The Devil’s Rock

A bookclub historical crime novel for fans of Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Emma Stonex’s The Lamplighters and Alis Hawkins.

Bass Rock, Edinburgh, late 1600s

On a cruel and windswept volcanic island, where only the toughest survive, a fragile society is about to be put to the ultimate test.

Life on Bass Rock is far from easy for its residents. Besieged by the Scots and with supplies rapidly dwindling, Lieutenant Hal Halyburton struggles to maintain order as tensions fracture his small community.

Then a body is found and the point of suspicion falls on Hal himself. With few people he can trust, he enlists sharp-witted tavern keeper Fleur to help clear his name.

In a place that has so few residents, finding the killer should be simple. Until a second body surfaces in the harbour, causing dark secrets to unravel and loyalties to dangerously shift.

Hal finds himself in a race against time to expose the murderer and clear his name, before his community destroys itself from within.

The Devil’s Rock is a gripping locked-room historical crime mystery for fans of Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Emma Stonex and Alis Hawkins.

© 2027 Cliffhanger (Audiobook): 9780008835927

Release date

Audiobook: 30 January 2027