Samplers Edition: D. V. Bishop's Shadow of Madness (2026) and Lin Anderson's The High Island (2026)

In this first Sampler Edition, Mal will be taking a look at two Samplers she picked up from Theakstons Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival. A sampler is a small taster section from the beginning of a new or upcoming novel. The two we'll be looking at today are:

• D. V. Bishop's Shadow of Madness (2026)
• Lin Anderson's The High Island (2026)

'Shadow of Madness' is the sixth in the Cesare Aldo series set in 14th Century Florence. 'The High Island' is the first in a potential new series focusing on the Orkneys and Erling Flett who has featured in Anderson's long running Rhona MacLeod series. Obviously, this will be a little different from our usual episodes. In this episode, I'll give you a brief overview of the author and the series, you'll hear how the book is described in the summary from 'the back of the book' and then you'll hear about the questions these samplers threw up about the series for an out of order reader.

As this is not a deep dive episode, if you're interested in these authors and their series, I would recommend taking a look at some of the sources I've used below. Note: I made a slip in the episode saying that Anderson said 'The High Island' was very much an Orkney novel focusing on Flett, but actually she was talking about 'The Dead and the Dying'.

Email: outoforderbookclub@outlook.com

Useful links and helpful sources:

D. V. Bishop's Website

D. V. Bishop's Substack: There is lots of stuff here for writers both experienced and aspiring. The articles provide a really interesting insight into writing historical fiction in particular.

Page One Interview with D. V. Bishop: This is an interview from 2025. He goes through his 5 favourite/influential books at the end and the genesis of the Cesare Aldo series with in an insight into his approach into getting it published.

Aldocast: As mentioned in the episode, each episode covers one of the Aldo books. I think it would be of interest if you are Aldo-curious or you've read the series so far.

The Girl with all the Crime Books: This interview is from 2022. This was a really interesting and wide-ranging interview and I referred to it in the episode.

EMWigsters Bookshelf: This interview is from 2024. Another useful and interesting interview that provided me with background.

Lin Anderson's Blog: This is an up-to-date blog, so this is very useful if you're interested in recent information about Anderson's work.

Rhona MacLeod website: This is an older website, and I'm not sure it has been kept updated, but if you're familiar and a fan of the MacLeod series then it's worth dipping into.

BBC Orkney/Stewart Bain interview with Lin Anderson: This interview from last year focused on The Dead and the Dying, the most recent Rhona MacLeod novel, and Anderson's relationship with the Orkney islands

In the Orkney Room: This interview is from 2012. This is a really interesting interview, as Anderson was less than halfway through the MacLeod series (as it is now), so the reflection on series writing and her approaching was great to listen to.

The Scotsman interview with Lin Anderson: This is from 2008. This provided some great context about the MacLeod series and where her ideas come from.

BBC interview with Lin Anderson : This was promoting The Killing Tide. This is another MacLeod novel set in the Orkney islands where she talks about her interest in the area.