In The Grave Tattoo, suspense master Val McDermid spins a psychological thriller in which a present-day murder has its roots in the eighteenth century and the mutiny on the H.M.S. Bounty. After torrential summer rains uncover a bizarrely tattooed body on a Lake District hillside, a long-disregarded old wives' tale takes on a chilling new plausibility. For centuries, Lakelanders have whispered that Fletcher Christian, made infamous by Mutiny on the...

In 1789, the English ship H.M.S. Bounty begins a two-year mission. The ship travels to Tahiti to obtain breadfruit plants that will provide cheap food for slaves in the West Indies, the Bounty's final destination. The captain is William Bligh, a vicious taskmaster who doesn't flinch at giving two dozen lashes to any malcontent on board, for the most minor of infractions. The first mate is Lt. Fletcher Christian, who despises Bligh but has somehow...