Marsali Taylor: Words and Hard Work: How a Book Comes Together.

Marsali’s first Shetland-set crime novel starring quick-witted, practical, sailor Cass Lynch and Inverness DI Gavin Macrae was published in 2013. Marsali, herself a qualified dinghy instructor, enjoys sailing Shetland waters in her 8m keelboat. Her books, now numbering twelve in the series, are rooted in the natural world and seasons of Shetland, but also include issues important to remote communities. Many involve a folklore element. Reviewers have praised their clever plotting, lively characters and vividly evoked settings.

Marsali’s latest book in the series is entitled Death at a Shetland Festival. According to Ann Cleeves, “This series is a must-read for anyone who loves the sea, or islands, or joyous intricate storytelling”.

Marsali’s interest in history is shown in her self-published Women’s Suffrage in Shetland and Norse-set crime novella Footsteps in the Dew. She also transcribed the diaries of Ysabel Birkbeck, a WW1 ambulance driver with the Scottish Women’s Hospital on the Romanian Front, and self-published them as Forgotten Heroines.

Marsali is looking forward to getting back to crime conferences. Previous enjoyable attendances include being the murderer in a play by Alanna Knight at Bloody Scotland, and being involved in the 2015 and 2023 Shetland Noir Festivals.

Host or Publisher Pentlands Book Festival