Dark Island (Orkney Mysteries, Book 1)

By: Daniel Aubrey

Narrated by: Charlie Mudie

*THE #2 BESTSELLING SCOTTISH CRIME EBOOK* *SHORTLISTED FOR THE McDERMID DEBUT AWARD 2024* *SHORTLISTED FOR THE BLOODY SCOTLAND DEBUT PRIZE 2024* *LONGLISTED FOR SCOTLAND’S NATIONAL BOOK AWARD – FIRST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024*

Midwinter in Orkney.

Six hours of daylight.

A race against time to catch a killer.

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'My debut novel of the year' CHRIS LLOYD

'I couldn't turn the pages fast enough' NASHEEMA LENNON

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Reporter Freya Sinclair has always known she was different. While waiting on the outcome of an autism assessment, Freya uproots her life in Glasgow, quitting her job at one of Scotland’s top broadsheets and taking a local beat in her childhood home of Orkney. But her plans for a quiet life are shattered when human remains are exhumed by a winter storm on Orkney’s wild Atlantic coast.

The identity of the bones opens old wounds in the islands, and sheds light on a darker truth nobody wants to accept. As the nights draw in, Freya’s obsessive hunt for answers turns into a cat-and-mouse game, with each secret she unearths threatening her job, compromising her family, and exposing new victims to a killer who's watching from the shadows…

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'Daniel Aubrey can do for Orkney what Ann Cleeves has done for Shetland in this absorbing novel. It transported me' MARION TODD

‘Twists and secrets galore … A nail-biting thriller you'll never forget’ CAROLINE MITCHELL

'A tense read with emotional honesty … Freya is a triumph' CALLUM McSORLEY

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REAL READERS LOVE DARK ISLAND

‘I absolutely raced through this exciting murder mystery. Daniel Aubrey's writing transported me. Freya is such a brilliant and complex character’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘If you’re a fan of location-based mysteries, such as LJ Ross or GR Halliday, you need to get your teeth into this series NOW’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Pacy and well-plotted and I loved the Orkney setting. I really liked Freya and there's lots of action and twists but it never at any point felt far-fetched’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Everyone should read Dark Island. I loved the neurodivergent character at the heart of the book. The ending was extremely moving’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

©2024 Daniel Aubrey (P)2024 HarperCollins

Critic reviews

REVIEWERS SAY…

'Outstanding' The Sunday Post

'With the hauntingly original backdrop of Orkney as a character in its own right, and enough twists and turns to keep the hardened thriller reader engrossed to its surprising end…[Dark Island is] a wholly satisfying reading experience. Freya Sinclair is a protagonist with mileage, and I cannot wait to see where she goes next.' Wiz Wharton

'An unputdownable thriller. In Freya, we find a truly refreshing protagonist.' Danielle Devlin

'Walking in Freya’s shoes helped me to better appreciate the impact ADHD has on a person's daily life… A truly enriching read.' Anita Frank

'Sublime. With a story that is every bit as tempestuous and powerful as an island storm, Aubrey’s writing is both supremely pacy and deeply thoughtful. Freya Sinclair is an absolute winner of a protagonist, who has you rooting for her from page one. Please may there be many more in this series.' Chris Lloyd

'What a fantastic debut. I adored the complexity of Freya’s character.' Nasheema Lennon

‘The atmospheric backdrop of Orkney enhances the reader’s experience of this compulsive debut. With a brilliant and original main character, plenty of nail-biting moments and satisfying twists, there is everything here that fans of this genre love. I can’t wait to read Aubrey’s next.’ Rebecca Netley

‘Well-written, convincing characters, and a real page-turner.’ Critic

REAL READERS SAY…

‘Fabulously dark tale set on the Scottish islands’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A great thriller – a fast-paced, realistic read that had me turning the pages late into the night!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Would make a great TV crime drama series too!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'A dramatic conclusion I didn't see coming!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Great storyline and great characters’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Intriguing - confusing

Difficult to follow, time frames jump from present to past without clarity. I wanted to understand Freya but it was hard to do that, the smell issue was irritating.