Liam Ashe - Liam Ashe

Meet Elle Cunningham Mackay

Life has a way of catching up with you. Just ask Elle. Still on the sunny side of 40, Elspeth (Elle) Cunningham Mackay admits she has made her share of questionable choices. OK, more than her share. But she never thought her looming midlife crisis would start with a nasty divorce, unemployment and several dead bodies.

Meet Elle Cunningham Mackay

Life has a way of catching up with you. Just ask Elle. Still on the sunny side of 40, Elspeth (Elle) Cunningham Mackay admits she has made her share of questionable choices. OK, more than her share. But she never thought her looming midlife crisis would start with a nasty divorce, unemployment and several dead bodies.

A professional author and Scottish historian, Elle is relying on her keen mind and mile-wide stubborn streak as she fights for a new start. Now, it would help if people around her would stop dying. Elle's Scottish-flavored mysteries will immerse you in a world of kilts, bagpipes, Highlands, and haggis. Her first title, Thou Shalt Not Kilt, will be published in Summer 2020.

Latest Update

Types of Mysteries, Part I

By Liam Ashe

January 1, 2020

There really must be a murder, or at least a major felony — otherwise, what's the point? Who's ripping off the hand towels at the Dorchester Hotel is hardly the business of a mystery novel. — Howard Haycraft When I say I am a novice writer, people ask, “What kind of books do you write?” “Well,” I answer, “I’m writing a mystery.” “Ooh,” they often reply, “I love Agatha Christie.” While it’s not exactly a bullseye, it’s a good place…

Coming Next

The Earl of Hell's Waistcoat

As owner of the eccentric and unapologetically odd Arca Noctis curiosities market, Emery Vaughn knows that it takes more than just curiosity to kill a cat. In fact, the trinkets of death (the more bizarre the better) are his specialty. The hunt—whether it's for a rumored codex from an ancient cult, a fabled death mask of a forgotten film star or a mythical relic with a blood-soaked past—keeps Emery in the game and, more often, in grave danger. His first adventure, The Earl of Hell's Waistcoat, will publish in late 2020.

Helmortem Hall

Elderly Hannah Helmortem's death came as a welcome surprise. For years, the spiteful recluse kept you and your fellow heirs on a tight leash. Now the village gossips have begun to whisper, was it old age or murder that did the old harpy in? And who among her heirs could be greedy—or desperate—enough to hasten Helmortem's demise? As more bodies turn up, you'll need to think fast and pay close attention to claim your fair share of Hannah's fortune. Helmortem Hall is a custom card game launching in late 2020 through Knave Publishing.

Helmortem Hall

Elderly Hannah Helmortem's death came as a welcome surprise. For years, the spiteful recluse kept you and your fellow heirs on a tight leash. Now the village gossips have begun to whisper, was it old age or murder that did the old harpy in? And who among her heirs could be greedy—or desperate—enough to hasten Helmortem's demise? As more bodies turn up, you'll need to think fast and pay close attention to claim your fair share of Hannah's fortune. Helmortem Hall is a custom card game launching in late 2020 through Knave Publishing.