Böcker av Douglas Watt

Step into the thrilling world of historical crime with A Case of Desecration in the West, the sixth instalment in the gripping John MacKenzie series set in late 17th-century Scotland. Join investigative advocate John MacKenzie and his witty sidekick Davie Scougall as they embark on a riveting journey to Glasgow and the opulent Hamilton Palace. Unravel the mystery surrounding the drowning of Bethia Porterfield in the Avon Water. Was it a tragic accident, suicide, or something more sinister like murder? What secrets lie behind the desecration of a Quaker burial ground near Hamilton, and what connection does it have to the clandestine Cadzow Kiss, a forbidden club meeting in the ruins of Cadzow Castle? Prepare for a rollercoaster of suspense and intrigue as MacKenzie and Scougall navigate the treacherous waters of deception. A Case of Desecration in the West is a journey into a cesspit of dark secrets that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Set in Edinburgh in 1690. The body of a wealthy merchant is discovered in his home in the city centre. Was his killing the result of a robbery gone wrong? The vicious mode of his death seems to suggest otherwise. Scotland is in upheaval as political and religious tensions boil, and there is mystery concealed behind the walls of Van Diemen's Land. MacKenzie and Scougall investigate.

The Price of Scotland covers a well-known episode in Scottish history, the ill-fated Darien Scheme. It recounts for the first time in almost forty years, the history of the Company of Scotland, looking at previously unexamined evidence and considering the failure in light of the Company's financial records. Douglas Watt offers the reader a new way of looking at this key moment in history, from the attempt to raise capital in London in 1695 through to the shareholder bail-out as part of the Treaty of Union in 1707. With the tercentenary of the Union in May 2007, The Price of Scotland provides a timely reassessment of this national disaster. REVIEWS Douglas Watt has brought an economist's eye and poet's sensibility in the Price of Scotland... to show definitively... that over-ambition and mismanagement, rather than English mendacity, doomed Scotland's imperial ambitions. - THE OBSERVER The Price of Scotland treats Darien as a financial mania. - THE FINANCIAL TIMES Exceptionally well written, it reads like a novel. As I say - if you're not Scottish and live here - read it. If you're Scottish read it anyway. It's a very, very good book. - i-on magazine The must-have book on the events in advance of the Act of Union that brought Scotland and England together in 1707 is Douglas Watt's The Price of Scotland. It's a fantastic run-through of the "e;catastrophic failure"e; of the Darien Scheme - the creation of the Company of Scotland to establish a Central American colony. THE FINANCIAL TIMES

On the eve of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, a series of gory murders are discovered by investigative advocate John MacKenzie and his assistant Davie Scougall. Drawn into a world of Papist plots, Presbyterian secret societies and religious and political upheaval, the pair follow a trail of clues left by a murderous, self-proclaimed 'Messenger of God'.

Mystery surrounds the murder of Sir Lachlan MacLean, an impoverished Highland laird. With bad debts, family quarrels, and shady associates, Sir Lachlan had many enemies. But while motives are not hard to find, evidence is another thing entirely. Lawyer John MacKenzie and scribe Davie Scougall turn investigator to try to track down the murderer.

Set in the 17th century against the backdrop of political and religious conflict, the second of Watt's John MacKenzie series is as historically rich and gripping as the last. MacKenzie investigates the murder of a woman accused of witchcraft and he must act quickly when the same accusations are made against the woman's daughter. Superstition clashes with reason as Scotland moves towards the Enlightenment. The 1600s are expertly recreated with a strong sense of history and place.