The Misty Isle · #7

The Missing Dead

J M Dalgliesh

9.0 / 10
2 expectations

Discover the addictive new murder mystery in the globally bestselling Misty Isle series, featuring D.I. Duncan McAdam. Perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves and Elly Griffiths.

One murder. Three empty graves. And a secret worth killing for...

D.I. Duncan McAdam is called to a cemetery to investigate a desecrated grave. The deceased was the skipper of a trawler with a chequered past. Its crew all died in mysterious circumstances - one man fell to his death; the second took his own life; the third jumped from a rocky clifftop. Only one crewman remains.

When Duncan goes to interview the skipper’s widow, he finds her house ransacked, blood on the floor, and a body in the boot of her car. He soon realises that everyone on board that trawler was hiding something - and it all leads back to one stormy night at sea years ago.

As the case begins to spiral, Duncan’s own personal challenges with his son come back to haunt him. Can he find the only surviving crew member before it’s too late? What secrets did these men take with them to their graves? And why is someone willing to kill to unearth them now?

Published
July 2, 2026
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Additional book details

Author

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…