MacLean: A Game of Sorrows

Review 'A fine, rich, beautiful historical thriller - literate, engaging and moving' Manda Scott. (Manda Scott)

'MacLean has the first-rate historical novelist's gift... communicates her passion for the period without downplaying its brutishness' Daily Telegraph. (Daily Telegraph) --Daily Telegraph 'Combines the ironclad plotting of Sansom with the artful recreation of Mantel' Independent. (Independent) --Independent 'A substantial story, well researched, never slackening pace' Scotsman. (Scotsman) --Scotsman Product Description It is 1628, and Alexander Seaton's happily settled life as a university teacher in Aberdeen is shattered by the arrival in town of a stranger who looks like his twin and who carries a plea for help from Alexander's dead mother's family in Ireland. The family has been placed under a poet's curse, threatening death to various members. Elements of the curse have already begun to play out. Reluctantly answering the call, Alexander leaves his home and his beloved Sarah and travels to Ulster, to find himself among a family torn apart by secrets and long-buried resentments. In the course of seeking out the author of the curse, Alexander becomes deeply entangled in a conflict that involves fugitive priests, displaced poets, rebellious plotters and agents of the king. Confronted by murder within his family, he finds the lines between superstition and faith, duty and loyalty are becoming increasingly blurred, while his Scottish homeland grows ever more remote. Book Description Second historical thriller in the Alexander Seaton series sweeps the hero back to his roots in Ulster, and a family living under a curse and riven with long-held secrets From the Back Cover It is 1628, Charles I is on the throne, and the British Crown is finally taking control of Ulster. Returning to his rooms one night, Alexander Seaton is shocked to find a stranger standing there - a man who could be his double. His name is Sean O'Neill, and he carries a plea for help from Maeve O'Neill, forbidding matriarch of Alexander's mother's family in Ireland. All those who bear their blood have been placed under a curse - one by one they are going to die. Only Alexander is immune, his O'Neill heritage a secret from all but his closest family. Alexander travels to Ulster, to find himself at the heart of a family divided by secrets and bitter resentments. As he seeks out the author of the curse, he becomes increasingly embroiled in the conflict until - confronted by murder within his own family - his liberty and even his life are at stake. About the Author S.G. MacLean has a PhD in history from Aberdeen University, specializing in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Scottish history. She has written four highly acclaimed historical thrillers set in Scotland, The Redemption of Alexander Seaton (shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger), A Game of Sorrows, Crucible of Secrets and The Devil's Recruit, and a series of historical thrillers set in Oliver Cromwell's London. The first and third books in the series, The Seeker and Destroying Angel, have won the CWA Historical Dagger and the second, The Black Friar, was longlisted for the same award. S.G. MacLean is married with four children and lives in Conon Bridge, Scotland. Follow her on Instagram @iwritemybike2