Mystery surrounds the murder of Sir Lachlan MacLean, an impoverished Highland laird. With bad debts, family quarrels, and shady associates, Sir Lachlan had many enemies. But while motives are not hard to find, evidence is another thing entirely. Lawyer John MacKenzie and scribe Davie Scougall turn investigator to try to track down the murderer.

Move over Rebus. There’s a new – or should that be old – detective in town. This excellent thriller introduces John Mackenzie and Davie Scougall, an Advocate and his notary in late 17th century Edinburgh. They set out to solve the murder of their client, the Chief of a down-at-heel clan. The result is a plot as twisted as Rowan on a mountain pass and wonderful characters who are perfectly set up for many novels to come. I certainly hope so. I thoroughly enjoyed this accomplished debut and I look forward to many more adventures with the capital’s newest sleuths. - I-ON EDINBURGH

Douglas Watt is an historian, poet and novelist. He is the author of The Price of Scotland: Darien, Union and the Wealth of Nations (2007), a well-received history of the Darien Disaster and Parliamentary Union between Scotland and England, which won the Hume Brown Senior Prize in Scottish History in 2008. Douglas Watt has also contributed opinion pieces to the Scotsman on financial, historical and political subjects. He lives in Linlithgow with his wife Julie and their three children.