
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Cold Secrets: A BRAND NEW Agatha Christie-style Scottish murder mystery Paperback – November 18, 2024
Purchase options and add-ons
Meet Robert Begg: bar owner and now accidental detective, as he’s swept up in a decades’ old case in the Scottish Highlands.
Robert Begg is struggling to make ends meet at the Pine Needle, the bar his late father left to him. When well-to-do Londoner Mirabella Rowley, the mother of a teenage girl who was murdered in Findrussie twenty-two years ago, gatecrashes Hogmanay celebrations, Robert puts her ranting down to grief (something he understands all too well).
However, she insists his father’s drowning accident is somehow connected to her daughter’s murder. Then, she reveals his father called her on the day he died. Suspicious of the local police, who she believes mishandled her daughter’s case all those years ago, Mirabella offers Robert and his colleagues £100,000 to look into it – an amount that will save the bar from closing.
Before he knows it, Robert finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation. Why did his father telephone Mirabella? Who was her daughter’s mystery boyfriend? Did the police really get it wrong? His enquiries take him all over the village and beyond; but as Robert begins to uncover Findrussie’s murky past, more suspicious deaths occur.
Rumours begin to buzz. Brian McCrae, the surly lead investigator on the original case and now a powerful detective, starts harassing Robert. The Pine Needle team feels as if they’re being watched…
As each new twist places Robert and his friends in more danger, can they get to the truth before it’s too late?
An unputdownable Scottish murder mystery. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Clare Chase.
Reader reviews:
“This book makes me feel the same as watching Only Murders in the Building!”
“I can attest to the brilliance of this story. Whisky or not, it’s gripping. Believe me, I’ve read chapters of it in the morning. It goes splendidly well, no matter your tipple.”
“If you enjoy a murder mystery, this is a good one to keep you on the edge!”
- Print length302 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateNovember 18, 2024
- Dimensions5.25 x 0.76 x 8 inches
- ISBN-101068571411
- ISBN-13978-1068571411
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover comes a novel that explores life after tragedy and the enduring spirit of love. | Learn more
Frequently purchased items with fast delivery
Product details
- Publisher : V J Randle
- Publication date : November 18, 2024
- Language : English
- Print length : 302 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1068571411
- ISBN-13 : 978-1068571411
- Item Weight : 14.7 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.25 x 0.76 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #3,352,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6,949 in Traditional Detective Mysteries (Books)
- #29,922 in Murder Thrillers
- #30,727 in Cozy Mysteries (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Victoria read Classics at King's College, University of Cambridge before teaching Latin and Greek for over a decade. She has given many a tour of Hellenic sites over the years, both in a capacity of educator and (to her husband's unwavering delight) holiday-maker. If you spot an excitable woman in a maxi skirt waving her arms about on top of The Acropolis, chances are it's her. Do say hello!
She now lives and writes in the North-East of Scotland with her husband and cat, Athena (who is every bit goddess of stratagem as her namesake).
She is the author of The Athenian Murders.
Customer reviews
- 5 star4 star3 star2 star1 star5 star53%33%14%0%0%53%
- 5 star4 star3 star2 star1 star4 star53%33%14%0%0%33%
- 5 star4 star3 star2 star1 star3 star53%33%14%0%0%14%
- 5 star4 star3 star2 star1 star2 star53%33%14%0%0%0%
- 5 star4 star3 star2 star1 star1 star53%33%14%0%0%0%
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonTop reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2025Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThis magnifying glass is of a good size, is easy to hold with it’s fold out handle and the light helps to see do much easier. Plus, they’re rechargeable. No running out of batteries!
Great product and gift:)
I’ve purchased this product for two relatives a
- Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2025Format: Paperback*Closer to a 5 star, but cannot give half points* I had the pleasure of reading this book as an ARC reader, just didn't have a chance to review before now.
Great mystery with good characters, and a wonderful 'who-dunnit'. Did not expect the ending and would like to read more from this author in the future!
- Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2024Format: KindleVerified PurchaseThe author shows a great depth in this story. Well written, twists and turns on each page. Have to say I didn't see this ending coming.
Really great mystery.
Looking forward to more from this author.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2025Format: KindleThoroughly enjoyed this mystery thriller, the book flowed like a tv series and had a lot of fun with it
- Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2024Format: KindleIn her third novel, Victoria transports us to the dark, cold of a NewYear's Eve in Findrussie, Scotland where the turn of the year is interrupted by the arrival of a stranger in the local bar. Immediately, we find ourselves immersed there, imagining the scene as we are introduced to the villagers who will become the characters trying to solve a cold-case, unwittingly swept up in a series of events that only add to the mystery surrounding the initial tragedy... as things take a turn for the worse and we wonder if there will ever be a resolution.
My husband, Neil asked me to buy him Cold Secrets a few weeks before Christmas and he squirreled himself away to read it through... Who would have guessed? He declared. Announcing it was Victoria's best novel to-date. High praise indeed, since he thoroughly enjoyed The Hellenic Mysteries.
What did he like about it? Atmosphere. Believable characters struggling to come to terms with a situation that would rarely happen in such an isolated part of the Highlands, but seemingly is repeating itself? And enough twists and turns that you really have to pay attention as the story unfolds.
A true Scottish Murder Mystery excellently told.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2025Format: KindleA few times i had to go back and see if i'd missed anything because there was a Lot going on!
i Loved the main characters and how they interacted with each other; some of the chapters started out a bit jarring, i was like how did we get here? LOL i absolutely Adore authors who don't get on a longwinded roll over scenery etc.. VJ definitely Nails It setting the scene and giving characters personality but getting on with the story! 2 Thumbs up and 5 Stars from me!
Thank you so very much for this copy, VJ! i also loved your heartsqueeze dedication to your dad and the hand drawn map! xox
Top reviews from other countries
- Rose MReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I’ve read this year!
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThis book is a real gem. It’s a gripping, twisty mystery which never slows down. Beautifully set in the Scottish Highlands (you’ll really feel transported there!) with a full cast of brilliantly realised characters that bring not only intrigue but also wit and warmth. You’ll love following the leads in the company of this motley crew of accidental detectives.
The skilful author strikes a perfect balance between the thrills and the fun. I know the writer from her Hellenic Mysteries series and although the locations couldn’t be more different, she brings the same vivid, pacy writing style to this charming book.
Really hope to see more from the ‘Pine Needles’ in future. A true page-turner - I was hooked!
- MarieReviewed in Canada on April 6, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing read !
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThis book is full of twists and turns ! Loved every page !!!
- Grace HardyReviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars 'Tartan noir' has a new star!
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThe remote Scottish Highlands is a gift of a setting for a murder mystery tale, but few writers in the burgeoning 'tartan noir' publishing genre are doing it with such aplomb as V J Randle. Pacy plotting that drip-feeds clues at just the right moments, crisp, evocative prose and an endearing motley crew of unlikely detectives, with a heartfelt undercurrent of friendship and family, all wrapped up in one ice-cold case... this was a delicious read.
I was lucky enough to read the novel in the very area in which it's set, but thanks to the author's powers of description (and evident local knowledge) anyone would be transported to the lochs, snow-dusted forests and wood-pannelled Pine Marten bar of her corner of Scotland. I heartily recommend you pour yourself a wee dram, settle under the blanket by the fireside and devour this cosy crime read. The best murder mystery you'll buy this winter.
- SamReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 26, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent thriller!
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI really loved this book. Intelligently written and kept me fully gripped throughout. Highly recommend!