Category Archives: Shona MacLean

Review: CRUCIBLE OF SECRETS by Shona MacLean

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CrucibleOfSecretsMacleanAudioReaders first met Shona MacLean’s 17th Century academic Alexander Seaton when he was teaching at a school in the Scottish town of Banff in 1626 and then followed him on a quest to Ireland a couple of years later. In CRUCIBLE OF SECRETS (or just CRUCIBLE I think in the UK) it is 1631 and Alexander is back in Scotland, now a Master at Marischal College in Aberdeen. When the college librarian is murdered in a rather gruesome way Seaton is asked by the principal to investigate matters with a view to ensuring that nothing about the man’s death (or life) emerges to damage the college’s reputation.

The brilliance of MacLean’s first novel in this series, THE REDEMPTION OF ALEXANDER SEATON, was such that it allowed me to give the series another chance after being pretty disappointed with the second book (I was so underwhelmed I didn’t even bother to review it). I’m chuffed to report that, for me, MacLean was back on form with this instalment, focusing on the things she does very well.

The first of these is to depict a very enveloping setting. The novel transports the reader back in time to the all–male colleges of the era, a world in which justice is dealt with more speed than accuracy and one must live one’s life according to a long, and strict, set of rules. MacLean explores this element particularly well by placing several characters in what would today be minor trifles but were then major crises and watching these scenarios play out is completely captivating. At one point for example Alexander’s wife Sarah becomes virtually catatonic at the hint that his investigation might be leading him to have something to do with a secret society; it might sound silly that such a thing could cause worry but MacLean does such a good job of building the drama that we too believe a single word on a piece of paper is deathly dangerous.  I adored visiting 17th Century Scotland but I’ll admit to being rather pleased to return to the 21st Century.

Another of MacLean’s great skills is her development of imperfect, credible characters. At the start of this novel Alexander seems to be at his most settled, having redeemed himself for past poor form, survived the dramatic events of finding out he is part of a family that half of Ireland wants to wipe out and finally having married the woman he loves and secured the job he has dreamed of. But he is soon tormented by jealousy which threatens to cripple him and this thread, exploring as it does the notion we are often our own worst enemies, is expertly woven into the novel and makes Alexander far more ‘normal’ than he might otherwise be. Other people in the novel are also driven by strong emotions – love, fear, hatred – and MacLean makes them all, even the awful ones, very real.

To top it all off CRUCIBLE OF SECRETS has a ripper of a plot that appears at first glance to be treading a well-worn path but which MacLean takes in unexpected directions. The clever kind that have you mumbling that you’d have worked it out yourself if only it wasn’t so swelteringly hot (or maybe it’s only me that likes to think myself cleverer than I really am). I thoroughly recommend this novel and though I would urge you to read the first book of the series because it’s truly brilliant I do think you could easily start the series with this one as it does provide enough back story for you to understand what drives Alexander Seaton. If you’re an audio book fan the narration of this one by Scottish actor David Monteath is a treat.

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Narrator David Monteath
Publisher Audible Inc [2012]
ASIN B00A2U3CH6
Length 10 hours 4 minutes
Format audio (mp3)
Book Series #3 in the Alexander Seaton series

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Halfway Down the Stairs

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OK the title really doesn’t have any relevance as this is a post about being half way through the reading year and reflecting on my favourite books so far. But I never think of the word halfway without remembering my favourite A A Milne poem. As I wrote about way back in the early days of this blog one of my very favourite bookish presents was a copy of When We Were Very Young and Halfway Down is my favourite poem from it (other people can recite Keats and Wordsworth by heart, I can do A A Milne).

Anyway, on to the favourites. Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise is collating people’s thoughts on this very topic so do stop by her blog and tell her your favourite reads so far this year. Given the overall improvement in the quality of my reading these days I could easily list a top 30 or 40 books but I suspect that is not the spirit of things so I’ve whittled it down to a favourite ten. I’ll be curious to see how many of them survive to appear in my favourite books for the year. Could I possibly read ten better books than this in the remaining 6 months of Twenty Ten?

Books of the Month – May 2010

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That was then

I finished 15 books in May and, thankfully, had no DNFs (though I might have done had I not been too warm and lazy to get out bed and find a book other than this one). Only four of these were audio books though that was enough for me to achieve the obsessed level of the 2010 Audio Book Challenge (1 challenge down, 3 to go).

My pick of the month is Simon Lelic’s A Thousand Cuts which I read in print. It’s a very sad book but beautiful in its way and I found it extremely difficult to put down. It blurs the genre boundaries too and I’ve already recommended it to people who don’t normally read crime fiction.

Honourable mentions for the month go to

  • Shona MacLean’s debut historical mystery The Redemption of Alexander Seaton for transporting me virtually to a fascinating version of 17th Century Scotland
  • the latest installment of Reginald Hill’s Dalziel and Pascoe series Midnight Fugue for being one of the most cleverly plotted books I’ve read in ages
  • Elly Griffiths’ The Crossing Places for introducing me to someone I think will become one of my very favourite characters, Ruth Galloway

I didn’t realise it until after finishing the list but the three honourable mentions are all audio books.

New Additions

It’s pretty easy to tell when my life is a bit pants because there is a correlation between the amount of books I acquire and my crankiness level. This month’s acquisition of 28 books should make most of you very glad you only know me virtually. My frenzy of buying, mooching, dowloading and saying yes to an unprecedented number of ARCs has gone part way to mitigating my bad mood. Among my new treasures are

Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s My Soul to Take which I am very much looking forward to reading, having enjoyed Last Rituals.

Imogen Robertson’s Instruments of Darkness because it seems I haven’t had my fill of historical crime fiction and am continuing to try new authors in this genre.

Affairs of State by Dominque Manotti is one of only a handful of books I’ve bought in an Australian bookstore this year as most books I buy these days make their way here from Book Depository with its cheaper prices and free shipping down under

What to read next?

I’ve still got three challenges to complete for this year but with 7 months to go I’m not panicking. Before the winner is announced on July 23 I also want to read the four remaining books that are on the shortlist for the Crime Writer’s Association International Dagger (an award for books translated into English). So in June expect to see reviews for

Rob Kitchin’s The White Gallows (its official publication date is 12 June and I want to have it read and reviewed around that date) (plus I’m itching to get to it)

Johan Theorin’s The Darkest Room (one of the six International Dagger hopefuls)

Petros Markaris’ Zone Defence (which I’m going to use for the final European leg of my global challenge)

The Uncomfortable Dead by Paco Ignacio Taibo II (a Mexican novel that I had to work hard to find so I could have a third country represented on the North American leg of my global challenge)

Hopefully there’ll be a whole lot more besides these but I don’t like to be too prescriptive about what I’m going to be reading as I never know where my mood might take me.

Chart of the month

Review: The Redemption of Alexander Seaton by Shona MacLean

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This excellent review at Crime Scraps (the blog which has single-handedly rekindled my interest in historical fiction over the past year or so) prompted me to add this book to my TBR pile (or, if we’re being pedantic, to my TBL playlist). When the book was used several times by Margot Kinberg in her fascinating essays about what makes crime fiction tick I knew I had to read it soon. It counts as book 18 in my 2010 Audio Book Challenge.

We are in the town of Banff near Aberdeen, Scotland in 1626. Patrick Davidson, the apothecary’s apprentice, is poisoned by an obscure plant. Was he killed by the music teacher because they both loved the same woman? Or was he a traitor preparing maps of the Scottish coastline to assist the invading armies of ‘the Papists’? Perhaps there is a different reason entirely. Alexander Seaton, who trained be a Minister but was disgraced before he could obtain his final commission, is compelled to uncover the murderer.

I was captivated by this complex novel. The mystery itself is entertaining enough as numerous secrets are uncovered and people’s true natures revealed but there is far more than a whodunnit here. MacLean has provided rich, historically accurate details of village life and you really do feel transported to 17th Century Scotland where religious tensions are mounting, harsh punishments are handed out to those who transgress against social or religious rules and witch hunts are a regular occurence. The feeling of ‘being there’ was aided by the excellent narration, in a mild Scottish lilt, by Crawford Logan.

I guess given the title of the book it’s no surprise that one of the novel’s themes is redemption but it deserves mention for being handled so deftly. Seaton, whose sin is unforgivable in the eyes of many, has not dared or wanted to become involved in village affairs until this incident. However, he slowly reveals, to others but more importantly to himself, that, at heart, he is still a good person who has much value to offer his community. Thinking him a bit too keen on self-flagellation I wasn’t sure that I was going to like Alexander Seaton at the outset but I ended up loving his loyalty, intelligence and practical application of the good Christian values that some of his fellow villagers espouse but spectacularly fail to demonstrate when push comes to shove. There are plenty of other really intriguing characters too including several old friends who have stuck by Alexander through his darkest times.

The past is, they say, another country and this book did display some vast disparities between the historical period and our own but I couldn’t help but be struck also by the similarities we share. In the book we see religious bigotry and fear of foreigners being used by unscrupulous town leaders as a tool to whip the masses into a frenzy of outrage (and worse) which sounds a lot like what happens every other day of the week here in Oz.

I found The Redemption of Alexander Seaton an utterly compelling story and gave a little dance of joy when I discovered there is a second instalment featuring this character already written.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

My rating 4.5/5

Publisher: Oakhill Publishing [2009];  ISBN N/A (audio download); Length: 13hrs 7mins

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The Redemption of Alexander Seaton has been reviewed at Crime Scraps (thanks again), Euro Crime (by Pat) and again at Euro Crime (by Rik)

Books of the month – April 2010

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In an effort to make my end of year selection of best reads a little easier I have decided to sum up each month’s bookishness here at the blog. Most people would have started in January but I’ve never been one to follow the crowd. Also I didn’t think of it until now.

That was then

I finished 15 books in April and threw another one on the DNF pile. Six of my completed reads were audio books which is an indication that the weather finally cooled down enough for me to get back into my regular routine of walking to walk every day (and sometimes home again too). Without wanting to sound all schmalzy I truly do feel grateful to be alive when someone tells me a great story as I walk through the city which I have almost to myself in the crisp early morning. Crunchy Autumn leaves underfoot are a bonus right now.

The pick of the month’s books was undoubtedly Arnaldur Indriðason’s Hypothermia. I am still reflecting on it and telling people about it and would be pressing my copy upon friends but for the fact I borrowed this particular book from the library (I’ve thought about opening my own branch but I’m not sure I want strangers reading newspapers in my lounge room all day to keep warm).  The one word I keep using to describe this book is beautiful. I’ll read it again one day.

Honourable mentions go to Deon Meyer’s Dead at Daybreak for introducing me to the compelling Zatopek (Zet) van Heerden and Margot Kinberg’s B-Very Flat for a fine modern take on the classic whodunit.

The other book from this month’s reading that I’m still talking about is Luis Miguel Rocha’s The Last Pope but only because it was the silliest book I’ve read in ages and I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think of something more polite than that to say about it when I go to my book club to discuss it on the weekend.

More to come

For now at least I’ve given up giving up acquiring books. I spent most of 2009 completely failing to give up getting more books and I know what the definition of insanity is. So I’m allowing my TBR pile to grow at its natural rate and I tell myself that I’m sensibly planning for the apocalypse. Oh you can smirk all you like about that but who’d have been laughing if the Icelandic volcano ash cloud had kept planes out of the sky for a year instead of a week huh?

Through a mixture of purchases both new and second hand (damn the library’s book sale), gifts from my fairy godmother, library borrowings and a prize win from the Scandinavian Reading Challenge host I acquired 18 books this month (a net gain for my TBR of only 2 books which is not too appalling). Highlights of these acquisitions that I’ve yet to read include:

Matt Rees’ The Samaritan Secret is the third Omar Yussef mystery set in Palestine and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the first 2 books. There’s already a 4th in the series so I need to catch up and look forward to reading this one soon.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

The audio version of Shona MacLean’s The Redemption of Alexander Seaton is a historical mystery that’s been discussed at several of my favourite blogs including the excellent Confessions of a Mystery Novelist. It’s set in Scotland in 1620 and tells the tale of a disgraced would-be religious Minister who sets out to uncover the murderer of the apothecary’s nephew in an effort to redeem his good name.

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Simon Lelic’s A Thousand Cuts is a book I wanted to read after seeing Maxine’s excellent review at Euro Crime. The book views a horrific school shooting from the viewpoint of various people impacted by the crime including police, family members of victims and staff and students of the school.

None of these books qualify for my several ongoing challenges though so I’m not sure when I’ll be reading these. The actual titles next up on my reading list are

  • Michele Giuttari’s A Death in Tuscany to complete the Europe portion of the global challenge (I’ve had it on the go for a week, it’s kind of dragging)
  • Leif Davidesn’s The Serbian Dane as book 2 in the Scandinavian Challenge (I’ve read the first 50 or so pages and am hooked)
  • Glen Peters’ Mrs D’Silva’s Detective Instincts and the Shaitan of Calcutta to complete the Asian leg of the global challenge (to be honest I bought it because I loved the title)
  • Malla Nunn’s Let the Dead Lie which is her newly released second novel that I am dying to read after devouring the first (plus I can count it for the Aussie authors challenge) (she wasn’t born here and the book isn’t set here but she lives here so she is an Aussie OK)

Chart of the month

As everyone probably knows by now I keep a lot of utterly useless information about the books I read and sometimes I create charts out of it all just to give the illusion I’m not barking mad. This month let’s look at how many pages I’ve read so far this year. I have no analysis of these figures for you except to say that you can tell January is holiday month in Oz – even though I was at work no one else was which meant I wasn’t busy and could get much more reading time into my day.

Pages read per month