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goonerette's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
the_sassy_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
I really quite enjoyed this book! The story is rich with detail and emotion, and suspense. A wonderfully detailed account 17th century Scotland with a great cast of characters. A wonderful debut novel and I look forward to reading more from this author!!
winters's review
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
saraheholtom's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
fictionfan's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent beginning...
A storm is raging in Banff in the north-east of Scotland as Alexander Seaton makes his way home from the inn so, when he sees a man staggering in the street, Alexander assumes he is the worse for drink and hurries on by to get out of the rain. When the man's dead body is found the next day in the schoolroom where Alexander teaches, his feelings of guilt are compounded when his friend Charles Thom is arrested for the murder. Convinced of Charles' innocence, Alexander sets out with his old friend and mentor, Dr Jaffray, to find out who really murdered Patrick Davidson.
The book is set in 1626, a time when an uneasy peace holds sway in Scotland. All those pesky 16th century Queens are dead and the crowns of Scotland and England are united, though not yet their parliaments. The Protestants are in the ascendancy and the Kirk has a stranglehold on religion and morality, but the Catholics are still plotting, and looking to the great Catholic countries of Europe for support. And witch-hunting is still at its peak, led and encouraged by the more rabid members of the hellfire-and-damnation Kirk, often culminating in public burnings. Happy days!
MacLean has caught the feel of this time-period just about perfectly in my opinion. She gives the impression of knowing the history inside-out and her characters ring true as people living in this time. Seaton and Jaffray are on the more enlightened side, though of course the actual Enlightenment is still some way off, but MacLean doesn't fall into the trap of giving them anachronistically modern viewpoints. So, for example, while being horrified at the attitude of the mob to witch-burnings, they're not quite ready to deny the possibility of witchcraft and consorting with the Devil.
Seaton is the first-person, past-tense narrator of the story and he is a great main character. Destined to be a minister in the Kirk, some event happened that led to his disgrace and he is now back in his home town working as an undermaster in the local school. While his one or two true friends have stood by him, many of the rest of the goodly people of the town treat him almost as a social outcast and his own feelings of guilt have brought him close to despair. The reader doesn't find out what the event was until well on into the novel, but as Seaton gets involved in the investigation into Patrick Davidson's death, he begins to feel again that his life may have some purpose beyond his failed calling to the ministry.
The plot is complex but entirely credible, leading the reader merrily up several false trails along the way. The quality of the writing is excellent and the characterisation throughout is very strong, not just of the main players but of the secondary characters too. And the wide-ranging nature of the plot allows MacLean to show something of the politics and religion of the time without ever resorting to information dump. There's almost a feeling of a coming-of-age story to it, as the initially fairly naive Seaton begins to learn about some of the undercurrents in this seemingly so respectable society.
The plot and some of the occurrences make this far too strong to be considered a cosy, but it avoids graphic violence and gore, and is mercifully free of foul language and sex scenes. For the non-Scots out there, it's also free of dialect – standard English throughout but for the very occasional specifically Scottish word, for which a short glossary is included at the back.
An excellent historical crime novel, well up there with the likes of Brother Cadfael, and the joy of it is it's the first in a series. Highly recommended - the second one has already been added to my TBR.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
A storm is raging in Banff in the north-east of Scotland as Alexander Seaton makes his way home from the inn so, when he sees a man staggering in the street, Alexander assumes he is the worse for drink and hurries on by to get out of the rain. When the man's dead body is found the next day in the schoolroom where Alexander teaches, his feelings of guilt are compounded when his friend Charles Thom is arrested for the murder. Convinced of Charles' innocence, Alexander sets out with his old friend and mentor, Dr Jaffray, to find out who really murdered Patrick Davidson.
The book is set in 1626, a time when an uneasy peace holds sway in Scotland. All those pesky 16th century Queens are dead and the crowns of Scotland and England are united, though not yet their parliaments. The Protestants are in the ascendancy and the Kirk has a stranglehold on religion and morality, but the Catholics are still plotting, and looking to the great Catholic countries of Europe for support. And witch-hunting is still at its peak, led and encouraged by the more rabid members of the hellfire-and-damnation Kirk, often culminating in public burnings. Happy days!
MacLean has caught the feel of this time-period just about perfectly in my opinion. She gives the impression of knowing the history inside-out and her characters ring true as people living in this time. Seaton and Jaffray are on the more enlightened side, though of course the actual Enlightenment is still some way off, but MacLean doesn't fall into the trap of giving them anachronistically modern viewpoints. So, for example, while being horrified at the attitude of the mob to witch-burnings, they're not quite ready to deny the possibility of witchcraft and consorting with the Devil.
Seaton is the first-person, past-tense narrator of the story and he is a great main character. Destined to be a minister in the Kirk, some event happened that led to his disgrace and he is now back in his home town working as an undermaster in the local school. While his one or two true friends have stood by him, many of the rest of the goodly people of the town treat him almost as a social outcast and his own feelings of guilt have brought him close to despair. The reader doesn't find out what the event was until well on into the novel, but as Seaton gets involved in the investigation into Patrick Davidson's death, he begins to feel again that his life may have some purpose beyond his failed calling to the ministry.
The plot is complex but entirely credible, leading the reader merrily up several false trails along the way. The quality of the writing is excellent and the characterisation throughout is very strong, not just of the main players but of the secondary characters too. And the wide-ranging nature of the plot allows MacLean to show something of the politics and religion of the time without ever resorting to information dump. There's almost a feeling of a coming-of-age story to it, as the initially fairly naive Seaton begins to learn about some of the undercurrents in this seemingly so respectable society.
The plot and some of the occurrences make this far too strong to be considered a cosy, but it avoids graphic violence and gore, and is mercifully free of foul language and sex scenes. For the non-Scots out there, it's also free of dialect – standard English throughout but for the very occasional specifically Scottish word, for which a short glossary is included at the back.
An excellent historical crime novel, well up there with the likes of Brother Cadfael, and the joy of it is it's the first in a series. Highly recommended - the second one has already been added to my TBR.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
bibliobethreads's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first book in the Alexander Seaton series by British author Shona MacLean, a tale of 17th century Scotland, full of intrigue, mystery and religious fervour. Our main character Alexander is a school master although he would dearly love to be a minister, and was prevented from achieving this by a mistake made when he fell for the “wrong woman.” Things kick off for Alexander when a man whom he knows is found murdered by poisoning in his school room. The previous night, he had seen this man stumbling and calling for help, but he dismissed him as a drunkard so now feels incredibly guilty, and desires to redeem himself by finding the murderer. It does not help that Charles Thom, a friend of Alexander’s is deemed guilty of the crime and is put in prison, so Alexander must work to clear his name and find the true perp.
I have to confess it took me a while to get into this book as there are a lot of characters to take in, and it took me a while until I had figured out just who the “provost,” ballie,” “session clerk,” and “apothecary,” were, as they are sometimes referred to by their title and then referred to by their Christian name in another sentence. Once I had got that under control, I began to appreciate the beautiful style of writing, and the atmosphere of 17th century Scotland that the author creates. Every smell, sight and sound are captured in minute detail for the reader, and I began to get a real picture of life in Scotland at that time, where indivduals could be persecuted for their own beliefs. The style reminded me very much of the Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend. I did not appreciate the mystery of the novel until about halfway through, when more strands of the story come together, and it became slightly more gripping. Would I read the second book in the series? Probably, as Seaton was such an interesting character, and I wouldn’t mind getting to know him a bit better.
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.wordpress.com
I have to confess it took me a while to get into this book as there are a lot of characters to take in, and it took me a while until I had figured out just who the “provost,” ballie,” “session clerk,” and “apothecary,” were, as they are sometimes referred to by their title and then referred to by their Christian name in another sentence. Once I had got that under control, I began to appreciate the beautiful style of writing, and the atmosphere of 17th century Scotland that the author creates. Every smell, sight and sound are captured in minute detail for the reader, and I began to get a real picture of life in Scotland at that time, where indivduals could be persecuted for their own beliefs. The style reminded me very much of the Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend. I did not appreciate the mystery of the novel until about halfway through, when more strands of the story come together, and it became slightly more gripping. Would I read the second book in the series? Probably, as Seaton was such an interesting character, and I wouldn’t mind getting to know him a bit better.
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.wordpress.com
thesassybookworm's review against another edition
4.0
I really quite enjoyed this book! The story is rich with detail and emotion, and suspense. A wonderfully detailed account 17th century Scotland with a great cast of characters. A wonderful debut novel and I look forward to reading more from this author!!
kathrynch's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars - a solid murder mystery. An interesting setting in provincial 17th century Scotland, coloured by post-Reformation tension, religious zeal and the bubbling menace of witch-trials. The dialogue was pitched well, very readable but felt appropriate for the time period. However there was a lot of dialogue! The majority of the text is characters speaking to other characters, I felt the book would have benefited from a greater use of descriptive language to really develop a sense of place and more of a 'show, don't tell' approach. An enjoyable read but lacking the flair that would have me reaching for the sequel.
mcintoshheidi's review against another edition
4.0
An exciting murder mystery in seventeenth century Scotland, complete with witch hunts and popish plots. A great read!
judenoseinabook's review against another edition
5.0
This was a very atmospheric and evocative read. I could almost feel the wind and smell the sea! It combines historical drama with a crime story. Loved it and will read the next one.
It reminded me of P F Chisholm's Robert Carey books, which I also love.
It reminded me of P F Chisholm's Robert Carey books, which I also love.