The acclaimed author of the Owen Archer Series “lovingly re-creates medieval Edinburgh” in a novel that introduces Scottish sleuth Margaret Kerr (Publishers Weekly).
In the spring of 1297, the English army controls lowland Scotland and Margaret Kerr’s husband Roger Sinclair is missing. He had gone to Dundee in autumn, writing to Margaret with a promise to be home for Christmas, but it’s past Easter. He could be caught up in the swelling rebellion against the English—if he’s even alive. When his cousin is murdered on the streets of Edinburgh, Roger’s last known location, Margaret coerces her brother, a priest, to escort her to the city.
She finds Edinburgh scarred by war—houses burnt, walls stained with blood, shops shuttered—and the townsfolk simmering with resentment, harboring secrets. Even her uncle, innkeeper Murdoch Kerr, meets her questions with silence. Desperate, Margaret makes alliances that risk both her own life and that of her brother in her search for answers. She learns that war twists love and loyalties, and that, until tested, we cannot know our own hearts, much less those of our loved ones.
“Robb’s writing is so rich and historically true that this is a must for all lovers of historical mysteries.” —Historical Novel Society
“Thirteenth-century Edinburgh comes off the page cold and convincing, from the smoke and noise of the tavern kitchen to Holyrood Abbey under a treacherous abbot. Most enjoyable.” —The List (Edinburgh)
