WHISPERING TIDE
A storm on the West Coast of Scotland washes in more than just a shipwreck
Behold the hour, the boat, arrive!
My dearest Nancy, O fareweel!
Severed frae thee, can I survive,
Frae thee whom I hae lov'd sae weel ?
Endless and deep shall be my grief;
Nae ray of comfort shall I see,
But this most precious, dear belief,
That thou wilt still remember me!
Behold the Hour, the Boat, Arrive
- Robert Burns
A wrecked yacht washes ashore on Scotland's rugged west coast. When DCS James Cameron is called to investigate, he expects to find a routine maritime accident. Instead, he finds the body of an unidentified young woman who was never meant to be there. The two survivors insist they were alone aboard. Cameron knows they are lying.
WHISPERING TIDE
Daric had not simply run aground. She had been driven hard onto the skerries. Hull ripped open almost completely. Bronze fittings hung twisted from cracked teak. Rigging tapped rhythmically against the exposed hull.
Cameron crouched near the keel, running gloved fingers lightly over splintered timber. Fresh break. Recent. His eyes moved methodically along the beach, assembling the scene piece by piece. Debris washed beyond the tideline. Driftwood, kelp, a seabird’s footprints. And father down near the water’s edge—
He stopped. Not debris. A body.
For a moment, the wind and the surf seemed to fall away as his attention narrowed.
“Leslie.”
The constable looked up immediately.
“You said they rescued two souls from this vessel.”
“Aye, sir.” The metal badge on his white Corker helmet glinted weakly in the sunlight as he nodded earnestly.
Cameron pointed towards the figure lying near the tideline.
“Then who, Constable Leslie, is that?”
James Cameron
Lord Dalwhinnie
Detective Chief Superintendent, Inverness-shire Constabulary
Packed off to Boarding School at ten years of age, Cameron didn't return home again for almost four decades. Since then, the world he left behind has changed irrevocably.
Shaped by his experiences as a policeman in India, the bitter taste of the war in Burma, and deep, personal loss, he returns home to confront his father's legacy, a man he barely knew.
Whilst struggling with his own nightmares, he now finds himself taking on the most senior position in the Lochaber Division of the Inverness-shire Constabulary. A 'temporary' position he has now occupied for three years.
Isla Buchanan
Housekeeper, Glentruim Castle
Long-suffering housekeeper, Isla was taken on at Glentruim Castle after her husband was killed during the War.
In service as secretary and carer for venerable local advocate and sheriff, old Alexander Cameron, now his son has wandered back from the Far East with an irascible temperament and a penchant for strong drink.
Despite his lordship's unbecoming manner, Isla is not about to let standards drop. With her feisty demeanour, if anyone can keep Lord Dalwhinnie in check, it will be her.
Amelia Stewart
Wealthy American Heiress
The daughter of an American serviceman during the Second World War, Amelia tracks Cameron down to ask for his help.
Major Stewart's recent disappearance does not appear to have been as straightforward as the authorities have suggested and, suspecting foul play, Amelia searches out a man whom her father remembered from his secret service in Thailand.
If anyone can get to the bottom of what happened to her father, surely the man whose life her father saved from a Japanese prisoner of war camp would be duty bound to accept the call.