Made In Inverness
A return to Scotland gave Margaret Kirk the push she needed to take up writing – and become an award-winning crime novelist
Award-winning crime author Margaret Kirk on the city and authors that inspire her writing
WHEN Margaret Kirk returned to Inverness in 2015, she saw the town that she’d left behind in the 80s in a whole new light.
But little did she know that the experience of moving home would give her the impetus to achieve her long-held dream of becoming a published writer.
As Margaret’s third book, In the Blood is published, the Highland crime writer reflects on her new life as a successful novelist in Inverness.
“There’s nothing like a little time away from your hometown to make you see it with fresh eyes,” Margaret says. “When my husband and I moved back to Inverness from Bournemouth, I saw massive changes. For one thing, it wasn’t a town anymore, it’s now a city!
“The experience made me think about what it would be like for someone who had been away for even longer, after having all sorts of experiences away. What would it be like, trying to fit in again?”
Margaret also found inspiration in the city of Inverness itself.
“I saw all these changes and I wondered, why is no one paying this corner of the north-east of Scotland any attention? I mean, you have Stuart Macbride in Aberdeen and you have really good writers in other locations, but because our area of Scotland is often viewed in a romantic light, it seemed to be neglected.
“We are a modern city with all the modern problems and challenges that brings, so I wanted to create a vision of a contemporary Inverness with people finding their way in the 21st century.” The crime author began penning her first novel, Shadow Man, featuring D.I. Lukas Mahler, who, like her, had just returned to Inverness after a long time away.
“One of my biggest inspirations was Moniack Mhor, the writing centre near Inverness,” Margaret says. “I found out that they were running a crime writing course tutored
“Why is no one paying this corner of the attention?” north-east of Scotland any
by Val Mcdermid – and I thought, my goodness – a course run by Val Mcdermid! I have to go for this! She was so kind and so supportive about my writing. The experience really gave me confidence.” In 2016, Margaret spotted a novel-writing competition in a magazine. She had yet to finish her first novel, but the magazine were only looking for the first 5000 words, so she entered, spurred on by Val’s earlier support. “The next thing I knew, I got a phone call to ask me to go to London for the finalist’s lunch. I just couldn’t believe it! They didn’t announce the winner until the event and when they said my name I was just stunned. I literally lost the power of speech. I was just so amazed.” As part of the prize, Margaret was given a contract with the publisher Orion, and a literary agent. Shadow Man, was released the following year. The latest novel in the series, In the Blood, opens with a grisly discovery of bloated human remains tied to a derelict pier on Orkney. While the locals know him as William Spencer, D.I. Lukas Mahler identifies him as Alex Fleming – his former boss. Unable to step away from the case, Mahler tries to piece together why Fleming would retire to such a remote location. But the deeper he digs, the more disturbing the investigation becomes.
Seal bones, witches’ salve, and runic symbols appear everywhere he looks, ushering Mahler towards Fleming’s most notorious unsolved case: the Witchfinder murders. And towards a dark and uncomfortable truth someone has gone to great lengths to bury.
The 2020 lockdown gave Margaret time to review the final draft of the novel, and she ended up making changes she didn’t expect.
“The publication of In the Blood was delayed due to the virus,” Margaret says. “That was a shame, but it also gave me an opportunity to look at it again and sort of rework it.
“Maybe it was the pandemic running through my mind but what evolved was actually a much darker story of lies and betrayal and the past coming to bite you in very unexpected ways. It basically shakes Lukas’s beliefs to his core.
“There’s also a perhaps not paranormal, but an ‘other worldly’ strain running through it.”