The Wolf Tree
On an Island full of secrets
The truth lies in the dark
A gripping and atmospheric debut crime thriller set on an isolated Scottish island…
A mysterious death
On a small island off the coast of Scotland, an isolated community is grieving. Eighteen-year-old Alan Ferguson was found at the foot of the lighthouse – an apparent suicide.
Two detectives trapped on an island
DIs Georgina Lennox and Richard Stewart are sent to investigate. But a raging storm keeps them trapped on the island for four days. And the locals don’t take kindly to mainlanders.
A village full of suspects
As George and Ritchie question the island’s inhabitants, they discover a village filled with superstition and shrouded in secrets.
But someone wants those secrets to stay buried. At any cost.
*Readers love THE WOLF TREE*
‘More twisted than you could imagine. Couldn’t put it down.’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Reader Review
‘A page turner, intriguing and fascinating.’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Reader Review
‘Kept me guessing until the end.’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Reader Review
‘Right at the very end was a shocker I hadn’t seen coming.’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Reader Review
The Wolf Tree is a stunning debut: a wild, vivid landscape and a propulsive mystery you simply have to know the answer to. It will have you on the edge of your seat, desperate to know what the small Scottish community is hiding -
Atmospheric and immersive, The Wolf Tree's isolated and storm-battered Hebridean setting is vividly evoked, and McCluskey has a sharp ear for rhythm and cadence, which lends a persuasive authenticity to her dialogue. Her descriptions of the sodden landscape and its outwardly welcoming but secretly watchful inhabitants creates a mounting chill that seeps into the bones -
An exciting new voice in crime fiction -
Absorbing, unsettling, and deeply accomplished -
The Wolf Tree is an exquisitely executed tale. Laura McCluskey’s debut is a great gothic slow-burn that will keep you thinking and guessing even after you’ve reached the end -
Laura McCluskey’s thrilling debut blends detective novel and folk horror to terrific effect. Eilean Eadar’s ancient secrets and vibrant present-day characters—including our beautifully complex mainlander heroes—had me riveted to the page -
Mare of Easttown meets The Wickerman in Laura McCluskey’s deft, intricate, perfectly executed debut thriller. The Wolf Tree is a darkly brilliant synthesis of hard-nosed procedural and folk eerie -
Laura McCluskey has created two wonderful new detectives in George Lennox and Richie Stewart. I would follow them anywhere - even to the forboding, windswept island of Eileen Eadar, where they must grapple with the dark secrets of the small and insular local population. THE WOLF TREE is a marvelous mystery, rich in atmosphere and quick in pace. And with such well-drawn characters, one can hope it marks the beginning of a terrific new series -
Congratulations to Laura on such an atmospheric story. I loved her writing style and the setting and the character of George in particular -
An impressive crime debut dripping with atmosphere and threat, Laura McCluskey’s The Wolf Tree will take you to a chilling cliff-edge of suspense, then hold you there until the very last page -
Set on an isolated island in the Outer Hebrides, The Wolf Tree weaves a complex web of tradition, suspicion and murder … Tense and increasingly claustrophobic, The Wolf Tree is seething with atmosphere, intriguing relationships and a community determined to protect itself at all costs. Gripping -
McCluskey is masterful at building suspense around a sense of place and a feeling of otherness -