Undiscovered Scotland

 

"Blood in the Glens: True Crime from the Scottish Highlands" by Jean McLennan is an intriguing collection of accounts of murders, mysterious deaths or disappearances in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland over the past half dozen decades. There is a temptation to expect a "true crime" book to be written with an eye for the sensational, but this one is not, and in many ways it is this which makes "Blood in the Glens" such compelling reading. A book of this genre might be expected to have been written by a journalist. Jean McLennan is a retired lawyer and an Honourary Sheriff (think "magistrate" for an approximate English equivalent) and it is clear that her accounts are informed by a deep understanding of the legal processes operating behind the scenes, which seldom come to light at the time, or at all, yet which can significantly influence the course of an investigation.

The author's introduction deliberately seeks to set the contents of the book in context, and she points out that the Highlands of Scotland has "half as many murders per head of population as in the rest of Scotland", while going on to point out that it has had its share of bizarre and unusual cases. The first part of this was presumably not read by whoever wrote on the book's rear cover "...the Highlands have had more than their fair share {of murders and unexplained deaths}".

This small gripe apart, this is a fascinating book. Some of the cases covered will be reasonably familiar, in at least vague terms, to anyone who has lived in Scotland over the past decade or so, as many have featured in the news during that period. But the measured and carefully researched approach taken to the accounts themselves add greatly to their interest and value. So, too, does the strong sense that comes through many accounts of the author having discussed the cases with those directly involved in their investigation and prosecution.

The eleven cases covered include three in which the Highlands' wide open spaces made the area an attractive one in which to dispose of bodies; and four described as "home grown". These include the shooting of Samsuddin Mahmood in a restaurant in Kirkwall in 1994, a case only finally resolved in 2008; and the murder of Fiona Torbet in 1993 while on a walking holiday. The final section looks at unsolved cases, including the shooting of banker Alistair Wilson in Nairn in 2004; the disappearance of Renee MacRae and her young son in 1976; and the unexplained death of Kevin McLeod in Wick harbour in 1997.