A WRITER has chosen Millport as the key setting for an exciting new spy thriller. 
San Diego author Edwin Deas fell in love with the island as a schoolchild in Edinburgh and even though he lives across the other side of the pond, he and his wife always make a pilgrimage to the west coast of Scotland every year for three months.
Now it plays a key part in his latest novel, entitled 'Six in Cambridge?'.
He said: "The lead character called Dr Calum Davies is in Cambridge and his wife is going to a conference and he stumbled into this woman who is looking for her father who was the sixth of a famous group of spies who came out of the Cambridge Five, including Philby and Blunt.
"The Isle of Cumbrae plays the central part as Calum, his wife and friends enjoy living around Cumbrae, and it all centres around a golf tournament. 
"Some of the characters from Cambridge such as the government people are really ticked off at Calum for interfering, and have followed him to Cumbrae, and it allows me to re-introduce some of the Cumbrae characters from my first novel 'Crises on the Cumbraes' which was released around two years ago.
"The characters on Cumbrae certainly resonate with me - and you may notice some of the personalities.
"There are a few well known places which get a mention in the book including The Minstrel Restaurant, Fraser's Bar, Newton's Bar and The Ritz cafe all get a glowing mention."
Edwin is based in a mobile caravan home at Westbourne looking out to Arran and uses it as his inspiration for his novels.
He told the News: "I love it in Millport."
Six in Cambridge is available on Amazon, with paperback and Kindle editions.