Overview

It is Midsummer, 1631. While Alexander Seaton and his fellow masters enjoy the holiday with their students, Robert Sim, librarian of Marischal College, is murdered in a dark alleyway in town. While the university and town authorities investigate the murder, Seaton is asked by the college principal to look into Sim's private life. In the course of an investigation in which his personal feelings threaten to cloud his judgement and endanger his young marriage to Sarah, he discovers a side to the librarian he could never have guessed at. It is only when a second, apparently unrelated murder comes to light that Seaton begins to piece together the connections between a young weaver, a consignment of books, and events in a college in the Low Countries in order to unmask the perpetrator of the years'-old deception that led to the two deaths.

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9781849163149

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Reviews

'... a puzzler of intrigue, politics and religion, particularly the growing fascination with mysterious brotherhoods' Time Out.

'... a puzzler of intrigue, politics and religion, particularly the growing fascination with mysterious brotherhoods' Time Out. 'Admirers of Shona MacLean's earlier novels will not be disappointed by the latest appearance of her Scottish sleuth, Alexander Seaton. Newcomers to the series be warned! You will find yourselves plunged into the claustrophobic society of 17th century Aberdeen, where fear stalks the corridors of academia and student battles besmirch the public beach ... Crucible of Secrets has a satisfying plot, but more importantly it has satisfying characters and a setting that educates as well as entertains. Alexander Seaton is well served' Shotsmag. 'MacLean provides an ingenious plot involving freemasonry, Rosicrucianism and the adventures of Scottish students on the Continent to explain the killing' Sunday Times. 'The period detail is excellent; the Aberdeen of the time is richly imagined, and the dialogue is terrifically subtle. The characterisation too is accomplished with both major and minor characters clearly and enjoyably distinct' Historical Novels Review.

Author Information

S. G. MacLean has a PhD in history from Aberdeen University, specializing in sixteenth and seventeenth-century Scottish history. She lives in Conon Bridge, Scotland with her husband and four children. The Devil's Recruit, her fourth novel, follows three highly acclaimed historical thrillers, The Redemption of Alexander Seaton, A Game of Sorrows and Crucible.

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