The Bookseller of Inverness: a gripping historical thriller from the double prizewinning author

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But MacLean's Bookseller of Inverness has the right whiff of nostalgia, tragedy, and post war devastation. The eighteenth-century manuscript records of the town gave a sense of immediacy and life to the people I was reading about. Many were put onto prison ships to be taken to England for trial and execution, or transported to indentured servitude in North America or the Caribbean. She paints a memorable and densely textured picture of post-Culloden Inverness and its surroundings.

The Bookseller of Inverness is a gripping historical thriller set in Inverness in the wake of the 1746 battle of Culloden from twice CWA award-winning author S.I’d seen it was being published last August and added it to my TBR list, so I’m glad you enjoyed it. I Know the basic facts of the 1715 and 1745;rebellions from school days and have actually trod on Culloden and other of Scotland’s historic sights being the history geek that I am. One historical figure who plays an important part in the story without actually appearing in it is Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat – known as the ‘Old Fox’ – who readers of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series will remember as Jamie Fraser’s grandfather. Howver, the next morning, when Iain comes to open the door, he finds the stranger dead, his throat cut and a sword lying beside the body.

Those dogs are, by seventeenth-century necessity, 'hounds', but I like to believe that in each of them beats the heart of a Labrador. In addition, I find the Jacobites a bit tedious now – they take Romantic But Wrong to a whole new level! This is a difficult and complex period of British history and yet it evoked the post Culloden Inverness and its inhabitants so clearly that I became totally engrossed. MacLean mentions in her notes that it was around this time that black people began to be mentioned in Scotland’s historical records, as Highlanders’ initially enforced connections with the slave-owning colonies were formed. The latter stages of the book take on aspects of the thriller, and again MacLean handles this very well.Storytelling is brilliant, all characters are very believable and lifelike in their dealings with life and danger in general, and the atmosphere of hostility and hatred in and around Inverness are superbly described and pictured by the author. At the beginning of the book you'll find a wonderful map of Inverness and its surroundings in AD1752, followed by an Introductory Note and a Main Character List. I’m not sure whether there will be a follow up – it ends quite neatly – but if there is, I’ll certainly be reading it! It's set in the aftermath of the Jacobite rebellion but the history is woven in seamlessly and the plot is swept along by bigger human themes, like treachery, intrigue, hope and revenge.

The murder coincides with the reappearance of Iain’s father Hector, a prominent Jacobite who fled Scotland years earlier but still hasn’t given up hope of seeing a Stuart king on the throne once more. I was swept up by aliens, who took me for a lovely ride in their balloon-shaped ship over North America when suddenly we were blasted out of the sky somewhere over Alaska. Iain MacGillivray himself is an engaging character with an interesting past; I enjoyed getting to know him and reading about the work he and his assistants put into collecting, restoring and selling – or lending – books to the people of Inverness.

and it’s tough starting again with a new cast, but I have to judge this novel on its merits, of which there are many, especially the depth of characterisation, historical detail and Literature quality of prose. I haven’t read any of those books (although I do own The Redemption of Alexander Seaton), but when I saw that her new novel, The Bookseller of Inverness, was a standalone, it seemed like a good place to start.

I’m glad I already had some knowledge of this period, though, as I think I might have found the twists and turns of the story a bit difficult to follow otherwise.Very much enjoyed the character of Donald Mòr the grumpy book binder who speaks almost exclusively in Gaelic and has time for nobody but a soft spot for the young Tormod. uk/landing-page/quercus/quercus-company-information/">The data controller is Quercus Editions Ltd. The details were such that I felt a part of the story, drawn in by the descriptions of people, places, and things. I am not sure if this is the first in a series, but I hope it is as I loved so many of the characters here. The use of Gaelic in conversation and in names was an authentic touch as it would have been (and still is) in common usage in the Highlands and indeed is on the rise across Scotland - a current learner right here.