1 - 3 May 2026

Gold! A sharp new comedy play with a big heart and loads of cracking pop hits from the 1980s from veteran performers Kate Stafford and Nicholas Collett. The play is based on the infamous Brinks-Mat robbery of 1983 when £26 million was stolen and never recovered. Julie and Dave are a normal suburban middle-aged couple living a quiet life but hiding a big secret: a huge stash of gold bars stolen from some very bad men four decades ago. Now their daughter wants an expensive instagram-worthy wedding, and the elderly gangsters are out of jail and looking for their gold. What are they going to do?  A fantastic start to the 2024 Cromarty Crime & Thrillers Weekend! Check out all the other events here. VICTORIA HALL. Tickets £12. Booking: [email protected] or call 01381 600354  Suitable for ages 12+ Generously supported by The Touring Network and brought to you jointly by the Cromarty Arts Trust and Resolis Community Arts.  

Guilty or innocent? You decide. Best-selling author Mark Bridgeman will be taking the part of judge, prosecution and defence when he presents the audience with a real-life murder trial - in which you become the jury. With evidence and exhibits from the case on show, a prize for the winner, and a Q&A with the author, this promises to be an event to remember. Silence in Court! Scottish based writer Mark Bridgeman released his first book, The River Runs Red, in 2019. The book became an instant success has been reprinted three times. Further bestselling titles, Blood Beneath Ben Nevis and The Dark Side of the Dales and The Lost Village of Lawers followed.

Native New Yorker Donna Freed was placed for adoption through the now-notorious Louise Wise Jewish adoption agency (featured in the film Three Identical Strangers), and after her adoptive mother passed away, she went searching for her origins. What she discovered was a jaw-dropping crime that landed her birth parents at the centre of one of the biggest police investigations of the 1960’s. Her memoir, Duplicity, My Mothers' Secrets was called “the most amazing and remarkable story” by The Today Show, and “a family scandal straight out of a Hollywood film noir” by The Spectator. Cromarty-based writer Nicola White has published numerous short stories and personal essays together with three acclaimed crime novels set in Dublin, for which she has variously won the Dundee International Book Prize, been shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize and chosen as Crime Fiction of the Year by the Irish Times and the Daily Express. She is currently working on a memoir of her childhood in New York in the 1960s, for which she has received major support from Creative Scotland. 

JD Kirk is a best-selling Scottish crime fiction author from Fort William.  He has sold over 2 million copies of his DCI Logan series, based in the Highlands and Islands. He wanted to be a writer from the age of nine, when a kindly librarian wrote his name on the spine of a notebook in which he’d written a terrible short story and put it on the shelf. Since then, he has written over 140 books for children as Barry Hutchison, over 15 books for adults as Barry J. Hutchison, and is now thoroughly enjoying murdering people as JD Kirk. F.E. Birch is an ex-cop from the North-East of England. She won the first Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect competition in 2012 with the premise for ‘She’s Not There’ her debut novel of 2022. The sequel, ‘Last Train Through Pitlochry’ will be published soon. Her most recent work ‘Maman’ introduces DS Joanna Armstrong, a top child protection detective, becomes the accused. Can Joanna to clear her name when everything seems stacked against her? Maman is a gripping tale of family, of loyalty, and most of all, truth and justice.

Join two of the UK's best known authors for an afternoon of wide-ranging and relaxed conversation followed by Q&A and book signings. Anthony Horowitz is one of the most prolific and successful writers working in the UK – and is unique for working across so many media, juggling writing books, TV series, films, plays and journalism. His work includes the bestselling teen spy series Alex Rider, two new Sherlock Holmes novels and continuation novels for James Bond. He created and wrote some of the UK’s most beloved and successful television series including Midsomer Murders and Foyle’s War. Close to Death, the fifth novel in Anthony’s Detective Hawthorne series (with a sidekick called Anthony Horowitz), will be published in Spring this year. Ian Rankin is a multimillion-copy worldwide bestseller of over thirty novels and creator of John Rebus. His books have been translated into thirty-six languages and have been adapted for radio, the stage and screen. Ian is the recipient of four Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Awards, including the Diamond Dagger, the UK’s most prestigious award for crime fiction. £15: Book by downloading this form and returning to [email protected]             Anthony Hororwitz - photograph by Jack Lawson

Saturday night is Crime Quiz Night in the Fishertown Inn. This will be a crime and thrillers-based quiz including a round of questions from the weekends authors, a great raffle and ‘Stick ‘em Up’ or ‘Cover Your A**s’, aka Heads & Tails! Quiz starts at 9pm, book directly with Fishertown Inn on 01381 600988 if you want dinner first.  

Marsali Taylor is a successful writer of puzzle-style mysteries set in contemporary Shetland. The stars of these books are a sailing, live-aboard sleuth called Cass Lynch and her love interest, DI Gavin Macrae. The plots are lively, page-turning and always have a surprise who-dun-it twist. Marsali’s writing beautifully showcases the local life, land and seascapes of Shetland. A retired teacher, still living next door to her former school, Marsali loves sailing around the voe in her boat. Death at a Shetland Festival is the latest in the Cass Lynch series and will be published in April. Sarah Smith is a writer from Glasgow whose debut novel, Hear No Evil, was published in 2022 and is inspired by the landmark case of Jean Campbell, the first deaf person to be tried in the High Court. 1817, Glasgow: Jean Campbell – a young deaf woman – is witnessed throwing a child into the river Clyde. If found guilty, she faces one of two fates: death by hanging or incarceration in an asylum. But Jean’s deafness leaves her isolated and unable to defend herself, until the authorities call in Robert Kinniburgh, a talented teacher from the Deaf & Dumb Institution. As Jean grows to trust Robert, she reveals what really happened on that bridge over the river Clyde. And Robert, now embroiled in this dark case, must act quickly to ensure justice is served, before it is too late. Hear No Evil was shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Crime Novel 2022, the Historical Writers Association Debut Crown 2022, and the CWA Historical Dagger 2023. It was Waterstone’s Scottish Book of the Month in February 2023. Marsali Taylor - photograph by Joan Baxter

Pasha Liffey was the last Black man – and the only Black African – to be executed in Scotland, hung for a murder in Larkhall (Lanarkshire) in 1905. He was only 24 and died despite the jury’s unanimous recommendation for mercy. Born in Lesotho in Southern Africa, Liffey had travelled to Britain three times. He was a stable boy, a performer around the UK in the exploitative 'Savage South Africa' show, a ‘runner’ for British troops during the Anglo-Boer War, a circus hand, groom, milkman, barman and boxer. He was guilty of a brutal murder but his life – with his descent into poverty and alcohol abuse – illustrates what it was to be young, poor, Black and isolated in Victorian and Edwardian Britain. David Alston has lived in Cromarty for over 35 years and was the founding curator of Cromarty Courthouse Museum. In 2022 his Slaves and Highlanders: Silenced Histories of Scotland and the Caribbean was named the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year. He has also published a number of articles in academic journals, mainly on Scotland and slavery, and he is the author of My Little Town of Cromarty, a social and economic history.

GC Fisher is the pen name for Gina Fegan, a lover of stories and award-winning film and theatre producer. She was born and raised in Ireland when curiosity, impatience and a need to earn a living led her to travel the world and have many careers. From waitressing, teaching English, running festivals to working on a building site as an engineer, she has had plenty of opportunities to meet the characters who now inspire her novels. Gina’s two Canterbury based books, written in lockdown, feature Maeve McPhillips, a reluctant psychic detective who discovers at the age of 40 that she can talk to the dead. Life with two teenage daughters, her eccentric mother and an unexpected house guest was hard enough during lockdown. Then a dead body turns up and her relationship with her boyfriend Det Inspector Maguire hits the rocks, Maeve has to come to terms with her growing powers. She must travel to Cromarty in Scotland to discover herself, but will she get there in time to stop the next murder?

Dr. Suzie Edge – Mortal Monarchs & Vital Organs Suzie Edge is a medical doctor and historian who has worked in a variety of medical specialties including infectious diseases, haematology, and trauma and orthopaedic surgery. She also studied for an MLitt in Modern History to feed her fascination for the history of the human body and the history of medicine.  Always on the lookout for gory historical details, Suzie loves telling stories of how we have treated our human bodies in life and in death. Her books Mortals Monarchs and Vital Organs tell of the grisly details for adults while her kids series History Stinks grosses out the children.  £15, booking with the booking form here, or email [email protected] If you’re aged between 8 and 16 make sure you sign up to the workshop Suzie is running with FE Birch and Heather J Fitt on Monday 5 May. Full details here.  

James Oswald interviewed by Heather J Fitt Unfortunately the originally billed author, Rob Parker is unwell and can no longer attend this year. Bestselling author of the Inspector McLean series, Oswald’s masterful storytelling will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. The most recent in the Edinburgh-based Inspector McLean series, The Rest Is Death, was published in February 2025. In his spare time, James runs a 350-acre livestock farm in Fife, where he raises pedigree Highland cattle. Heather J Fitt is the author of three crime novels published by Bloodhound Books: Open Your Eyes, The Flight and The Boat Trip. She started her career in publishing in 2018 after leaving the motor trade when she trained as an editor and proofreader with the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading. As well as working freelance, Heather also spent six years as a Commissioning Advisor for Bloodhound Books. £15, booking with the booking form here, or email [email protected]. If you’re aged between 8 and 16 make sure you sign up to the workshop Heather is running with FE Birch and Suzie Edge on Monday 5 May. Full details here. Photo - Bill Waters

Denise Mina and David Greig – The Darkland Tales Together, this renowned author and one of Scotland’s leading playwrights will discuss their work for Polygon’s compelling Darkland Tales series. Rizzio (Mina) and Columba’s Bones (Greig) are two books in this series that see Scotland’s best writers re-imagining stories from the country’s history, myth and legend. The Darkland Tales reclaim history for a modern audience, with Scotland’s greatest contemporary novelists and storytellers taking on the challenge of producing Scottish history viewed through a modern lens and alive to modern sensibilities.  It's a Saturday night in 1566 and Mary, Queen of Scots, is six months pregnant. She's hosting a supper party, secure in her private chambers. She doesn't know that her Palace is surrounded – that, right now, an army of men is creeping upstairs to her chamber. They're coming to murder David Rizzio, her friend and secretary. Rizzio is a breathtakingly tense work is a tale of sex, secrets and lies, one that explores the lengths that men – and women – will go to in the search for love and power. Denise Mina is the author of twenty one novels, six graphic novels, four plays and a bucket and a half of short stories.  She has variously won the Creasey Debut Dagger, the Theakston’s, the CWA Short Story Dagger, the MacIlvanny and Gordon Burn Prize and was short listed for the Costa for Novel of the Year. She regularly presents radio and television documentaries, can run like the wind and lives and works in Glasgow.  Columba’s Bones is a comic thriller set on the Island of Iona in the year 825. Grimur, a middle-aged Viking, is accidentally left behind by his colleagues after a brutal raid on the monastery. Alone and in enemy territory he has to survive the summer till his crew come back again. Also left on the island are the one surviving young monk and the Mead Wife. The three become unlikely allies in a gently comic story of love, theology, beekeeping and slaughter. David Greig is a well-known Scottish playwright, and in that capacity his work has been performed around the world, as well as the West End and Broadway. Columba’s Bones is his first novel. £15, booking with the booking form here, or email [email protected]  

Christopher Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman as Ambrose Parry Ambrose Parry is the pen name for husband and wife team Christopher Brookmyre and Dr Marisa Haetzman. Chris and Marisa will discuss their critically acclaimed historical crime series set in Victorian Edinburgh and how they have perfected the art of working together. Chris Brookmyre’s first novel, Quite Ugly One Morning, was published in 1996 and won the First Blood Award for the Best First Crime Novel of the Year. Many novels and awards later, his work has been adapted for television, the stage, radio, and in the case of Bedlam, a videogame. His most recent novel, The Cracked Mirror, won the 2024 McIlvanney Prize. Dr Marisa Haetzman was a consultant anaesthetist of twenty years’ experience before completing a Masters degree in the History of Medicine. Her dissertation research into the life of James Young Simpson and his discovery of the anaesthetic effects of chloroform led to her collaborating with Chris in writing the historical novel The Way of All Flesh, under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry. The first three books were all shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize. Their fourth novel, Voices of the Dead, was published in June 2023, and was also shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger. £15, booking with the booking form here, or email [email protected]  

Mull Historical Society / Colin MacIntyre — In My Mind There’s A Room Bringing his worlds of words and music together, Colin MacIntyre’s (aka Mull Historical Society) ninth album, In My Mind There’s a Room, features an all-star cast of literary giants who have penned words about a special room that plays, or has played, a significant part in their lives. Hear it performed live and introduced by Ian Rankin. Ian’s contribution is about his childhood bedroom, ‘My Bedroom Was My Rocket Ship.’ Join Colin for an evening conjuring the spaces which have launched a thousand stories. £12, booking with the booking form here, email [email protected] or use the Eventbrite link here. Colin MacIntyre Colin MacIntyre is a multi-award-winning musician, producer, author for adults and children, and playwright, who has been voted Scotland’s Top Creative Talent. Born into a family of storytellers and writers, he was raised on the isle of Mull in the Hebrides and has released 8 acclaimed albums to date, most notably under the moniker Mull Historical Society. A songwriting junkie since childhood, he had written & recorded 300 songs before he even secured a record deal (with Rough Trade, then Warner Records). He has achieved two UK Top 20 albums and four Top 40 singles to date, since his Gold-selling debut album, 'Loss'. His new MHS album, ‘Wakelines’ has been released to critical acclaim and was produced by Mercury/Brit-Award-winning Producer Bernard Butler. Mull’s local hero status secured, he has been celebrated globally, having been voted Scotland's Top Creative Talent at the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards, as well #12 in the Greatest Scottish Artists of All Time public poll, and his single ‘Watching Xanadu’ made STV’s ’Scottish Greatest Album'. Colin has collaborated with a range of artists including Irvine Welsh, Annie Lennox, Snow Patrol, King Creosote, Tony Benn (appearing in Benn’s famous Diaries) and has toured worldwide, including with REM, The Strokes, and Elbow. He has appeared across the board on TV and Radio, in the UK and abroad, including ‘Later with Jools Holland’, 'The Jonathan Ross Show’ and MTV.   

Ian Rankin and Colin MacIntyre in conversation Ian Rankin, the icon of Scottish crime fiction icon returns to Cromarty to discuss the enduring appeal of Detective Inspector Rebus and his latest best seller, Midnight and Blue.  Ian will be in conversation with award-winning musician and novelist Colin MacIntyre. As a musician, under the moniker of the Mull Historical Society, Colin MacIntyre has eight albums to his name and his first book, The Letters of Ivor Punch, won the Edinburgh International Book Festival First Book Award in 2015 as well as the Guardian’s Not the Booker Prize. He has been voted Scotland’s Top Creative Talent at the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards. Set on Mull, Colin’s When the Needle Drops is a gripping crime drama.  Make sure you catch Colin performing live on Saturday night as the Mull Historical Society  £15, booking with the booking form here, or email [email protected]

Dr. Maria McLennan – The Craft of Forensics: Forensics, Jewellery, and Facial Reconstruction.  Dr Maria Maclennan, is an award-winning academic researcher, designer, and forensic artist. Originally from the Black Isle, Maria is currently a Senior Lecturer in Jewellery and Silversmithing at The University of Edinburgh. Her work as the world’s first ‘Forensic Jeweller’ involves carefully dissecting jewellery’s role in a variety of forensic and criminal contexts, following the trail of clues that objects leave behind on both the body and at crime scenes. Drawing upon her work with international police and investigative agencies across the globe, Maria will invite the audience to put on their detective hat, pick up their jeweller’s loupe, and embark on a true-crime adventure using jewellery as an investigative lens. Maria will also touch upon the intricate process of craniofacial reconstruction, and how the power of art and science can combine to reconstruct faces of the deceased. £15, booking with the booking form here, or email [email protected]  

Children & Young Peoples Day - The Mystery of the Missing Macaroni Pies For the first time ever, Cromarty Crime & Thrillers Weekend will include a day of mystery solving and creative writing for a younger audience.  Young sleuths will solve The Mystery of the Missing Macaroni Pies, a specially written work set in the Cromarty Bakery. They will then spend the afternoon working together on a group mystery story plus some of their own stories which will be published in an anthology later in the year. Every person attending will receive a free copy of the book. Author and workshop leader from Wire Scribblers, Rob Parker has developed the day with fellow author and ex-police officer FE (Sharon) Birch.  Sharon will be joined by authors Heather J Fitt and Suzie Edge. Suzies new book for children Wee, Snot & Slime Through Time : History Stinks will be published at the end of April. Having visited several thousand children in school settings around the country since 2016, Rob has seen what works and what doesn't - and seen the change in emphasis the teaching of creative writing has taken. This workshop aims to bring back the fun and simple joy to writing stories, giving the power and confidence back to the children themselves. There is no right answer, no wrong answer, just your own imagination and the excitement of creation. Suitable for ages 8-16, the day costs £20 per person or just £5 if you live in an IV11 postcode. Includes a free goodie bag! Bring a drink and a packed lunch. To book, download this booking form or email [email protected]  This event is generously supported by the Middleton Trust.