5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling read

N.K. · 27 April 2025

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4.0 out of 5 stars A delightful visit to Jacobite Scotland

D.S. · 7 January 2025

With a PhD in Scottish history Maclean is well qualified to write this expansive tale of life and spying in Jacobite (1700’s to 1750’s) Scotland - giving colour and detail to the vindictive atrocities committed by Hanoverian/English forces against Highland men women and children. The book is skilfully crafted around the continuing intrigues and bitter animosities between the Scot’s people still loyal to Bonnie Prince Charlie and the oppressive occupying English Army and provides a fascinating insight into the lives and hardships of the surviving Scottish people. The underlying plot is complex and unlike many whodunnits the murderer is not discovered (or suspected) until the very end of the book.This fine historical novel is well worth reading for its insights into Highland Life and oppression in the Jacobite period. My only critique is that it gives an unduly kind impression of the Bonnie Prince himself - his selfishness, ruthless disregard for the wellbeing of his people and his appalling, criminal mismanagement/leadership at the Battle of Culloden. But this can be forgiven in light of the book’s many virtues and the requirements of the Plot.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent

W. · 5 February 2024

I absolutely loved this retelling of the aftermath of the Jacobite rebellion. It follows the main character Iain, the bookseller of Inverness and the illegitimate son of Hector MacGillivray and Charlotte Farquharson. Iain had been out for the Prince in the 45 and bears the scars of Culloden on his face still. The story begins with a discovery of a murdered man in Iain’s bookshop, who had ostensibly been looking for a book that revealed various traitors to the Jacobite cause. We then follow Iain’s steps as he and his father (a trusted advisor to the old pretender not the Prince) as they try to unpick a mystery that becomes increasingly intertwined with their own pasts and that of the matriarch (Iain’s terrifying grandmother, Mairi).It always surprises me that more is not written about the rebellions as there is such terrible tragedy both in the uprisings themselves and the ill-fated Jacobite cause but also in the terrible reprisals after the 45. This book certainly delivered and the main characters were nicely drawn and very readable. I liked how the author captured the Scottish lilt and phrasing in the words. The side characters too from the unpleasant Dunne to the honourable Major Thornlie were good. While the book takes a little while to get into, it gives a great sense of the Highlands and the clans (who seem to spend a lot of time fighting among themselves and using wider politics to further their own causes) and the sense of oppression after the failed uprising. My knowledge of Scottish history is limited and it was good to learn something new (the transportations and some of the histories of the Jacobite leaders - Colonel Anne for example). I had to google quite a few of the locations and will definitely have to make the trip to Inverness to check out the Cairns and forts and the castles mentioned.

3.0 out of 5 stars Somehow Lacking in Focus

C. · 10 September 2022

I tried hard to like this book, and I read it all the way to the end. In the end, though, it just didn't do it for me.I had previously read the first in the Seeker series, and found it frankly dull and populated by cardboard characters. The Bookseller.... offered an attractive location and premise -- Inverness and the Jacobite rebellions -- so I bought it, deciding to give S. G. MacLean another try.The Bookseller.... is well-written, and the author does get a good sense of time and place. Her knowledge and research are evidently first class. Some of the scenes depicted, both of conflict and of social events, are very well done. The characters -- Hector MacGillivray, his son Iain, the British 'redcoat' officers, the Grandes Dames and the other ladies -- are well drawn. The Scots Gaelic is excellent -- easily understandable in original to this Irish reader.As regards the tale itself, the points of reference are the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745, aimed at restoring to the Stuart family the throne lost by the flight of James II in 1688. The story is set in 1752. The elder MacGillivray fought in both; his son in "the '45". The Jacobites were vanquished, but they are still there and furious resentment still smoulders. Iain is the eponymous bookseller. He has a copy of a book that contains a coded list of traitors to the Jacobite cause. Through the story, we see a number of these alleged traitors murdered by the Jacobite side. The rebel aspiration is to launch a further attempt at rebellion (the Elibank plot). To this end, Hector MacGillivray plies back and forth between Scotland and France where the Jacobite King-in-waiting (Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie) resides in exile.That's as much as I can summarise as bald facts. From there, I think it's the story that lets the book down. It meanders and wanders rather, somehow lacking focus. The Prologue starts in London in 1716, quickly shifting to the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Nearly all that follows is set in Inverness. We see much social interaction and depiction of 1750s Highland life (both interesting). There is also a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between castles and other Highland locations, showing the MacGillivrays always in peril and forever having close shaves with the redcoats. But I have difficulty identifying a thread or theme to the tale.... the answer to the question "what's happening and why?". It's like a bunch of scenes in sequence, with little rhyme or reason that I could detect. And the scenes set in the Prologue didn't, for me, get resolved later. Near the end (more than 300 pages in), I frankly lost heart and stopped caring.While reading the book, I did stop and brush up a bit on my Scottish history, the better to understand what was going on. It didn't seem to work.Maybe I just somehow don't "get it" -- I do see all the 4- and 5-star reviews. But this book didn't tell me a joined-up story, and I think my judgement of these things is mostly quite good. Two and a half stars; benefit of the doubt rounds up to three.

Gripping read

D. · 7 June 2025

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } This novel really makes history come to life in a fascinating read. The story unfolds as a mystery, but the characters are developed with a rich depth of emotion that quickly captures you. It is intriguing, suspenseful, and unfolds at a gripping pace. Highly enjoyable book!

its a wee mistery laddie

l. · 21 September 2023

vond het prachtig aansluiten bij 'Culloden'

Gestückelt

F.J. · 2 January 2024

Das Buch hätte sehr viel Potenzial, aber es war mir zu abgehackt, zu viele Sprünge, zu viele Dinge, die ich nicht verstand (ein Glossar wäre hilfreich gewesen), die Charaktere waren nicht wirklich sympatisch, die Reaktionen nicht logisch. Das war nicht mein Ding, auch wenn sich manche Stellen gut lasen. 3.8 Sterne.

Bit of Scottish history

j. · 20 March 2025

Seeing my grandmother was from Scotland and I had travelled around the lochs. Inverness was one of the towns. Anyway, the story was well written and kept my attention. Not sure if it will appeal to a wide audience.,

Interesting historical bent

P. · 2 June 2025

I enjoyed the book