We are excited to welcome Gay Marris back to the Book Tree for what is sure to be a fascinating evening!

Many of you will remember her previous event in 2023 when she enthralled us with her debut novel A Curtain Twitcher’s Book of Murder — a deliciously dark and gripping crime novel in short stories about a series of murders on Atbara Avenue, the very picture of a quiet suburban street.

The Beasts of the Black Loch, the first book in the new A Natural History of Murder series, is published on 12th March. We can’t wait to chat with Gay about her brilliant combination of science and cosy crime, the clues which can be found in nature, her writing process and more at this in conversation event.

The novel is gorgeously atmospheric, steeped in its wild Highlands setting with wonderful descriptions of the flora and fauna from the perspective of the very knowledgeable Dr Ava Dickens, whose point of view is a delight to read. There’s an eclectic cast of characters — isolated together and each raising suspicion in one way or another — combined with a hint of local folklore, a crumbling estate turned hotel setting, and a satisfying mystery which kept us guessing. The story reads like a classic whodunit for Agatha Christy fans, with a scientific twist as Ava uses her knowledge of the natural world to find a killer wreaking havoc in an otherwise peaceful place ruled by nature.

This event will start at 7.30pm and the shop door will be open from 7pm with complementary wine and cordial available on arrival.

Tickets are free and guarantee entry to the event. Please contact the shop or use the booking form below to reserve your seats.

We look forward to seeing you there!

About the Book

In 50,000 acres of remote Scottish mountains and moor sits Dorcha Hall: a former hunting lodge nestling amongst ancient forests, on the shores of the enigmatic ‘Black Loch’. At night, lights glow from within, smoke curls from its chimneys, and in the forgiving murk of the gloaming, it looks magical. In daylight, its mouldering plasterwork and failing plumbing present a less romantic reality.

Dr Ava Dickens has come to Dorcha to visit her godson, Alastair – a young man whose parents’ sudden death has taken him from a quiet life in academia to owning Loch Dorcha. He and his very new wife are convinced the only way to make the estate work is to run the Hall as a hotel. But Ava is a rigorous scientist, her specialty animal behaviour, and she is by no means certain that the evidence is indicative of a successful outcome.

When one of the hotel guests is found dead in his bed, having gulped down poisonous insect repellant rather than the whisky sitting next to it, Ava’s knowledge of the female Culicoides impunctatus – aka the Highland midge – leads her to doubt that it was an accident. And worse is to come…

About the Author

Dr Gay Marris is a retired research scientist whose career focussed on insect ecology, parasites and honey bee health. Her first novel, A Curtain Twitcher’s Book of Murder, is set in the deceptively dangerous suburbs of 1960s London, where she grew up.

From a young age Gay had a profound curiosity about nature. Many formative hours were spent in the company of tadpoles, caterpillars, and other wildlife gathered on garden safaris. Time well spent. She went on to study at Dundee University, was awarded a degree in Zoology and, later, a doctorate.

Perhaps because she spent so much of her professional life observing tiny interactions between tiny creatures, her fictional work explores the minutiae of human conduct: what makes us tick.