'A fine, rich, beautiful historical thriller - literate, engaging and moving' Manda Scott. 'MacLean has the first-rate historical novelist's gift... communicates her passion for the period without downplaying its brutishness' Daily Telegraph. 'A substantial story, well researched, never slackening pace' Scotsman. 'Combines the ironclad plotting of Sansom with the artful recreation of Mantel' Independent.

About the Author

S.G. MacLean has a PhD in history from Aberdeen University. She is the author of two historical crime series - The Alexander Seaton series, set in seventeenth-century Scotland, and the Damian Seeker series, set in Oliver Cromwell's London, as well as the standalone Jacobite thriller, The Bookseller of Inverness. She has been shortlisted four times for the CWA Historical Dagger, winning it twice. S.G. MacLean lives in Conon Bridge, Scotland.

Reviews

Pacy and literate. Such is the quality of the recreation, not only of the reeking ebb and flow of everyday life but also of the period mindset that it's easy to believe Satan is walking abroad ... accomplished and thought-provoking - GuardianRichly laden with historical detail but MacLean wears her scholarship lightly. Flashes of humour ensure that the sympathy remains with Seaton, an entertaining narrator. An absorbing foray into Scottish history - Times Literary SupplementThe vivid evocation of a particular time and place by an author whose uncle was Alistair MacLean and who is herself a historian specialising in 16th and 17th century Scotland. She has used her gifts to the full to create a truly memorable and exciting read - Historical Novels Review