Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Watch Them Fall by Marion Todd Series: DI Clare MacKay #10
Published by Canelo on March 12, 2026
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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DI Clare Mackay will be pushed to her limits as the bodies begin to pile up. A body is hauled out of St Andrews harbour. The cause of death – a blow to the back of the head. DI Clare Mackay and her team are immediately suspicious. This was no accident. Local Dennis Gibb was murdered.
Meanwhile a string of burglaries across town divide Clare’s attention and she is drawn into a world of property developers, holiday lets and protestors determined to put a stop to the new building works.
When another person linked to Dennis is murdered, the investigation becomes even more urgent and Clare is led down a winding path to local secrets, hidden animosity and dodgy business deals…
The DI Clare Mackay series is one I’ve really enjoyed. I’ve listened to a few of the earlier books on audio, which are narrated by the author. They are available on Hoopla. Everything is from Clare’s point of view and she leads her team. I would read these in order due to the personal and career developments of Clare and her team members.
I was happy to get back to Clare and her team in Watch Them Fall. But things were kind of weird. Al has taken a job which has him away 3 nights a week for teaching. She and Chris aren’t working together well; it’s rather irritating. Claire has a new boss with her own agenda, more political, and not so much for protect and serve.
I appreciated watching Clare as she dealt with the personal issues of missing Al and struggled with whether she should have taken his old position which was offered. But she does like her current team and work. Al is ever supportive when he is home and understands her long hours.
The team’s time is split between a huge protest march coming up, some burglaries where it doesn’t seem like anything is taken, and some well disguised murders. Clare handles them well but is short of staff, particularly for the protest. Through careful digging of information, she eventually gets enough to pursue the culprits. One of them does a runner. And the protest is as much a disaster as Clare suspected.
About Marion Todd
Marion grew up in the City of Dundee, now home to the magnificent V&A Museum. Always a keen writer, she has had point-of-view pieces published in the Dundee Courier and short stories in My Weekly magazine. She won first prize in the Family Circle Magazine Short Story for Children Competition in 1987.
Before becoming a full-time writer, Marion worked as a lecturer, candle-maker and hotel lounge pianist, a job which provided rich material for her novels.
In 2018 Marion was long-listed for the Sunstory Award and the Scottish Arts Council Short Story Award and in 2019 was short-listed for Dundee Rep’s Stripped programme.
More recently, Marion has turned her hand to crime fiction and in 2020 was shortlisted for the prestigious Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year award with her novel See Them Run, the first in the DI Clare Mackay crime series.
Marion lives in North East Fife overlooking the River Tay and is a sometime babysitter for her daughter’s unruly but lovable dog.
Marion is published by Canelo and represented by Northbank Talent Management.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 26-COYER
Glad you’re still enjoying the series 10 books in, Anne💜
I like this series and these police procedurals. The author voices the audio books herself and they are on Hoopla.
A lot going on for her besides the case. I like when mysteries have the life incidentals filling in the details like this.
yes I like personal growth and relationships paired along with the police procedurals.
Sounds like a good mix between case and personal concerns.
yes and this is one of the better series I have read.
Nice to know they’re on Hoopla! I think I’d enjoy these if I didn’t have a few million books to read already, haha!
yes, these female detective main character series are ones I enjoy but it can be a fine line. This one is good and Kim Stone is excellent. Some of the others are just not as compelling.
Despite so much going on, it sounds like she had a handle on it. Great review.
Thanks Kimberly. This is a series where I like the characters and there is usually a good plot / pace.
AI! D:
This is a solid read police series.