Mull mysteries explained by author of new book set on the island

The book is the first in a new series of crime novels called the Mull Mysteries, which centre on strange happenings on the island.

 

It is the first time Colin has specifically named Mull as the setting of a story and he has "resurrected" his protagonist from his first book, Sergeant Ivor Punch, for the release. 

 

The idea came to him while working on a stage adaptation of his first novel "The Letters of Ivor Punch".

 

But Ivor is not the same as he was previously.

 

Colin explained: "Ivor is younger in When The Needle Drops. He’s actively in the job, in his 40s. In the first book he was retired in his 70s.

 

"He’s more vibrant, but still gruff. He sees himself as the island’s custodian and takes locals’ keys if they’ve had too much at the pub.

 

"He’s old fashioned, a loner who questions the mainland - nothing against Oban though!

 

"It’s a personal peeling back of Ivor, showing his soft side and kindness."

 

The book sees the bureaucratic Ivor clash with the modern thinking of the fresh-faced rookie from the mainland PC Cluny as they tackle the disappearance of a plane, its pilot and a young girl. 

 

If that sounds familiar, it is because Colin MacIntyre was influenced by the famous Mull air mystery of 1975, in which pilot and musician Peter Gibbs’ uninjured but decompsed body was found a mile away from the Glenforsa Hotel with his plane nowhere in sight.  

 

Colin said the mystery was an influence he felt he "wanted to work with for a while".

 

He continued: "While it is based on true events, the book is fictional. But through that story telling it shows what makes islands different.

 

"Growing up, Mull was my reality, but it’s also a landscape for the imagination to go wild. There are great stories and people to dive into.

 

"I felt this book had to be locked down more, the place is even more important. When writing the book I walked the same streets as Ivor, places like Tobermory and Glengorm. It felt like a really nice focus."

 

"When The Needle Drops" has been in the making for a long time, being written while Colin recorded his album "In My Mind There’s A Room".

 

Thanks to that album, the book was almost delayed and potentially different, as MacIntyre revealed that while fulfilling a dream of recording at the famous Abbey Road studios in London, he left the hard copy with his amendment notes in a taxi. Luckily, the copy was handed to workers at Paddington Station.