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Revision as of 17:05, 29 April 2012
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|summary=This is everything you want from light historical crime: intrigue bearing a humorous twinkle and packed with 'Didn't know that!' type facts. Shirley McKay's latest offering in the 16th century Hew Cullen Cullan series is a book for light escapism in all seasons, be it snuggling down in the winter or beside a summer beach.
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A ship is wrecked on the coast of 16th century Scotland, the crew gone, the only man on board dying and a windmill lashed to its deck. What happened? What sort of illness does it carry? And, more importantly for the town's people, who gets to keep the windmill? It's a tough one, but university professor and erstwhile lawyer Hew Cullen Cullan is on the case.
One of the great joys of being a Bookbagger... a Bookbag... of being here... is being introduced to a whole realm of authors and books that would normally pass me by. Shirley McKay and her Hew Cullen Cullan series are a case in point. ''Time and Tide'' is the third Hew Cullen Cullan novel so, if like me, you've just arrived, a quick catch-up may be in order.
Hew is employed by the local university but, due to his lecture timetable, spends more time (luckily for us) sleuthing for the good people of St Andrews. His best friend and brother-in-law, Giles, happens to be a doctor. (If you're going to keep bumping into murder victims, a doctor will always come in handy.) Also Hew isn't married so there's much opportunity for love interest and all the accompanying problems and plot possibilities.
The community of St Andrews is as big a star in this novel as the main characters. The people, good and bad, are just trying to survive. Human nature may not have changed in that time, but other things have and, accordingly, the author ensures ''Time and Tides'' is seamlessly rippled with period colour and factoids. For instance, did you know that they ate a form of fondue in 16th century Scotland? Also, (look away now if you're of a delicate disposition) the length of a man's member was thought to be in direct proportion to the length of umbilical cord left when cut at birth. No further comments... I'll just walk away from that one now.
If you're in it for storyline rather than historical accuracy, there's plenty. The mystery moves along at a cracking rate, nicely layered with intrigue and twists in a similar way to the books of [[C J Sansom's Matthew Shardlake Novels in Chronological Order|C J Sansom]] and S J Parris. There are arguments regarding the windmill (an expensive asset so if one turned up free...), plenty of bodies and a chance to see a bit of 16th century Europe. If I have any mild niggles, firstly the revelation of the killer for most of the body count is dealt with very quickly (almost as if we had to be told in a hurry before we ran out of story) and secondly I wasn't that happy with the joke about the Scots' lack of nutrition. It may prove that nothing has changed, but it felt a bit like playing to stereotypes. Having said that, I wouldn't let either niggle stop me reading it again, or, indeed, prevent me from tracing Hew CullenCullan's steps from the beginning. I enjoyed making his acquaintance and look forward to meeting up with him again soon.
I would like to thank the publisher for giving Bookbag a copy of this book for review.
