the story progresses, she finds herself inexorably drawn to the centre of the narrative. I quite like all the characters though, even the less heroic ones.

Which character is most like you and why?

Brodie. He's a guy who is very into data and spreadsheets. He's also British, which means some people have asked me if he's a self-insert, but he's kind of got a little of Simon Pegg in Mission Impossible about him. He does not have an irresistible urge to put himself in dangerous situations, which I think makes him pretty relatable. There's a little of me in all the characters though, but I think that's always the case.

Normally I would ask for three songs of pieces of music that would be on the soundtrack if your book was made into a movie, but you've put together a whole Spotify playlist, haven't you? Can you give us the link so we can have a listen?

I often compile a playlist while I'm working on a book that will include songs that are thematically relevant, and some of them appear in the text itself. For this one I actually had a playlist of every song I could find with 'main street' in the title, which ran into the hundreds. I included some of the better ones on the 138 Main playlist along with some others that fit the mood of the book. You can listen to it here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/20S2IAjqJ5CgTYn2yGAaRY

Are you a planner or a pantser?

A little bit of both, but I'm probably more of a plotter than I used to be. Before I start I like to sketch out a three page outline, which I know will change a lot, but it gives me something to work with. I definitely couldn't start writing without having a reasonable idea of where I wanted to end up. Before I do anything, I write the back cover blurb, which will tell me a lot about the book in two or three paragraphs, and then I can flesh things out from there.

Can you tell us a bit about your day job and how you balance it with your bookish commitments?

I'm the system admin for a large database of third sector organisations, which is very different from writing, so it gives me a good balance. It involves some travelling about, and it's always good for a writer to go to different places and meet new people, so that ties in well. I tend to write at night as I'm more awake at that time of day than in the morning, where you won't get anything intelligible out of me until about 11am and at least two cups of coffee. So being a writer is very much a night job for me.

What book festivals are you appearing at this year?
I've just done Capital Crime for the first time, and have Bloody Scotland, Bute Noir and Chiltern Kills to come. Really looking forward to getting out there and meeting readers. I'll also be at Harrogate in July of course, along with the rest of the crime fiction world.

Can you tell us anything about what's coming next?

The next one is another standalone thriller. This one is about a guy who works in a US Government department devoted to coming up with worst case scenarios... and then he realises he's facing his own worst case scenario.

The Author

Gavin Bell is a thriller writer and author of the Carter Blake series published by Orion under the pseudonym Mason Cross. The first, The Killing Season, was published in 2014 and was longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award. It was followed by four further novels in the series, including the Richard and Judy Book Club selection The Samaritan. He has also written standalone thrillers as Alex Knight, including Hunted and Darkness Falls. He lives in Glasgow with his wife and three children. 

Photo by Scarlett Bell

Author Social Media Links

Website: https://gavinbell.net/
Official publisher page: https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/authors/Gavin-Bell/225855919
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southsidegav/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BBMA68STv/
X: https://x.com/SouthsideGav


Book Blanket 2026

And, finally, here is my 138 Main Street granny square for my crochet book blanket project. I crocheted this square back in March or April and there were already a fair few squares then - there's a big pile of them now! If I can get caught up, I'll do a half year update in a few days. 

Love, After All by Ewald Arenz (translated by Rachel Ward)

Gosh, this hot weather - yes, even in Glasgow - is fair slowing me down! I like it warm but it's been so close,it's not easy to be productive! Although theirs a breeze getting up now, which is nice. Anyways... 

I've been reading a lot of crime fiction recently so it was lovely to read something completely different. Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Love, After All written by Ewald Arenz, and translated from German into English by Rachel Ward. Big thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy.

 

The Blurb

When Clara meets Elias, she isn’t looking for love. Widowed and wary of being hurt again, she has built a careful life of work and quiet independence. Elias, an actor in his thirties, is trapped in a relationship that no longer feels real, more at ease slipping into a role than being himself. Yet from the moment they meet, something genuine sparks between them – something neither has felt in years.

They fall into step easily, sharing secrets, laughter and the sense of being seen. But there is the age difference, the miles between their worlds, and the lingering guilt that ties Clara to her past. When a new job takes her to another part of the country, she ends the relationship before he can – certain that love like theirs cannot last. And then Elias falls ill, forcing them both to confront what truly matters.

Told with warmth, gentle humour and quiet insight, Love, After All is a luminous portrait of two people finding the courage to open their hearts again – proof that love, at any age, can still take us by surprise.

My Review

This was my third Ewald Arenz book and, already, he's one of those authors for whom I know I'll read each new book as it comes out. Let me try to explain why. 

Clara is trying to sell the cottage she no longer uses - it's  full of memories of life with her late husband. Vera and Elias can't afford the cottage but are curious to take a look at it. Their visit to the house puts into motion something that none of them can stop, as Clara and Elias are drawn to one another. They are very different and yet they fall into step together - literally and figuratively - easily. 

When we meet Clara she's clearly hurting and emotionally guarded but there is an immediate warmth to her. Elias, an actor, tends to be theatrical in all that he does, but he has a real depth. But they both have an ability to see the beauty in things, and can say so much with words, or even touch. We know she is older than him but, beyond that, their actual ages are not discussed. It worries her though, the difference, much more than it worries him. 

Theirs is a relationship that many might yearn for, because it seems almost impossible - one of real depth - and some of us are lucky enough to experience something similar. Their story talks to the importance of being seen, really seen, and understood. And it's obvious to everyone that that's the case. But it can't always be rainbows and sprinkles, no relationship can, and alongside the highs there are some very real lows. What marks out any relationship, though, is how those involved respond to the bad times. And there are turbulent times here. 

I have to mention Clara's family as they also feature heavily, particularly her brother Jan, and her mother. Both are really strong characters, and as someone who has had recent, although different, experience of a parent with dementia, this part of the storyline was very poignant. 

I had read both of Ewald Arenz's previous novels, Tasting Sunlight and One Grand Summer and loved both of them, particularly the former.  They both had themes of love, friendship, family and belonging,  and it is no different here. Love, After All is a beautifully written tale - so descriptive - of a love story that is both gentle and fierce, and one which took me on a real emotional rollercoaster - I was a bit wrung out at the end but loved every second of it. 

Finally, I have such admiration for translators.  They have given me access to so many fantastic authors whose work I wouldn't have never known otherwise. Bravo, Rachel Ward, bravo. 

The Author

Ewald Arenz was born in Nuremberg in 1965, studied English, American literature and history, and now works as a teacher at a grammar school. His novels and plays
have received numerous awards. Tasting Sunlight was longlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, shortlisted for the German Booksellers Best Novel Award, and featured on the Spiegel bestseller lists in both hardback and paperback for months. In the UK, it was a BBC World Book Club pick. One Grand Summer won the German Booksellers Prize in 2021,and was a number one bestseller in Germany. Ewald lives with his family near Fürth.

Nowhere Girl by Ruth Dugdall #Blogathon

I've learnt my lesson from earlier in the week and have revamped to a cafe to escape the noise at home! We're on to the last book in our Ruth Dugdall blogathon, Nowhere Girl. And there's been a change of scenery. No longer in Suffolk, this book finds Cate in Luxembourg. My thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb

When Ellie goes missing on the first day of Schueberfouer, the police are dismissive, keen not to attract negative attention on one of Luxembourg's most important events.

Probation officer Cate Austin has moved to Luxembourg for a fresh start with her police detective boyfriend. But when she sees how casually he is taking the disappearance of Ellie, Cate decides to investigate matters for herself.

She discovers Luxembourg has a dark heart. With its geographical position, could it be the centre of a child trafficking ring? As Cate comes closer to discovering Ellie's whereabouts she uncovers a hidden world, placing herself in danger, not just from traffickers, but from a source much closer to home.

My Review

Cate has left the probation service and her and daughter Amelia are making a new life in Luxembourg with Cate's boyfriend Olivier. But when the older sister of one of Amelia's new friends goes missing and the police almost write it off as a teenage strop, Cate has a feeling it's more than that and investigates herself...

There is a very different feel to this book from the previous ones in the series. Cate is in a new country, a new relationship and doesn't have a job. She's adjusting to this new life and enjoying the positive things it brings, whilst still getting to know her partner and worrying about her mum and sister back home. Whilst she is initially reluctant to get involved with finding the missing girl, she soon gets the bit between her teeth and has to consider how far to go and what's at risk...  

I think this might be my favourite of the four I've read. They've all had slightly different approaches but this is a completely fresh setting and I really enjoyed that. Also whilst it talks about trafficking, there is interesting stuff about families who choose 'harraga' - travelling undocumented - and why. 

The storyline made for uncomfortable reading at some points due to its nature but definitely worth it, and there are some really interesting, well drawn characters - Amina was a stand out for me. I really enjoyed Nowhere Girl and suggest you give it, and others in the series a go. 

The Author

Ruth studied English at university and then took an MA is Social Work. Following this she worked in the Criminal Justice System as a social worker then as a probation officer. Part of this time was spent seconded to a prison housing serious offenders. She continues to work within the Criminal Justice System, most recently in Luxembourg.

Ruth's novels are informed by her experience and are "authentic and credible".

Ruth's first novel, The James Version, is a historical fiction based on the actual murder of Maria Marten at the Red Barn in Suffolk. The story is re-told with a fresh light on who really killed Maria.

Her second novel, The Woman Before Me, won the Debut Dagger when it was originally published in 2005. It is the first in a series featuring probation officer Cate Austin.

"Probation officers have more face-to-face contact with criminals than any other profession," says Ruth, "they are the unsung heroes of the Criminal Justice System."

Stop Dead by Katrín Júlíusdóttir (translated by Larissa Kyzer)

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Stop Dead, the second book from Icelandic author Katrín Jùlíusdóttir, translated into English by Larissa Kyzer. Huge thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy. I am so sorry this has gone up a day late - The constant noise of the workmen (worst day so far by far) in the house next door to mine - I live in a terrace - yesterday sent me to bed with a bad head!

The Blurb

Icelandic detective-in-training Sigurdís is studying criminal psychology in the US, but her plans are thrown into disarray when she discovers that her boss and mentor, Garðar, has been put on leave from Reykjavík CID over his investigation into Sigurdís’s father’s death.

Returning to Iceland to deal with the fallout, Sigurdís finds herself pulled into a disturbing case: controversial TV personality Olga Einarsdóttir has been stabbed to death during the Reykjavík Marathon. Struggling to locate a runner wearing bib number 1407, who was seen near the murdered woman during the race, the police soon discover that several masked runners were wearing the same number.

As the mystery deepens, Sigurdís and her fellow detective Unnar soon learn exactly how unpopular Olga was – not just with the interviewees she humiliated on live TV, but with her own son, her business partner, a widower who insists that she had a hand in his wife’s death, and her ex-husband, who died in suspicious circumstances thirty years ago…

As her exploration into Olga’s past becomes ever darker and more harrowing, Sigurdís must also face the truth about her own father, while searching for an attacker who will go to any lengths to cover up their crimes…

My Review

I very much enjoyed Dead Sweet, which introduced us to Sigurdís, when it came out. Since the events of that book, Sigurdís has been studying in the States until a phone call from Unnar, her colleague in the Icelandic police, changes things and she is soon on a plane back home. She can't be involved in any fresh investigation about her father's death, of course, but she joins the team looking into the murder of a TV personality.

This is a very character driven story. It's not full of 'kick down the door and shoot' type action, although there is plenty going on, and it's the characters that are at the heart of it. Sigurdís, of course, but there isn't a weak character here - all come across as fully formed people. Too many to mention them all, but I particularly loved Emilia and Ana, who are new characters, and hope we'll see more of them in future books. But coming back to Sigurdís, I love how she's intuitive, determined, and mentally strong, unbowed by her experiences. 

The investigation itself shows just how much the actions of one person, the victim in this case, can affect other people. The list of people who could possibly want her dead is not small. A wee reminder that in real life we don't know how our actions might affect others, so we should make them kind ones. Sorry, I digress! Unnar, Sigurdís and the rest of the team leave no stone unturned to get to the truth, all while Sigurdís has the stuff about her dad going on, and feels like she's being watched. 

Stop Dead was a thoroughly enjoyable read with a big emphasis on readable, relatable characters, and a protagonist you'll be rooting for - give it a go! 

The Author

Katrín Júlíusdóttir has a political background and was a member of the Icelandic parliament from 2003 until 2016. Before she was elected to parliament, Katrín was an advisor and project manager at a tech company and a senior buyer and CEO in the retail sector. She worked from a young age in the fishing industry, was a store clerk and also worked the night shift at a pizza restaurant. She studied anthropology and has an MBA from Reykjavík University. Katrín’s debut novel Dead Sweet received the Blackbird Award and was an Icelandic bestseller upon publication, with rights sold in 15 countries. She is married to critically acclaimed author Bjarni M. Bjarnason, who encouraged her to start writing. They have four boys and live in Garðabær.

Boy B by Ruth Dugdall #Blogathon

It's a late post for me today as I wasn't organised in advance and was at the launch of Bloody Scotland 2026 this afternoon, so huge apologies for that. Today is my blogathon post for Book 3 of the Cate Austin Case Files by Ruth Dugdall, Boy B. This was my most emotional read yet. Many thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy. I'll see you next week for Book 4. 

The Blurb

He was ten years old when the world decided he was evil.

A child is killed falling from the Humber Bridge. Despite fleeing the scene, two young brothers are found guilty and sent to prison. Upon their release they are granted one privilege only – their anonymity.

Probation officer Cate Austin is responsible for Boy B's reintegration into society, but her loyalty is challenged when she begins to discover the truth of the crime.

Is a child capable of premeditated murder? Or is there a greater evil at play?

My Review

Well, the story of Boy B really pulled on my heartstrings. Eight years after being found guilty of the death of a boy his own age, a friend, Ben is released into a new life in Ipswich, a town he doesn't know. And having gone to prison at the tender age of ten, he doesn't know how the world works - he's never had a mobile phone, for instance, or bought clothes, or cooked. His case has landed on Cate's desk because, as her colleague suggests, she 'always gets the strange ones'. It's her job to help Ben to adjust to life outside prison, and keep him on the straight and narrow. 

We see things from both Ben and Cate's points of view, with flashbacks to the day of the incident. We're with Ben as he struggles to adapt to the outside world, we're there when he experiences kindness for the first time in a long time, and it's lovely. The flashbacks give us an idea of the home Ben, and his brother Adam, grew up in. I found myself rooting for Ben, wanting things to work out for him, now that he's served the time for what he'd done. And I really felt for Cate, often a lone voice in support of Ben in the meetings about his case. But nothing is simple. Things are complicated by unexpected visitors and a Facebook page set up by the dead boy's mother. At least Cate had a new distraction away from this case and work.

As the book progresses we learn more about the day of the crime, and my allegiances were tested! And the denouement was truly shocking - I had guessed some parts but not all of it, and I wasn't ready for how things actually ended. 

Boy B is the third Ruth Dugdall book I've read, and the most emotional, so far, for me.  And probably the hardest to read. Ben pulled on my heartstrings and the denouement shocked me. Well worth a look.  

The Author

Ruth studied English at university and then took an MA is Social Work. Following this she worked in the Criminal Justice System as a social worker then as a probation officer. Part of this time was spent seconded to a prison housing serious offenders. She continues to work within the Criminal Justice System, most recently in Luxembourg.

Ruth's novels are informed by her experience and are "authentic and credible".

Ruth's first novel, The James Version, is a historical fiction based on the actual murder of Maria Marten at the Red Barn in Suffolk. The story is re-told with a fresh light on who really killed Maria.

Her second novel, The Woman Before Me, won the Debut Dagger when it was originally published in 2005. It is the first in a series featuring probation officer Cate Austin.

"Probation officers have more face-to-face contact with criminals than any other profession," says Ruth, "they are the unsung heroes of the Criminal Justice System."