![]() ![]() She is currently working on Black Drop, a new murder mystery set in early 19 th century Edinburgh. An outline for the first book, Hue & Cry, ‘a complex tale of passion and duplicity,’ was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association debut dagger, establishing Shirley in her life of the crime. Set in 16 th century Scotland in the reign of James VI, they follow the adventures of an academic lawyer at St Andrews University, his friend and physician Giles Locke, and his sister Meg. The Hew Cullan stories are published by Polygon, Birlinn. After the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, anti-English measures in Scotland delegitimize lawyer Hew Cullans marriage to an Englishwoman. ![]() She now lives in Crail, on the north east coast of Fife, where she works as an academic proofreader. She studied English and Linguistics at the University of St Andrews before attending Durham University for postgraduate study. ![]() Just don’t expect a clever, twisty mystery.Īnyway, it’s currently on Amazon for 89p, and it’s more than worth that investment.Shirley McKay was born in Tynemouth, moving to Scotland at the age of eight. Introducing sixteenth-century Scottish lawyer and amateur sleuth Hew Cullan in a gripping mystery that holds the. ![]() That aside, there’s a lot of fascinating detail on sixteenth century medicine and law and there’s plenty here to like. Some features have failed to load due to an internet connectivity problem. The Hew Cullan books: huecry fate time friend queen 1588 A Calendar of Crime. I can’t criticise it for not being what I want it to be – it’s an excellent example of a well-written, well-researched character piece – although I did find Hew Cullan, the central character, to be a bit of an enigma – one character even comments on it in a rather unsubtle “there’s going to be a sequel” line in the final chapter. Product details page for Hue & cry by Shirley Mckay is loaded. See Shirleys page at Polygon: Shirley McKay. In its defence though, it’s not that sort of book and doesn’t try to be. Also the murder plot does seem to get put on hold for a while in the central section of the novel. The one red herring is cleared of any involvements in the death too early for my tastes, and it does hit one of my personal alarm buttons by going on too long after the killer has been revealed. It’s a very logical conclusion, but there are no clever leaps in the logic. The murderer(s?), while not completely obvious, are certainly not surprises. The question, and sort of the point of the blog, is, would I recommend it to the fan of the classic mystery novel? A slightly more difficult question, but, unless you also like historicals, I’d have to say no. It certainly kept my attention throughout and I’d recommend it to a fan of the historical novel. It’s very well-written, skipping around the point of view of a number of characters, all with their own motivations, being brought vividly to life and there are three murders to keep the blood-thirsty occupied. And despite a late appearance by King James of Scotland, this is certainly falls into that category. It’s harder for a book with an historical setting to grab my attention if it’s about people living in the past, rather than interacting with the events in the past. It’s becoming clearer to me that I like historical mysteries that centre around big events. Shirley McKay was born in Tynemouth but now lives with her family in Fife. Will Hew rise to the challenge and try and defend his friend? Well, of course he will, it would be a short book if he didn’t, but can he succeed when people are plotting against his friend left, right and centre? And even if he does, is it worth reading about? McKays debut, Hue & Cry, established both her own literary credentials and. His old college friend stands accused of both of the crimes, but is lying at death’s door, unable to defend himself. He returns to explain to his father that he has chosen not to become an advocate in the courts, only to find himself involved in a double murder. Hew is a native of St Andrews, but has been abroad for a number of years. An outline for the first book, Hue & Cry, a complex tale of passion and duplicity, was shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association debut dagger. Shirley McKay has written, to date, three novels in the Hew Cullan series. I’m well aware that there is a large amount of self-published fiction out there of, shall we say, questionable quality, but this doesn’t tick that box. Hue & Cry by Shirley McKay eBook 11.49 12.99 Save 12 eBook 11.49 Audiobook 0.00 View All Available Formats & Editions Instant Purchase Available on Compatible NOOK Devices and the free NOOK Apps. You’re going to get a few reviews in the future that come under the category of “Look What I Got For My Kindle For Less Than £1”. ![]()
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