Thirty-One Bones

Carl Hiaasen meets Tartan Noir in this comic crime caper set on the sunny Costa Blanca.

What Carl Hiaasen does for Florida and Elmore Leonard did for LA, Morgan Cry does for Spain's sun-splashed Mediterranean coast, where British expats and certain notorious criminals go to escape-slash-retire.

When Daniella Coulstoun's estranged mother, Effie, dies in Spain under suspicious circumstances, Daniella feels it's her duty to fly out for the funeral. Effie was the sole owner of the seedy expat pub Se Busca, whose faithful kept her in business for twenty years. Among them is a dangerous group of misfits who confront Daniella on her arrival, claiming that Effie stole huge sums of cash from them in a multimillion-euro property scam. They want the money back, and Daniella is on the hook for it.

When a suspicious Spanish detective begins to probe Effie's death and a London gangster hears about the missing money, Daniella faces threats on every front, including the promise of breakage to thirty-one of her precious bones. With no idea where the cash is and a seemingly impossible deadline, she has no choice but to fall back on her wits to solve the mystery in a world where she is out of depth and her very survival is at stake.

Morgan Cry is the alias of Gordon Brown, who has written eight Tartan Noir crime novels and thrillers, including the Craig McIntyre series. He is a founding director of the Bloody Scotland festival that celebrates crime fiction every fall. Thirty-one Bones is his first novel as Morgan Cry. He is married with two children and lives in Glasgow.

"Readers who like clever, sun-drenched crime capers will find much to enjoy."—Publishers Weekly

"Seedy, sweaty fun."—Ian Rankin

"An immersive thrill ride."—Denise Mina

“Riveting.”—Sunday Post

“A hugely entertaining, deftly told crime caper.”—Irish Independent

“Brown may have left behind the dark alleyways of tartan noir for the hot streets of Spain, but he proves that it can be just as dangerous out in the sun, and that he can still make his readers sweat.”—Scotland on Sunday

“A character-driven crime caper that steers clear of grit and sadism without ever feeling too lightweight.”—Herald

“Pure escapism—pick of the month.”—Love Reading

“This is one of those stories that from the moment you start reading you can’t stop turning pages.”—Varietats

“Thirty-One Bones is a joy to read.”—Grab This Book

 “A real rollercoaster of a ride.”—The Library Door

“Thirty-One Bonesstarts with a bang and just keeps on shooting all the way through.”—Chapter in My Life

“It’s full of humour and offers lots of great, grinning moments as well as being a super thrilling read.”—lLive and Deadly