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Shirley McKay

Candlemas is the first of five new, self-contained mysteries released as eBooks throughout the year in step with the sixteenth century calendar. A complete collection will be available after the publication of the fifth story.
On Candlemas eve an apprentice candle maker finds his master, John Blair dead in his workshop, and the evidence points to the surgeon Sam Sturrock. Enlisted by Sturrock's desperate apprentice, Hew Cullen, together with his friend and physician Giles Locke, finds himself drawn into the investigation to uncover the truth of the matter. At first it seems like Blair's death is the result of reckless surgical practice, but as Hew delves deeper into the life of the candle maker he discovers a web of extortion and deceit.
John Blair was a man with many enemies...
Look out for the other stories in the series: Whitsunday, Lammas, Martinmas and Yule.

Birlinn

1588: A Calendar of Crime

Candlemas: The Crackling House

Whitsunday is the second instalment of 1588: A Calendar of Crime, a collection of short stories published in step with the sixteenth century calendar.

When a Lord Justice is found dead within the grounds of St Leonard's College an unfortunate group of students and teachers take it upon themselves to dispose of the body. However, when the supposed corpse vanishes from its hiding place it quickly becomes apparent that not all is as it seems at the College. Rumours of corruption, blackmail, murder and witchcraft begin to circulate as an invisible power struggle between rival colleges and a group of commissioners unfolds in St Andrews.

Before long, Hew Cullan and Giles Locke are reluctantly dragged into the ensuing melee of investigation and accusation. Hew must not only protect an innocent man accused of murder, but also salvage the teetering reputation of a respected commissioner.

Whitsunday: Visitation

Martinmas is the fourth instalment of 1588: A Calendar of Crime, a collection of short stories published in step with the sixteenth century calendar.
In St Salvator's college at the start of the academic year a young student claims that he has seen the ghost of a Spanish soldier. Giles and Hew dismiss this as the fevered product of a wild imagination; the students are unsettled by a spate of violent storms, and fears of the apocalypse readily resurge. In the close confines of college, they can be contained. But when a merchant dies, on the feast of St Martin known as 'killing time', with the words 'dead Spaniard' the last upon his lips, the terror of the students spills out to the streets, and Hew is called upon to rid the town of ghosts.

Polygon

Martinmas: A Hew Cullan Short Story

Yule is the fifth instalment of 1588: A Calendar of Crime, a collection of short stories published in step with the sixteenth century calendar.
Despite prohibitions on celebrating Yule, the old traditions still persist among the tenant farmers on Hew's estate at Kenly Green. Hew defends a tenant against both Kirk and Crown when a violent accident befalls an unwelcome guest who has turned up uninvited to the feast.

Yule: A Hew Cullan Short Story

Stories starring a sleuthing Scottish lawyer: “McKay’s command of plot, place and character makes these 16th century St Andrews-set mysteries a delight.” —The Scotsman

 A grisly murder. A vanishing corpse. A secret romance. A ghostly tale. An innocent accused.

 Set in the year of the Armada, 1588: A Calendar of Crime brings together five short stories featuring Hew Cullan. From the gruesome murder of a candlemaker to Spanish ghosts on Hallowmas, Shirley McKay delivers five gripping tales of mystery that will keep you reading long into the night.

 “A fascinating evocation of the everyday life of ordinary Scots in the 1500s as well as series of first-rate stories. Her use of language is a delight, the sinewy and expressive Scots words aiding the creation of Cullen's very realistic world. McKay is to be congratulated for the continued quality and inventiveness of her tales.” —The National