A Long Time Dead
You can’t stay dead forever…
A group of high school students gather on the Isle of Skye’s remote Coral Beach for a hedonistic night of partying to celebrate the passing of their final exams. The new millennium is on the horizon and the future beckons, promising new hope and a fresh wind of optimism. In the coming days, many will leave the island for work or to study on the mainland, whereas others will remain on Skye and forge a more traditional path much as their families have done for centuries before them.
That is… all but one…
D.I. Duncan McAdam is dispatched home to the Misty Isle. A body has been found buried in a remote location on the Waternish peninsula. Well preserved in the peat, Isla Matheson – missing for the better part of two decades – is revealed to a shocked island community. A teenage runaway is dead… and no one is talking…
Joining a small team of detectives, Duncan is tasked with revisiting those who knew Isla, those who cared for her… and those with the potential to kill her… In a remote community well used to settling scores among themselves, will they trust one of their own when he asks questions or will they persevere with the façade of ignorance?
A Long Time Dead is the first book in the new Misty Isle series of crime thrillers from the Amazon #1 multi-million selling crime writer, J M Dalgliesh, the author of the Hidden Norfolk and Dark Yorkshire books.
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J M Dalgliesh
Before he ever penned a crime scene or built the quiet tension of a small-town mystery, J.M. Dalgliesh was drawn to the shadows that linger at the edges of everyday life—the things left unsaid, the truths that hide beneath the surface. Raised in Norfolk, England, his early years were spent surrounded by the kind of windswept coastlines and weather-beaten streets that would later seep into the moody, atmospheric settings of his novels.
Dalgliesh didn’t follow the traditional literary path. His journey into writing came after years of working with people from all walks of life, experiences that gave him a sharp eye for the unspoken complexities of human nature. That empathy, coupled with a natural instinct for suspense, forms the backbone of his storytelling. His books often explore the fractures beneath seemingly tranquil communities, peeling back layers of civility to reveal the quiet violence that can lurk within.
The Misty Isle
Tucked between brooding skies and rugged coastline, The Misty Isle series whispers its secrets through wind-scoured cliffs and the echo of waves crashing on ancient rock. This is not the Scotland of postcards—it’s the darker, quieter version, where every stone seems to remember and every silence carries weight. In this shadowy corner of the world, D.I. Duncan McAdam returns to Skye, not just to solve crimes, but to face the ghosts that never quite left him.
The Misty Isle consists of six books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
