Given the choice, you wouldn’t swap lives with Grace McGill. She’s a trauma cleaner - cleaning up wheb someone dies and is left undiscovered for months after their death. This, whilst trying to handle her past and the emotionally abusive father who expects to be waited on hand and foot. But one day during a cleaning job she stumbles across something which sets Grace off on a path for answers. I only discovered after reading that this is from the same author as Random and Murderabilia, I wasn't surprised by this, as the quality is obvious, and I love this foray into a more psychological mystery.

The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill is a fantastic and highly accomplished novel. Grace is a truly original narrator, and as she reveals more of herself and her story you realise that the book is taking a very different turn and everything you have read needs to be reconsidered. It certainly fits into the category of thrillers but there is so much more to the book than that. You really come to care about Grace, and the historic crime that she uncovers throws up many more uncomfortable questions. The descriptions of Glasgow and the Isle of Bute are evocative and give the book a real sense of place. She decides to visit the island of Bute to get a feel for the missing girl. But someone is watching her every move!

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There is a mystery at the heart of this whole story, with a fated summer on Bute playing a key part in the progression of the story. I loved the nod to the wonderful town of Rothesay, and the island as a whole, to the residents and businesses that make it a truly special place to visit. With one quite important exception, CS Robertson has captured the heart and spirit of the place, and I could picture each of the landmarks as he described them, bringing a smile to my face, and a pang of regret too that the pandemic has prevented any trips to the island the last couple of years. Knowing how welcoming a place it is, the sense of threat that the author manages to underline the narrative with gave it an extra edginess that just made the tension greater and my need to get to the truth grow.

Grace McGill is a 'death cleaner', after a corpse has been removed from a house Grace goes in and deeps cleans. Grace has a niche in cleaning up the 'undiscovered' which have sometimes been decaying for weeks or months. This is an edgily satisfying, very uncomfortable read, with a central character whom ‘in real life’ one would probably want to avoid – she is hardly the most socially skilful, appealing person to encounter. The clearly misnamed ‘Grace’ who seems to have none of the qualities, physical, emotional, spiritual which might go along with expectations of the qualities association with ‘Grace’, is, oddly, someone whom, on reflection, after finishing the book, had this reader wryly smiling. Grace may not be in any obvious way full-of-Grace – and yet, and yet….A premise that, gratifyingly, delivers the goods in spades and does so with a superbly well drawn cast of characters and a rather unique, well written, often dark narrative. Compelling and wholly engaging reading. Top notch’ Twisted, twisting, original .... The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill is unforgettable' CHRIS WHITAKER When people die alone and undiscovered, it’s her job to clean up what’s left behind – whether it’s clutter, bodily remains or dark secrets. When an old man lies undetected in his flat for months, it seems an unremarkable life and an unnoticed death.