Books by Alex

Out of Darkness

Sphere, March 2024

DSI William Lorimer and his wife Maggie are taking their first extended holiday for the first time in years, and they’re looking for an adventure. What better place than Zimbabwe, with its bustling cities and beautiful scenery?

Back in Glasgow, PC Daniel Kohi, former inspector with the Zimbabwean police, finds himself uncomfortably close to a murder investigation. Why did the murdered man appear at Daniel’s house just hours before he was killed? And how he is connected to the troubled family history of Netta Gordon, Daniel’s dear friend and lodger?

But it’s not just Netta’s history that’s about to resurface. For in Zimbabwe, rumours are circulating about Daniel Kohi, and the couple from Scotland who appear to know him. Rumours which could place the Lorimers in unimaginable peril.

Questions for a Dead Man

Sphere, February 2023

When a prominent MSP goes missing, DSI William Lorimer wastes no time in investigating. Robert Truesdale was fronting the controversial campaign to legalise drugs in Scotland, and his enemies were numerous. With every passing day, the chances of finding him alive grow slimmer.

Then the worst happens. A car bomb explodes in a nearby village, and the blackened body pulled from the wreckage appears to be Truesdale’s. Yet there are details that don’t add up and soon Lorimer is questioning whether the victim was all he claimed to be.

Lorimer calls on the assistance of his friend, PC Daniel Kohi, who has infiltrated a local gang as part of a police initiative to crack down on drug-related crime in Glasgow. As their investigation draws them into the dark heart of Glasgow’s criminal underworld, Lorimer and Kohi discover that danger is everywhere and nobody is as they seem.

Echo of the Dead

Sphere, March 2022

After a stressful winter, DSI William Lorimer is enjoying some time away from Glasgow. He and his new friend, Daniel Kohi, have retreated to the wilds of the Scottish Highlands to unwind. But what awaits them is far from a holiday.

Despite its troubled history, the mountain village of Glencoe is now a popular resort, famed for its close-knit community, its breath-taking scenery and the warm welcome it offers weary travellers. So it’s particularly shocking when two bodies are discovered in quick succession on the nearby peaks…

With a potential serial killer on the loose, Lorimer’s Major Incidents Team are drafted in from Glasgow. It’s clear that a dark secret lurks beneath the wild beauty of this place. But will Lorimer manage to root it out before the killer strikes again?

Before the Storm

Sphere, March 2021

Inspector Daniel Kohi of the Zimbabwean police force returns home one night to find his worst nightmare has been realised. His family dead, his house destroyed, and in fear for his life, he is forced to flee the country he loves.

Far away in Glasgow, DSI William Lorimer has his hands full. Christmas is approaching, the city is bustling, and whilst the homicide rate has been relatively low, something much darker is brewing. Counter-Terrorism have got wind of a plot, here in Lorimer’s native city, to carry out an unspeakable atrocity on Christmas Eve. They need someone with local knowledge to help them root it out and who better than the head of the Scottish Major Incidents Team.

But the investigation is complicated by a spate of local murders, and by the rumours that someone is passing information to criminal organisations from inside the police force. Soon Lorimer finds himself in desperate need of assistance. Then he meets an extraordinary man – a refugee from Zimbabwe whose investigative skills are a match for Lorimer’s own…

Praise for Before the Storm

Before the Storm is classic Alex Gray – warm-hearted, atmospheric… with a very interesting twist.
–Ann Cleeves

When Shadows Fall

Sphere, 2020

When his old friend and former colleague is shot dead at his home, Detective Superintendent William Lorimer is devastated. And his problems are only just beginning. It’s not long before two further deaths are reported: both victims ex-policemen.

It’s clear this is a targeted campaign against their own, yet with no other link between the victims to identify the killer, Lorimer’s police team are starting to panic. Who will be next?

Lorimer knows he must keep his cool if he is to solve the case. But with time running out before the next attack, he’s struggling to ignore the sickening question at the back of his mind:

Will he get to the killer, before the killer gets to him?

The Stalker

Sphere, 2019

A murder on their doorstep. A case that’s too close to home . . .

The body of a young woman has been discovered in Bellahouston park, the second in a matter of months. It’s clear to Detective Superintendent William Lorimer of Police Scotland that they have a repeat killer on their hands, who is sure to strike again.

Lucky for DSI Lorimer that his wife, Maggie, is miles away from potential danger, touring Scotland to promote her first book. Faced with strangers at every event, Maggie doesn’t notice the quiet, non-descript man sitting in the back row.
But he has noticed Maggie Lorimer. And soon his will be a face she never forgets.

Only The Dead Can Tell

Sphere, March 2018

When Dorothy Guildford is found stabbed to death in her home, all signs point to her husband, Peter. The forensic psychologist is convinced there’s more to the case that meets the eye but Police Scotland are certain they have their man.

While DC Kirsty Wilson searches for evidence that will put Peter away for good, she is shocked to discover a link with a vast human-trafficking operation that Detective Superintendent William Lorimer has been investigating for months. But before they can interrogate him, Peter is brutally attacked.

With one person dead and another barely hanging on, the clock is ticking for DC Wilson and DSI Lorimer. And the stakes grow higher still when one of their own is kidnapped . . .

Still Dark

Sphere, 2017

New Year’s Eve should be a time for celebrating. But for Detective Superintendent William Lorimer, this is one night he will never forget…

Called to a house after gunshots are reported, the carnage Lorimer finds there leaves him traumatised and questioning his future with Police Scotland.

Meanwhile, the body count is rising on Glasgow’s streets. A number of known addicts are dying from accidental overdoses, but something’s not adding up. Where would the city’s poorest residents get hold of high-quality morphine?

As Lorimer struggles to return to duty, he spots a link between the deaths and a previous case involving the euthanasia of vulnerable patients. It seems the man responsible has resurfaced – and this time he’s got the backing of a dangerous criminal from Glasgow’s underworld.

Can Lorimer and his team get the killer off the streets for good before more innocent people die?

The Darkest Goodbye (#13)

Sphere, March 2016

When newly fledged DC Kirsty Wilson is called to the house of an elderly woman, what appears to be a death by natural causes soon takes a sinister turn when it is revealed that the woman had a mysterious visitor in the early hours of that morning – someone dressed as a community nurse, but with much darker intentions.

As Kirsty is called to another murder – this one the brutal execution of a well-known Glasgow drug dealer – she finds herself pulled into a complex case involving vulnerable people and a sinister service that offers them and their loved ones a ‘release’. Detective Superintendent William Lorimer is called in to help DC Wilson investigate and as the body count rises, the pair soon realise that this case is about to get more personal than either of them could have imagined…

Praise for The Darkest Goodbye

Rightly acclaimed in her native Scotland, it is important to remind the rest of the country just how impressive Gray’s work is… She has brought Glasgow’s dark underworld to life in the same way Ian Rankin did Edinburgh’s…Told with characteristic panache, it confirms what an excellent crime writer Gray has become. –Daily Mail

She definitely lives up to the hype… It’s a fantastic plot, one that has a very interesting and topical debate at the heart of it, and keeps you guessing to the very last few pages. –Press & Journal

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26825490-the-darkest-goodbye

Keep The Midnight Out

When the body of a red-haired young man is washed up on the shore of the beautiful Isle of Mull, Detective Superintendent Lorimer’s tranquil holiday away from the gritty streets of Glasgow is rudely interrupted. The body has been bound with twine in a ghoulishly unnatural position and strongly reminds Lorimer of another murder: a twenty year old Glasgow case that he failed to solve as a newly fledged detective constable and which has haunted him ever since.

As local cop DI Stevie Crozier takes charge of the island murder investigation, Lorimer tries to avoid stepping on her toes. But as the similarities between the young man’s death and his cold case grow more obvious, Lorimer realises that there could be a serial killer on the loose after all these years. As the action switches dramatically between the Mull murder and the Glasgow cold case twenty years earlier, Lorimer tries desperately to catch a cold-hearted killer. Has someone got away with murder for decades?

Praise for Keep the Midnight Out

Few have matched the sustained high quality of [Alex Gray’s] output over twelve novels… What she delivers is sound characterisation, convincing Glaswegian atmosphere and superior writing. –The Times

Keep the Midnight Out is one of Alex Gray’s very best books. The series featuring her protagonist Detective Superintendent Lorimer has gone from strength to strength. –Good Book Guide

This Scottish author is at the top of her game. –Daily Record

The new master of Scottish crime writing. –Scottish Daily Express

Move over Rebus. –Daily Mirror

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25148081-keep-the-midnight-out

The Bird That Did Not Sing (#11)

Sphere, March 2014

2014: The Commonwealth Games are coming to Glasgow and security is extra tight, particularly after a mysterious bomb explodes in nearby rural Stirlingshire. As the opening ceremony for the Games draws ever closer, the police desperately seek the culprits. But Detective Superintendent Lorimer has other concerns on his mind. One is a beautiful red-haired woman from his past whose husband dies suddenly on his watch. Then there is the body of a young woman found dumped in countryside just south of the city who is proving impossible to identify. Elsewhere in Glasgow people prepare for the events in their own way, whether for financial gain or to welcome home visitors from overseas. And, hiding behind false identities, are those who pose a terrible threat not just to the Games but to the very fabric of society.

Praise for The Bird That Did Not Sing

Compelling… Explosive… Once again proves she is one of the most adept practitioners of the crime novel at work today. –Good Book Guide

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19737659-the-bird-that-did-not-sing