HISTORICAL CRIME FICTION
DOUGLAS WATT
THE BOOKS
Death of a Chief, Testament of a Witch, Pilgrim of Slaughter and The Unnatural Death of a Jacobite are a series of historical crime novels set in late 17th century Scotland, featuring investigative advocate John MacKenzie and his assistant Davie Scougall.
The Price of Scotland is a prize-winning history of Scotland's disastrous attempt to establish a colony at Darien in Central America in the late 17th century.
Pilgrim of Slaughter
Scotland, 1688. A nation bitterly divided by religion and politics where the King's pro-Catholic policies have unleashed the sectarian hatred of extreme Protestants. Edinburgh is a powder-keg, packed with plotters planning revolution.
When a nobleman is assassinated by a Catholic fanatic, Protestant anger reaches fever pitch. Advocate John MacKenzie and his assistant Davie Scougall must investigate the killing. To make matters worse, a killer is stalking the stinking streets. A disciple of revolution. A butcher in the name of God. A pilgrim of slaughter.
Testament of a Witch
Scotland, 1687. A young woman is accused of witchcraft. Tortured with pins and sleep deprivation, she is using all her strength to resist confessing.
MacKenzie and Scougall investigate the suspicious death of a woman denounced as a witch. They find themselves in a village overwhelmed by superstition, resentment and puritanical religion. In a time of spiritual, political and social upheaval, will reason allow MacKenzie to reveal the true evil lurking in the town, before the witch-hunt claims another victim?
Death of a Chief
Scotland, 1686. Sir Lachlan MacLean, chief of a proud but poverty-stricken Highland clan, has met with a macabre death in his Edinburgh lodgings. With a history of bad debts, family quarrels, and some very shady associates, Sir Lachlan had many enemies.
MacKenzie and Scougall investigate Sir Lachlan's death in Edinburgh and the Highlands. Can reason prevail in a time of witchcraft, superstition and religious turmoil?
The Price of Scotland
Why did so many Scots invest such a vast part of the nation's wealth in one company in 1696? Why did a relatively poor nation think it could take on the major powers of the day in world trade?
Why did the Company of Scotland build some of the most expensive ships in Europe and attempt to establish a colony at Darien in the heart of the Spanish Empire?
The Price of Scotland is an exploration of the fascinating history of the Scottish effort to colonise the isthmus of Central America and a new perspective on the events that led to the creation of the United Kingdom in 1707.