Blood in the Glens

Jean McLennan

Jean McLennan is a retired lawyer with a lifetime interest in criminal law. Now an honorary sheriff based in Wick, she has a measured insight into some of the most interesting and horrific crimes committed in the Highlands over the past 60 years. A former law partner has described her book Blood in the Glens as not just a recitation of lifeless facts but a vivid and fascinating account of wrongdoing and its consequences.

Jean introduces the reader to how murder cases are prosecuted under the distinctive legal system of Scotland followed by example cases set in the Highlands. Included are both solved and unsolved cases such as the Renee and Andrew MacRae disappearance and the Alistair Wilson murder. The overwhelming feel from the book is one of sympathy for the victims and extended family and inquisitiveness into the reasons behind murderers’ motives. All accounts are straightforward, told with authority and no salacious details or sensationalism.

Come to hear Jean talk to Susan Welsh from the Press & Journal about why she wrote this book, the process of researching and writing it and the cases featured.