Literary Locations of Craig Robertson

Submitted: 11th September 2025

Literary Locations of Craig Robertson

Just one more sleep to Bloody Scotland so a mini tour around the books of Craig Robertson is a must!

The Trials of Marjorie Crowe Craig Robertson

Books by Craig Robertson

Kilgoyne – The Trials of Majorie Crowe.

Kilgoyne lies in west central Scotland, in a space between the real-life villages of Drymen and Killearn. This was a case where the character came first – Marjorie is a reclusive eccentric who the locals think is a witch, and who walks the same route round and through the village, at the same time, twice a day, every day. So, I needed a village for her to walk round and I knew it had to be fictional as the locals don’t come out of it very well. But that allowed me to design a place that suited me and have everything where I needed it to be.

Books by Craig Robertson

The book is still very much a crime novel, just stripped of much of the police procedural elements and with a “civilian” at the heart. I wanted to look at how society treats people it sees as different, so I felt that was best done by writing from the outsider’s point of view.

The Last Refuge Craig Robertson

Books by Craig Robertson

FAROE ISLANDS

The Last Refuge

Faroe Islands

You head up to the Faroe Islands with The Last Refuge. Why there?

It was just the right location for that book. I had an idea for a story about an outsider pitched up in those remote islands in the North Atlantic and sometimes a book just demands to be written. The more I researched the Faroes, the more I wanted to go and the more I knew I wanted to write a book there.

Books by Craig Robertson

I went for a week, toured as much as I could, talked to as many people as I would speak to me, and tried to get a feel of the place. It’s a place shaped by its environment and very much at the mercy of the elements, everything revolves around the sea and has created a remarkably dramatic landscape and fascinating people.

Books by Craig Robertson

Everything surprised me about the Faroes. The islands are quite unlike anywhere I’ve ever been; shades of Orkney and Shetland of course, similarities to parts of Iceland, but somewhere all its own. I went back there last month with my wife and friends and was pleased that they found it just as beautiful, cinematic, weird and wonderful as I did. It feels like the edge of the world, probably because it is. Its nature at its rawest and yet stunning, with a photo opportunity on every bend.

Witness the Dead Craig Robertson

Books by Craig Robertson

Narey & Winter Series

You’ve written eight books in the series all set in Glasgow……..

Glasgow is Scotland’s biggest and best city, even Edinburghers will tell you that.

(BookTrail…now then….)

The Gallery of Modern Art:

Books by Craig Robertson

It’s friendly, funny, confrontational and diverse, rich in language, history, culture and architecture. People make Glasgow though and the city pulses with those who live there. It’s raw meat and drink for a crime writer, with a character on every corner. It’s also a city of contrasts, often with no more than a hard hundred yards stare between wealth and poverty.

I worked in Glasgow for 20 years before turning to writing full-time and still have family there so I’m in the city every week. It’s ever evolving but the people stay the same and they’re the heartbeat of the city and my books.

Books by Craig Robertson

Necropolis:

Books by Craig Robertson

If I were to give a tour of the city with Narey and Winter? Well, he’d probably take people to the Station Bar in Cowcaddens or the Necropolis. She’d be more likely to suggest The Gallery of Modern Art, any of the bars and restaurants in Finnieston, or maybe the Hidden Lane Tea Room. Together, they’d go wherever the bodies were buried, and I’d follow.

Finnich Glen

The Robertson Trail …….

Choose one location where to take readers…..

So many to choose from… I think I’ll go for the Devil’s Pulpit which features prominently in The Trials of Marjorie Crowe. More officially known as Finnich Glen it’s a stunningly dramatic gorge near Drymen cut by the Carnock Burn. The water runs blood red because of the sandstone-rich sediment. With tight bends and otherworldly rock faces, it’s beautiful, spooky, incredibly photogenic and the perfect place for a crime writer to leave a body or two.

And on that note…..