Hailed as one of the finest Scottish crime writers of his generation, Denzil Meyrick, author of the DCI Daley series passed on the 14th February 2025. The news was announced by his agent Jo Bell on the 18th February. 

Denzil Meyrick was born in Glasgow on 28th November 1965 and was brought up in Campbeltown. He studied politics then went on to spend time as a police officer, freelance journalist and director of several companies. 

Denzil Meyrick's Books 

Meyrick's DCI Daley series and a number of standalone thrillers were published by Birlinn and they have said "Denzil – along with his characters – will always be remembered as a friend to the Birlinn team. He was a one-off. We were lucky to know him and our thoughts go out to his wife, Fiona."

Every book in the successful DCI Daley series reached the number one slot in Audible's bestselling UK audiobooks charts. The first book in the series Whisky From Small Glasses is a top seller to this day and was awarded Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year Award in 2015. The full list of DCI Daley titles can be found here:

·      Whisky from Small Glasses

·      The Last Witness

·      Dark Suits and Sad Songs

·      The Rat Stone Serenade

·      Well of the Winds

·      The Relentless Tide

·      A Breath on Dying Embers

·      Jeremiah’s Bell

·      For Any Other Truth

·      The Death of Remembrance

·      No Sweet Sorrow

Readers can also revisit Kinloch in Meyrick's three novellas: A Large Measure of Snow, A Toast to the Old Stones and Ghosts in the Gloaming – and a collection of DCI Daley short stories, One Last Dram Before Midnight.

Here at LoveReading we have long been fans of Denzil Meyrick's writing, our latest review of his works was for The Christmas Stocking Murders, an entertaining festive murder mystery treat that brings two detectives to a snowed-in fishing village just in time for Christmas. However we have also loved reading his DCI Daley series set in Glasgow and the fictional close-knit community of Kinloch, and his standalone thrillers. The Estate was published in May 2024. Last Orders, another DCI Daley, is set to publish on 22nd May 2025.

Praise for Denzil Meyrick

As well as being loved by readers he has received plenty of praise from his peers and the press during his career with quoted reviews from Ian Rankin, The Times, Wall Street Journal, The Herald, Irish Times, Undiscovered Scotland and more. 

‘You’ll have a blast with these’ Ian Rankin

‘If you have never read one of Meyrick’s mysteries now is the time’ The Times

‘Deserves to be up there with the best’ LoveReading

‘Universal truths . . . engaging and eventful’ The Wall Street Journal

‘The right amount of authenticity . . . gritty writing . . . most memorable’ The Herald

‘Deftly plotted . . . satisfyingly nuanced and complex’ Irish Times

‘A first-class, fast-moving thriller, brilliantly atmospheric, all in a setting in which the cold of winter is not the only chill’ crimereview.co.uk

‘This is a book that deserves to be read by all lovers of Scottish crime fiction – or, indeed, of any crime fiction’ Undiscovered Scotland

‘Meyrick has a light touch other crime writers don’t have. Highly readable and enjoyable’Scotland on Sunday

‘Jim Daley and Brian Scott are like a fine cask whisky. They improve each and every year. What a fabulous read, compelling to the very end’ David Gilchrist, Founder of UK Crime Club

We mourn Denzil Meyrick's all too soon loss, and will remember his trademark dark humour and his gutsy, compelling tales.