On the evening of October 18, 1913 six bullets were fired from a revolver, hitting all three occupants of a tiny living room in North Bank Cottage, Portencross.

Mary Gunn, 49, lay dead from a shot to the heart. The unknown assailant had fired the shots through a tiny window of the little cottage before escaping into the night, never to be captured or even identified – until perhaps now.

West Kilbride author Stephen Brown may have solved the 105 year old mystery.

In the first of four exclusive extracts from his latest book, he looks at the mysterious murder of Mary Gunn, shot dead in 1913.

See this week's Herald for the full installment.