September 1939, and war is declared.
For Bob and Annie Kelty, life will never be the same again, not least because they are forced to foster 12-year-old Ellen Laing, an evacuee from Finnieston in Glasgow.
Amid growing tensions between the Glasgow evacuees and the residents of the sleepy village of Crieff, the feisty and quick-tempered Ellen struggles to settle. Ellen’s schoolteacher, Miss Carrington, who seems to take an immediate dislike to her, exacerbates her problems.
There is something sinister about Lorna Carrington.
As war rages in Europe, there are problems closer to home. A series of arson attacks rock the village.
Locals blame the evacuees, but as he investigates, Bob Kelty begins to suspect a different, more surprising, source.
Barvick Falls by Rob McInroy is published on 20 October, 2025. It’s his latest Bob and Annie Kelty novel.
Read Rob’s feature about the historical background to his previous novel, Moot, in The Moot at Monzie: international friendship in the shadow of the Second World War.
If you enjoy historical fiction, our list of over 200 books published this year can suggest some more reading for you.
