More like 3.5⭐️ because the concept of placing this in a near future fictional timeline interlinking with the past and present was quite interesting. There were some age restraints, and his main character spoke more like someone my age now (born in the 60s/70s) than one born in the late 90s of the last millennium, but it was a valiant effort.

The dark-side of all these relationships was interesting, and the social/environmental issues raised were pertinent—prophetic even. Despite fictional licence being greatly and hyperbolically employed. So what? It’s fiction. It was making a hefty and important point. If we don’t wake up, sure maybe this won’t be the future 30 years from now, but then again… it might.

This was a thriller, fast action with pauses for reflection and backstory where needed, but it was suspenseful and gave all the promised thrills, including a twisting detective story that kept you guessing until about three-quarters.

We know what we’re getting from Peter May: Scottish CID stories, the dark side of the Highlands and Islands, a shady mid-fifties protagonist cooper with a rough history who manages to get the job done despite the odds—but this one delivers even more with social and environmental issues at its core.

I really liked Sita. Would be nice to see two characters like Brodie and Dr Roy in another novel, doling out the cutting banter with a side-dish of sexual tension. It played out well here for the time it was given…