Dead Calm at Dunbruar Loch
(2026)(The second book in the Heatherstone Hostelry Mystery series)
A novel by Diana Beckett
The loch is beautiful. The village is smiling. And someone is very good at making death look like an accident.
Heatherstone Guesthouse is finally starting to feel like mine.
The rooms are warm. The bookings are steady. The locals are only half-watching me now, instead of hunting for reasons to whisper.
Then the Heritage Circle announces a charity wild swim at Dunbruar Loch, complete with banners, cameras, and a loud promise of ‘a fresh start’ for the village.
And right on schedule, the loch gives up a body.
They call it a tragic accident before the police even finish clearing the shore. The Circle volunteers move fast to soothe the crowd. To tidy the story. To keep the village looking wholesome.
But I can’t shake the feeling something is wrong… because the dead woman isn’t a stranger.
She checked into Heatherstone under the name Mairi Cameron, paid in full, asked careful questions, and left before breakfast like she didn’t want to be seen. Now she’s floating in the loch while half the village turns to stare at me, as if I personally dragged her under.
DI Fraser Shaw is furious. The Heritage Circle is polished. And the gossip is vicious.
Worst of all, the woman left me something before she died… a warning I don’t fully understand and a message that makes my stomach drop:
She didn’t come to Strathbruar to swim.
She came because she was hunting proof.
Now that proof is missing.
And whoever killed her is still out there, watching Heatherstone… waiting for me to make the next mistake.
Dead Calm at Dunbruar Loch is Book 2 in the Heatherstone Hostelry Mysteries—a gripping Scottish cozy mystery packed with village secrets, suspicious smiles, clean romance, and a chilling whodunit that proves the Highlands don’t forgive anyone who digs too deep.
Perfect for fans of small-town Scottish mysteries, B&B cozies, sharp heroines, twisty clues, and fast page-turning crime with a deeper series thread.
Start reading today… and discover what the loch has been hiding for years.
Genre: Mystery
Heatherstone Guesthouse is finally starting to feel like mine.
The rooms are warm. The bookings are steady. The locals are only half-watching me now, instead of hunting for reasons to whisper.
Then the Heritage Circle announces a charity wild swim at Dunbruar Loch, complete with banners, cameras, and a loud promise of ‘a fresh start’ for the village.
And right on schedule, the loch gives up a body.
They call it a tragic accident before the police even finish clearing the shore. The Circle volunteers move fast to soothe the crowd. To tidy the story. To keep the village looking wholesome.
But I can’t shake the feeling something is wrong… because the dead woman isn’t a stranger.
She checked into Heatherstone under the name Mairi Cameron, paid in full, asked careful questions, and left before breakfast like she didn’t want to be seen. Now she’s floating in the loch while half the village turns to stare at me, as if I personally dragged her under.
DI Fraser Shaw is furious. The Heritage Circle is polished. And the gossip is vicious.
Worst of all, the woman left me something before she died… a warning I don’t fully understand and a message that makes my stomach drop:
She didn’t come to Strathbruar to swim.
She came because she was hunting proof.
Now that proof is missing.
And whoever killed her is still out there, watching Heatherstone… waiting for me to make the next mistake.
Dead Calm at Dunbruar Loch is Book 2 in the Heatherstone Hostelry Mysteries—a gripping Scottish cozy mystery packed with village secrets, suspicious smiles, clean romance, and a chilling whodunit that proves the Highlands don’t forgive anyone who digs too deep.
Perfect for fans of small-town Scottish mysteries, B&B cozies, sharp heroines, twisty clues, and fast page-turning crime with a deeper series thread.
Start reading today… and discover what the loch has been hiding for years.
Genre: Mystery
Used availability for Diana Beckett's Dead Calm at Dunbruar Loch