Murder in Hags Hollow
by Sam Dounis
Rowena McCluskey’s typical Hag’s Hollow life of lunches, crochet, and the Scottish Women’s Institute has been turned upside down by two murders that the local police have dismissed as an accident and suicide.
Given that the first victim was Rowena’s ex-husband, and the second was the man she had accused of murdering him, she appoints herself as lead detective of a gang that consists of one of her more directionless ex-pupils, and the childhood sweetheart who broke her heart.
If she can find enough evidence to convince the police to reopen the case, then perhaps she won’t just catch a killer; she might also have a second chance at love with the one who got away.
But murderers don’t want to get caught, so she’ll have to be discreet if she doesn’t want to be the third victim. Unfortunately, Rowena’s not known for her discretion…
A Full-Circle Book Festival Appearance
One of the most exciting things to happen this summer (for me, anyway!) was being offered the opportunity to appear at Bloody Scotland as part of its Crime In The Spotlight programme. If you haven’t heard of it, Bloody Scotland is Scotland’s international crime…
Writing The Book You Want To Read
I always come away from an evening at the Edinburgh Writers’ Forum, held at The Edinburgh Bookshop, feeling good about life. Speaking to such a diverse group of writers, and hearing of their many and varied achievements, is quite simply life-affirming. As a…
About Sam Dounis
Sam Dounis is the author of the Hag’s Hollow Murder Mysteries, the first instalment of which, Murder In Hag’s Hollow, was released in June 2026.
She lives in Edinburgh with her husband, Paul, and their dog, Kimber, and together they spend a lot of time in Highland Perthshire, where we find the fictional village of Hag’s Hollow.
Sam has recently taken up knitting, so it seems inevitable that a character in the next book will either be a knitter, or be learning how to knit!
