The Last Cairn

A Scottish Highlands Murder Mystery

By: Phillip Strang

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

He destroyed careers. She exposed him. Now he wants revenge.

Six months after exposing DCI Duncan Reid's corruption, Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lynch thought the case was closed. Reid disappeared before arrest, but his criminal network was dismantled. Justice was served.

She was wrong.

Reid emerges from hiding with an ultimatum: help him escape Scotland, or he'll destroy everything Sarah has built. He has evidence of her "illegal" investigative methods—boundary-crossing that technically violates Police Scotland regulations, but brought down murderers and conspiracies. He'll use it to collapse every prosecution she's secured, free every criminal she's jailed, and end her career in disgrace.

To enforce his demand, he's taken a hostage. Someone Sarah loves.

Now Sarah must hunt the man who trained her, who knows how she thinks, who's spent thirty years building safe houses and criminal alliances across the Highlands. Reid leads her on a chase through all her previous case locations—the dark loch, the burned moor, the silent glen, the frozen peaks, the raven's forest. Each site holds clues to his next move and forces Sarah to confront the cost of her investigations.

But Reid isn't fleeing. He's leading Sarah to a final confrontation with the true architect of Highland organised crime—someone she trusted, someone who's been protecting the network all along.

In a remote Cairngorm estate during a winter storm, Sarah faces her ultimate choice: arrest Reid legally but risk him escaping again, or ensure justice by resorting to methods that will end her career. Protect her reputation or protect the Highlands she's sworn to serve.

Five years of cases. Six major investigations. One detective's transformation from exiled whistleblower to Highland protector. This is where it ends.

The stunning conclusion to the Detective Sarah Lynch Mysteries.