The Missing Dead

Discover the addictive new murder mystery in the globally bestselling Misty Isle series, featuring D.I. Duncan McAdam. Perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves and Elly Griffiths.

One murder. Three empty graves. And a secret worth killing for...

D.I. Duncan McAdam is called to a cemetery to investigate a desecrated grave. The deceased was the skipper of a trawler with a chequered past. Its crew all died in mysterious circumstances - one man fell to his death; the second took his own life; the third jumped from a rocky clifftop. Only one crewman remains.

When Duncan goes to interview the skipper’s widow, he finds her house ransacked, blood on the floor, and a body in the boot of her car. He soon realises that everyone on board that trawler was hiding something - and it all leads back to one stormy night at sea years ago.

As the case begins to spiral, Duncan’s own personal challenges with his son come back to haunt him. Can he find the only surviving crew member before it’s too late? What secrets did these men take with them to their graves? And why is someone willing to kill to unearth them now?

Readers love J M Dalgliesh:
‘Fantastic’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘The best detective series I’ve read’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘You can’t put these books down’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘J M Dalgliesh never disappoints’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘Like watching Shetlandon TV’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

‘So much tension’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Jason Dalgliesh was born on the south coast of England and grew up in Hampshire, UK. He has worked in the power transmission industry, the retail sector, call centres and as a night-owl in a bakery. He has a degree in history.

Following on from the worldwide bestselling Dark Yorkshire and Hidden Norfolk crime series, in 2023, he introduced us to DI Duncan McAdam, a detective returning to his childhood home on Scotland's Misty Isle, the Isle of Skye. A LONG TIME DEAD was published in October 2023 and hit the coveted #1 spot in the Amazon Store.

Jason was recently listed in the Top 10 most-read authors of the last decade on Amazon UK. To date, he has recorded over four million sales across his works and has also been published by Hachette UK imprint, Bookouture.

In 2026, Jason signed for Penguin Random House imprint, Transworld. A new series set on the Orkney Isles will begin publishing in 2027 with MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL.

The Hidden Norfolk series has topped the charts with multiple titles and two books in the series, HEAR NO EVIL and WHEN DEATH CALLS, have been shortlisted for the Amazon Kindle Storyteller Award in 2020 and 2025.

Jason has cemented his place as one of the most popular authors writing UK based regional crime in recent years. His work is currently in development for television by an award winning production team. The plots take in some of the UK's most rugged and beautiful landscapes.

Having spent time abroad, Jason has lived and worked in various parts of England as well as the Scottish Highlands. He currently lives in Norfolk with his wife and two young children.

Readers love J M Dalgliesh:

"Fantastic" ―FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW

“The best detective series I’ve read” ―FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW

J.M. Dalgliesh’s thrilling police procedural, The Missing Dead, published in July 2026, marks the gripping seventh installment in his highly acclaimed Misty Isle series. Set against the breathtaking yet unforgivingly rugged backdrop of the Isle of Skye in Scotland, the novel once again follows the seasoned and deeply perceptive Detective Inspector Duncan McAdam. Dalgliesh has carved out a massive following by blending the atmospheric, brooding tension of Scandinavian noir with the intricate, character-driven plotting of traditional British crime fiction. In this latest entry, he delivers a masterclass in suspense, weaving a dark and compelling tale that proves some secrets refuse to stay buried, no matter how deep the grave.

The narrative begins with an unsettling and highly unusual crime that immediately shakes the quiet, tight-knit island community. D.I. McAdam is called out to a local windswept cemetery to investigate the desecration of a grave. The disturbed burial site belongs to the former skipper of a local fishing trawler, a man who was well-known on the island for his rather chequered and complicated past. While grave robbery or vandalism is rare enough on the Misty Isle, Duncan’s sharp investigative instincts quickly lead him to uncover a string of eerie, seemingly connected tragedies surrounding the deceased skipper's former crew. Over the years following their time at sea together, the crew members have all met violent, mysterious, and untimely ends. One man suffered a fatal fall, another reportedly took his own life in a fit of despair, and a third leapt to his death from a rocky island clifftop. Out of the entire crew, only a single man remains alive, casting a long, ominous shadow of suspicion and dread over the seemingly isolated graveyard incident.

What starts as a disturbing case of vandalism rapidly escalates into a full-blown murder investigation when Duncan visits the deceased skipper's widow, hoping to find some context or answers. Instead of a routine, quiet interview, the detective arrives to find her home completely ransacked. A chaotic and bloody crime scene has been left in the intruder's wake, pointing to a frantic search for something highly valuable or incriminating. The grim discovery reaches its climax when Duncan’s team finds a lifeless body unceremoniously stuffed into the boot of the widow's car. It becomes immediately and chillingly apparent that this is not a random act of violence, but a calculated, targeted cover-up. Someone is desperately tearing the island apart, willing to cross any moral boundary to ensure that a long-buried secret stays hidden permanently.

As Duncan and his investigative team delve deeper into the history of the trawler and its doomed crew, all the fragmented clues lead back to a single, fateful, and stormy night at sea many years ago. Whatever happened out on those dark, unforgiving waters off the Scottish coast was so profoundly significant—and potentially so damning—that the men formed a desperate pact of silence upon their return. Now, decades later, the past is violently catching up with them, and a ruthless killer is systematically eliminating anyone who might hold a piece of the puzzle. The narrative shifts into a high-stakes race against the clock. Duncan must locate the sole surviving crew member before the killer reaches him first, all while trying to decipher the fragmented, blood-stained clues that the dead men took to their graves. The chilling realization sets in that the secret is quite literally worth killing for, and no one in the insular community is truly safe until the truth is finally dragged into the light.

Adding emotional weight and profound depth to the gripping murder mystery is the careful exploration of Duncan McAdam's personal life. Dalgliesh is celebrated for creating deeply human, flawed characters, and in this installment, Duncan is forced to grapple with his own ghosts. As the professional case spirals into increasing violence and urgency, Duncan's personal challenges and strained relationship with his son come back to haunt him. The tension in his family life heavily mirrors the turbulent, unpredictable nature of the investigation, testing his mental resolve and challenging his focus. This dual narrative of unyielding professional duty and quiet personal turmoil makes Duncan an incredibly relatable protagonist. He is a man desperately struggling to protect his community from a present danger while simultaneously trying to mend the fractured pieces of his own past.

Because you strongly prefer digital reading platforms for their unparalleled convenience and portability, The Missing Dead is a phenomenal title to seamlessly add to your devices. Whether you enjoy using Google Books to pull up your current read on the go or prefer keeping your vast personal library stored neatly on your Kindle, enjoying this mystery in a digital format allows you to carry Dalgliesh’s sprawling, atmospheric Scottish landscapes right in your pocket. Reading digitally also leans into your appreciation for searchability; you can easily use the search function to trace subtle, early clues sprinkled throughout the text, or quickly look up the names of the trawler crew as the complex web of their past unfolds. Furthermore, keeping an eye on these digital platforms might allow you to score free ebook promotions for earlier entries in the Misty Isle series, letting you sample more of D.I. McAdam's cases and continue building your library without taking up an inch of physical space on your shelves.