Pat McIntosh

Well, if you like to read about people standing in a room talking to each other in a variety of dialects, this book is for you! If, however, you feel mysteries should have a modicum of suspense and intrigue, this book may disappoint. I understand that this is the fourth book in the series, so there is clearly an audience for it. The character development is minimal, although I'm willing to grant that I may be feeling the distance as I haven't read the first three books in the series. Alys seems like a smart woman and a far more interesting human being than Gil Cunningham (the protagonist), yet she is given a ridiculous subplot (which I will not spoil for you here). I was torn in giving this two stars, as the last 20% of the book did seem more interesting both in terms of narrative and character development, but that isn't enough to give it three stars. I love medieval mysteries (e.g. Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma mysteries, Eco's The Name of the Rose), and was looking forward to investing in medieval Glasgow, but I'm afraid this book really didn't give me that glimpse into history.… (mais)

A widow taking a vow of renouncement & living insane is tied to the cross of St Mungo for healing.... In the morning when the family comes to retrieve her, they instead find a corpse tied to the cross....

After much arguing & closer examination, the corpse turns out to be that of a local hoor. Now Gil has two mysteries to solve, the murder of the hoor and the disappearance of the widow.

Along the way there are two more murders and the discovery of goods being stolen from St Mungo's.... all related to the widow.

I liked this better than the last two I read, one which I put down & did not review. It held my interest and thankfully, not all of the characters were as loathsome as in the last two books. I like Gil & his wife Alys and how they work together as a team.… (mais)

I hated the first chapter of the book and I almost put the book down... but I'm glad I didn't.

From the inside flap:
"1493. When the peat-cutters came to report the dead man, Gil Cunningham was up in the roof-space of his mother's house teaching his new young wife, Alys, swordplay.

The finders believe the corpse in the peat to be that of Thomas Murray, missing from the coalmine on the estate of Sir James Douglas, Gil's godfather. Murray's wife and the autocratic widow who run the coalmine are sure it is someone else, but Sir James's steward, the officious (idiotic zealot) David Fleming, accuses them of having killed Murray by witchcraft. And if the corpse is not the missing man, who is it?

Gil, trying to establish the truth of the matter is helped by an old acquaintance from Glasgow, hindered by the steward, and finds himself dealing with the peat-cutters and salt-boilers, colliers and priests, and five verra different women of the missing man's family."

Another problem I have w/ the author is that she switches back and forth, often in the same paragraph, of her characters speaking in a thick Scots accent and regular English, which ye ken, makes for difficult reading.

I learned a bit about salt and yew... and I figured out Murray & who done it. What was never revealed was, who the body in the peat was...

But after the first chapter I was able to settle in & finish the book.… (mais)

From the inside cover:

"The barrel should have contained books---instead it held treasure and a severed head....

Gil Cunningham and his auld acquaintance, Glaswegian merchant Augie Morison had been expecting a delivery of books from the Low Countries, and they found the gruesome substitute. They report their find to the Provost but at the inquest the next morning Morison is accused of murder and imprisoned. To prove the merchant's innocence, Gil sets out with is friend and future father-in-law, Maistre Pierre, the French Master-Mason, to track down the treasure's owner and identify the dead man.

The trail they follow leads them from the court of James IV at Stirling, to an unexpected death on the bare slopes of the Pentland Hills"

In addition Gil's sister, Kate, & his future wife, Alys, are taking care of Augie Morison's two young daughters while at the same time doing some investigating of their own.

I like the characters, the story was interesting, but I felt it was longer in details that I could have done without & so I skipped over parts.... The Scot's dialect was difficult to understand in parts and made me pause in order to ken what was being said. Therefore - 1 star!… (mais)