The Unnatural Death of a Jacobite

*Many thanks to Luath Press, Douglas Watt and Netgalley for providing me with ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
The novel, set in Scotland in the times of the Glorious Revolution, turned out to be an enjoyable and historically informative read for me. A lawyer, Aeneas MacLeod, is found murdered and his kin demand justice. John MacKenzie together with David Scougall are asked by the clan to help out and find the murderer. The two lawyers do their best to explain the mystery although the times are tumultuous as James II has not given up on the English throne yet, and Bonnie Dundee is getting ready to defeat the Williamates . This is the 4th offering by Douglas Watt, and sometimes I felt I did lack some information which must be in the previous books, however, on the whole, as a murder mystery, it can be read as a standalone. There are some special treats in this novel. For instance, I liked Mrs Hair who is an independent widow doing successfully all kinds of businesses in the all-male world, which was rather unusual in the 17th century. Moreover, I appreciated the way Mr Watt describes the informative role newspapers started to play in those days. The only regret on my side regarding reading this book was that I know so little about the history of Scotland ….

This book gives an interesting insight into the dangerous times of religious divisions in Scotland highlighted by the Protestant Dutch King William III invading and banishing the Catholic King James. Hate and reprisals between Catholics and Protestants simmer below the surface and the Jacobites and supporters of the banished King are under constant surveillance by the new regime. However even with all this uncertainty a murder is committed, Aeneas MacLeod who was a young lawyer for a lending agency, his body is discovered only by chance when adverse weather conditions at a quarry exposes the body.
John MacKenzie, Advocate and his assistant Davie Scougall are commissioned to investigate the murder privately by the father. The Advocate for the new regime is too occupied with the unsettling times to be over worried about the murder of a suspected Jacobite. The investigation gives John MacKenzie something to concentrate on, the change in government as with many of his acquaintances has meant the loss of his job and to alleviate his anxieties and depression about his loneliness and further loss of the company of his daughter and only child who has recently run off and eloped with a Jacobite rebel. The investigation is complex and has the men travelling all over the country speaking to the many colourful and unsavoury characters that Aeneas MacLeod associated with as well as unmasking his own despicable character. The read concludes revealing further murders, suicide, the perpetrator of Aeneas’s murder and the defeat of the Killiecrankie Rebellion.

A good historical fiction and an interesting mystery set in a fascinating historical period.
I loved the well researched historical background, the interesting and well written characters and the setting.
The mystery was solid and there's no plot hole.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

In 1689 a body is discovered in the Craigleith Quarry, near Edinburgh. It is determined to be the body of a lawyer. Is his death connected to his work or the uprising occurring in the Highlands. Ex-advocate John MacKenzie with his assistant Davie Scougall are asked to investigate.
This is the first of the series that I have read, it can easily be read as a standalone story. I enjoyed this interesting well-written mystery with its likeable characters.