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. 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. 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? 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. 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. I’m really looking forward to reading the next book in the series, it’s called Fate & Fortune.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”. ![]() I think that it would have been a good idea to have a map of St Andrews and environs, as Hew does a lot of stravaiging around the streets and it would have been useful for people who don’t know the area I’m sure. ![]() ![]() Otherwise this was a very enjoyable read, enhanced for me because all of the locations are very familiar to me. I was however perplexed by mention of ‘a bishop’ on page 257 as the religious upheaval of the Scottish Reformation was to get rid of bishops – which they did. The very young King James VI makes an appearance and given the date and location witches are mentioned. Hew is a great character, as is his sister Meg and there’s even some humour with Hew buying a ‘characterful’ horse. This makes it all sound quite grim but there’s a lot more to it of course. Hew has been shocked by the corruption at the university and also within the law courts, with nobody seeming to care if the actual culprit has been found, or just a handy fall-guy. There’s been gossip about Nicholas and as we know, mud sticks, especially in the atmosphere of strict Scottish Presbyterianism. Hew’s old friend Nicholas had been tutoring the victim as the father was hoping to get his son into the university, and suspicion falls on Nicholas. It’s thought that his father has probably beaten the young lad for some mistake he had made, but things take an ominous turn when his body is found. But he gets caught up in a search for a young boy who has disappeared from his father’s shop. Hew Cullan has just returned home after studying law in Paris, he’s keen to catch up with some of his old friends before travelling on to his father’s house. ![]() The town’s cathedral has long been wrecked by the religious reformers and many of the town’s newer buildings have been built using the robbed stone from it. It’s a murder mystery with a 16th century Scottish setting. Hue and Cry by Shirley McKay is the first book in the author’s Hew Cullan series.
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