Richard T. Kelly – författare

Three respected Scottish doctors - psychiatrist Steve Hartford, paediatric surgeon Grey Lochran and cosmetic surgeon Robert Forrest - have been close friends since their Edinburgh boyhoods, and now live handsomely in suburban London. But for each, midlife has brought certain discontents, especially for Forrest, a reformed womaniser who broods over his fading looks and the departure of his beautiful younger girlfriend. When Dr Forrest goes missing one summer evening and fails to return, Lochran and Hartford are alarmed by the thought of what might have befallen their friend. The police can find no evidence of foul play, but the two doctors resolve to conduct their own investigation. Soon, however, Lochran and Hartford find themselves bedevilled by bizarre, unnerving events, and the attentions of menacing strangers. Robert Forrest, they come to realise, has remained closer than they could ever have imagined...

As Home Secretary, David Blaylock oversees the police, border control and the struggle against domestic terrorism. Some say the job is impossible; Blaylock insists he is tough enough.Constantly in his mind is the threat of an attack on Britain's streets. But over the course of one autumn, Blaylock finds that the danger is much more personal . . .

'Action-packed and panoramic.' Observer'Magnificent . . . there won't be a finer piece of Scottish fiction published this year.' Big Issue 'A galloping and impressively wide-ranging read.' Herald (Scotland) 'Gripping.' Times Literary Supplement 1956, the Scottish Highlands: Aaron and Robbie, a schoolmaster's son and a farmer's boy, are fast friends with a shared passion for diving, but very divergent ideas of what they will do with their lives.Meanwhile, Mark and Ally, bright pupils at Edinburgh's grandest private school, are aspiring to make change in the world - one through high finance, the other on the political stage.And Joseph, heir to an Aberdeen trawler-fishing dynasty, is brooding over whether his true ambitions are set higher than his father's succession plan.For each of them, the discovery of oil under the North Sea will make their dreams achievable. But behind the promise and temptation of 'black gold,' there is a price to be paid; and they will discover that oil can overthrow relationships, turn friends into foes, and even put lives in peril.

'So compelling.' Guardian 'I loved it.' Sunday Times 'Magnificent.' Big Issue The discovery of 'black gold' in the North Sea transforms all it touches - including the dreams of five very different individuals. Joe and Ally each aspire to make their fortunes in business. Mark believes oil can cause political change. Aaron wishes to write his name into scientific history. Robbie only hopes for a better chance in life. But every wish incurs a price, and the desires spurred by oil will turn old friends into foes - even putting lives in peril.'Gripping . . . In Kelly's hands, the unfolding of the hunt for oil off the Scottish coast takes on the momentum of a thriller.' Herald (Scotland)