I’m so pleased to be part of the launch celebrations for Hunter’s Chase by Val Penny today, not least because Val is here on Linda’s Book Bag to introduce her latest book personally and explain why she set Hunter’s Chase in Edinburgh.

Hunter’s Chase is the first in Val Penny’s Edinburgh Crime Mysteries and will be published by Crooked Cat books on 2nd February 2018. It is available for pre-order here.

Hunter’s Chase

Hunter by name – Hunter by nature: DI Hunter Wilson will not rest until Edinburgh is safe.

Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson knows there is a new supply of cocaine flooding his city, and he needs to find the source, but his attention is transferred to murder when a corpse is discovered in the grounds of a golf course.

Shortly after the post-mortem, Hunter witnesses a second murder, but that is not the end of the slaughter. With a young woman’s life also hanging in the balance, the last thing Hunter needs is a new man on his team: Detective Constable Tim Myerscough, the son of his nemesis, the former Chief Constable Sir Peter Myerscough.

Hunter’s perseverance and patience are put to the test time after time in this first novel in The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries series.

Hunter’s Chase and Tartan Noir

A Guest Post by Val Penny.

I am pleased to be visiting my friend’s blog today.

(And I’m very please to welcome you here Val)

My novel, Hunter’s Chase is a crime thriller that falls squarely within the Tartan Noire genre. The main protagonist is Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson. The story begins when DI Hunter Wilson, who knows there is a new supply of cocaine flooding his city, Edinburgh, Scotland, needs to find the source but his attention is transferred to murder when a corpse is discovered in the grounds of a golf course.

Shortly after the post-mortem, Hunter witnesses a second murder but that is not the end of the slaughter. With a young woman’s life also hanging in the balance, the last thing Hunter needs is a new man on his team: the son of his nemesis, the former Chief Constable. Hunter’s perseverance and patience are put to the test time after time in this taught crime thriller. Hunter by name – Hunter by nature: DI Hunter Wilson will not rest until Edinburgh is safe.

I set Hunter’s Chase in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland because it is a city I know well. I did consider creating an imaginary town for him. However, Edinburgh has everything a writer could need. It is a diverse city with all different kinds of buildings and people. It is small enough that characters can move around it quickly and large enough for it to be credible that anything I want to happen there, could happen.

Edinburgh is also a beautiful city with a castle, a palace and a cathedral, wealthy homes, horrible slums, fine restaurants, fast food outlets and idiosyncratic pubs. It is home to an Olympic size pool, the National Rugby Team and two famous football teams. What more could I or my characters want?

(What more indeed! Makes me want to be there right now. I’ll just have to travel vicariously through Hunter’s Chase.)

About Val Penny

Val Penny is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and two cats. Val has a Law degree from Edinburgh University and an MSc from Napier University.

Val has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, lawyer, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer. However, she has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store. Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories and novels. Val’s first crime novel, Hunter’s Chase, will be published by Crooked Cat Books on 02.02.2018. She is now writing the sequel, Hunter’s Revenge.

Val Penny has a smashing blog of her own here. You can follow Val on Twitter @valeriepenny and find her on Facebook.