Shirley McKay

1581: young St Andrews academic Hew Cullan is unhappy with his life and disillusioned with the law. After his father’s death he is invited by the advocate Richard Cunningham to complete his legal education in Edinburgh as Richard’s pupil at the bar. Among his father’s things Hew finds a manuscript entitled ‘In Defence of the Law’, directed to the Edinburgh printer, Christian Hall.

'McKay's debut, Hue & Cry, established both her own literary credentials and the problem-solving prowess of her hero, Hew Cullan. This second installment helps to cement the reputations of both,' - Scottish Field

From the author of Hue & Cry comes an exciting new mystery. Hew Cullan moves to Edinburgh to finish his legal studies, but is thrown off track when the corpse of a girl is discovered on a St. Andrew's beach. As he begins a desperate search to find the killer, he is lead closer and closer to home.

A historical crime novel set in sixteenth century St Andrews involving the academic cloister and the Protestant church.

’A gripping and welcome addition to the growing genre of historical crime fiction,’ - Waterstone’s Books Quarterly

A historical crime novel set in sixteenth century St Andrews where an open and shut case becomes a Pandora's box of lies, deceit and passions repressed by the academic cloister and the Protestant church.

"Shirley McKay is an intelligent and entertaining novelist who deserves to be better known. TV producers take note: these books, with their vividly realised settings, just beg to be dramatised” - Scots Magazine               

In the swell of a storm, a ship is wrecked in St Andrews harbour. A young Flemish sailor, the last man aboard, collapses and dies at the inn.

‘Intoxicating mix of dramatic crime and repressed passion’ – New Books

In the swell of a storm, a ship is wrecked in the harbour. The cargo brings devastation to St Andrews as squabbling turns to tragedy. Hew traces the ship to its source in Ghent, where he uncovers a strange secret and finds his principles tested to the core.