Kinloch Tales: the collected stories

Denzil Meyrick has written three novellas about when Hamish was a young fisherman working on the boat, the Girl Maggie, captained by Sandy Hoynes in Kinloch. The three novellas - A Large Measure of Snow, A Toast to the Old Stones and Ghosts in the Gloaming - were originally published separately as books and in electronic formats but have now been published in one volume. 

Each story is set in Kinloch in Scotland in the winters of 1967 and 1968 and also contain flashbacks to when Sandy was a boy early in the twentieth century. The Viking connection in the history of the region features strongly in the three tales. The appearance of a huge silver gull guiding those who are lost back to safety is also an omen.

In A Large Measure of Snow Sandy and Hamish set out in a storm to bring needed supplies back to Kinloch. On this voyage they are accompanied by a journalist who happens to be a woman - females were considered bad luck on fishing boats. Like the other stories there is much humour in the tale, especially when Sandy accidentally takes a drug that causes him to 'encounter' lobsters on the ship.

A Toast to Old Stones features the celebration by some of the fishermen of the old New Year. They travel to an isolated location to visit the old stones - important remains from the Viking past. Needless to say all does not go entirely to plan.

In Ghosts in the Gloaming a person from Sandy's past returns to Kinloch and continues to cause trouble for Sandy. Sandy and Hamish retreat from the town for a time however, when a boat is found drifting in the sea, Sandy's friends set out to rescue them.

In each of the stories Hona, the Viking from past times, arrives to help when all seems lost. He explains to Sandy about the 'pull of the Thin Places' where lives of people in different time zones can connect. Although originally written as three short books, combined in Kinloch Tales they form one coherent story. We also learn more about Hamish, an important character in the DCI Daley series of books.