Review of "Queen Macbeth: A Novella" by Val McDermid

The Darkland Tales are a series of books that reinterpret stories from Scottish history, myth and legend in a modern way. The latest book in the series, Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid, tells the story of Lady Macbeth.

In Shakespeare's play 'Macbeth', Lady Macbeth is a scheming ambitious woman who encourages her husband to kill King Duncan so Macbeth can become king. Macbeth turns into a cruel murderous monarch and it all comes to a bad end.


Macbeth movie poster (1948)

McDermid's novella about Lady Macbeth (whose given name is Gruoch) is different, and somewhat speculative. In an author's note, McDermid notes that we don't really know what happened in Scotland at the end of the tenth century because very few people had access to ink and paper, and "those who did were more inclined towards copying religious texts than writing the medieval version of a blog."


Medieval monks writing religious texts

However, some things are known about the real Macbeth and his lady, and McDermid uses the facts to fashion her story.

Queen Macbeth's tale is told in two alternating timelines:

In the earlier timeline, written in italics, Gruoch's father has married her off to Gille Coemgáin, the King of Moray. Gruoch has been permitted to bring along her three women companions, Eithne - a seer and herbalist; Aife - a companion and baker; and Ligath - a weaver and beekeeper.



Gruoth doesn't love (or even like) her husband Gille, a coarse man whose sole interest in Gruoth is getting her pregnant. Gruoth comments, "It's true there was not much to love about Gille. He lived to eat and drink well, and that had coarsened the good looks he'd been blessed with. There was no tenderness in him; he was uncaring and rough, always putting his own needs and desires first."



Thus when Gille's charismatic cousin Macbeth comes for a visit, Gruoth is immediately taken with him. Gille observes, "The first time I set eyes on Macbeth, I knew he was the very pattern of manhood.....although he was a little lower in rank than the man I was wedded to, he seemed more like a lord than Gille Coemgáin." Macbeth's red hair, blazing blue eyes, handsome face, and lively dancing capture Gille's heart, and the attraction is mutual.





Gruoch and Macbeth fall in love, engage in houghmagandie (sex), and maintain a mostly long-distance relationship - being careful not to excite Gille's suspicions. Eventually, Macbeth hatches a scheme to kill Gille, and Macbeth and Gruoth marry and become king and queen of Moray.



Macbeth and Gruoch rule benevolently for seventeen years, until Macbeth is mortally wounded in battle. With Macbeth gone, and King Malcolm ascended to the throne of Scotland, Gruoth and her companions, along with Macbeth's man Angus - who's sworn to protect the ladies - run for their lives.



*****

In the later timeline, written in plain text, Gruoch, her three women friends, and their protector Angus are on the lam, trying to evade King Malcolm's minions. If the fugitives are caught, they'll be killed.

The exiles hide out in a monastery for four years, until they're discovered by their foes.





The refugees manage to escape, and make a mad dash for the Isle of Mull, where they'll be protected by Macbeth's allies. Unfortunately, Gruoch and her retinue run into big trouble along the way. Do they get away? You'll have to read the novella to find out.





The book is chock full of suspense, danger, and death, as would be expected in a novella by renowned mystery writer Val McDermid. McDermid tells the tale in medieval vernacular, but it's easy to understand. Moreover, a helpful glossary is included. I'll give some examples of archaic words:

barley bree - a primitive form of whiskey
birlinn - a small galley or longboat
bleezing - bragging
cac-shiubhal - diarrhea
dugs - breasts
jessies - cowardly males
Mormaer - leader, ruler
pintle - penis
ramsons - wild garlic
Slàinte mhath - a toast meaning good health

I enjoyed this alternative tale about Lady Macbeth and highly recommend it.



Thanks to Netgalley, Val McDermid, and Grove Atlantic for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "French Quarter Fright Night: A Vintage Cookbook Mystery" by Ellen Byron

In this third book in the 'Vintage Cookbook Mystery' series, a murder victim is found in a Halloween horror exhibit. The book works fine as a standalone.

*****

Thirtyish cookbook enthusiast Miracle Fleur de Lis James-Diaz (aka Ricki James-Diaz) was born in New Orleans, spent many years in California, and is now back in the Big Easy.



Ricki owns and runs a gift shop, called Miss Vee's Vintage Cookbook and Kitchenware Shop.....



......in a New Orleans attraction called 'Bon Vee Culinary House Museum.'



The museum is located in a refurbished mansion, and Ricki has an idea for attracting more visitors during the Halloween season. Ricki suggests converting the Culinary House Museum into a haunted house, and calling the spooky attraction 'Bon Veeevil.'





This notion goes over big with the museum's manager and employees, and everyone gets on board to make it happen. Suggestions include a tomb with a dead body; an elderly abandoned bride in a soiled gown; a bubbling cauldron with witches; zombies and vampires; cobwebs and bats; etc.





Everything is going well at the Culinary House Museum until Hollywood heartthrob Blaine Taggert - whom Ricki knew when she lived in California - buys the mansion next door, called Duncan-Sejour.



The Duncan-Sejour mansion is being prepared for Blaine's arrival by his assistant, Miranda Fine, who's a difficult combative woman.



Miranda sends complaint after complaint to the head of the Culinary House Museum, grousing about the attraction's trash bins, parking allotment, noisy visitors, and more. The museum folks fear the Halloween haunted house will really send Miranda over the edge, but that doesn't happen.

When Blaine and his entourage arrive in town, it turns out the movie star knows nothing about Miranda's harassment campaign, and he makes her stop. Blaine even agrees to turn Duncan-Sejour into a Halloween haunted house alongside the museum's spooky exhibit.



The two mansions are set up with the requisite frightening rooms and a 'dress rehearsal' is scheduled. Shockingly, the 'dead body' in Bon Veeevil's tomb turns out to be all too real: it's Miranda Fine, who's been murdered.



Amateur sleuth Ricki is afraid all the people at the Culinary House Museum, including herself, will be suspects, and she decides to investigate the homicide herself. Ricki even gets a grudging 'okay' from police detective Nina Rodriguez, whom Ricki has helped in the past. The only caveat is that Ricki has to immediately share any information she gets with Nina.



Fans of cozy mysteries know how this goes: Ricky sneaks around; sticks her nose in everywhere; follows people; asks questions; searches for clues; and manages to make some discoveries.



Before the perpetrator is discovered, there's a second incident, involving a fire, which raises the stakes all around. All this leads to an exciting climax where the culprit is revealed.

Additional plotlines add interest to the story. For example, Ricki was abandoned by her birth mother and raised in an adoptive home. As an adult, Ricki is searching for biological relatives, and she's having some success.



Also, Ricki and her neighbor Virgil - a famous television chef - are co-parenting two dogs called Thor and Princess. There's an attraction between Ricki and Virgil, and the possibility of romantic sparks.







Of course, the book's setting, New Orleans during Halloween, provides a wonderful ambiance for the story. The Big Easy is decorated; the pubs have beer crawls and Halloweenie contests; people wear costumes; and there's lots of partying and jollity.






Like her character Ricki James-Diaz, author Ellen Byron is a fan of vintage cookbooks, and the end of the book includes recipes from Byron's collection, such as Popcorn Balls and a Jack-O'-Lantern Cheese Ball.


Popcorn Balls


Jack-O'-Lantern Cheese Ball

This is a fun cozy mystery that's especially appropriate for the Halloween season.

Thanks to Netgalley, Ellen Byron, and Severn House for a copy of the book.

Review of "Paranoid: A Novel of Suspense" by Lisa Jackson

The twenty-year reunion of Edgewater High School in Edgewater, Oregon bodes ill for some of the graduates.

To coincide with the reunion, the local newspaper is publishing stories about a tragedy that occurred two decades ago. At that time, a group of Edgewater high school students organized a pellet gun 'shooting event' in the town's dark abandoned cannery.

High school student Rachel, whose father Ned was a police detective, planned to skip the questionable activity.



But Rachel's half-brother Luke, the high school heartthrob, pressed a pellet gun into Rachel's hands and cajoled her into going.



The eerie dark cannery was frightening enough, but when the shooting started, Rachel panicked and randomly shot off her weapon. In the melee, Luke was shot with a REAL bullet, and a terrified Rachel accidently dropped her gun into a chute that led to the river.



Luke died and Rachel was blamed for shooting him. Legal proceedings followed, but the lack of evidence, as well as conflicting testimony from some teens who were at the cannery, got Rachel off. Still, Rachel blamed herself for Luke's death, and the grief and guilt has marred Rachel's life ever since.



Rachel is now an anxious divorcee with two rebellious teenage children, 17-year-daughter Harper.....



......and 15-year-old son Dylan.



Rachel's ex-husband Cade Ryder, an Edgewater police detective, triggered the divorce by getting involved with a colleague....something Cade deeply regrets.



Currently, the newspaper articles about Luke's death focus attention on Rachel once again, and she's getting disturbing text messages and nasty graffitti on her house. Moreover, Rachel thinks someone is lurking around her home and following her.



To add to Rachel's troubles, her daughter Harper is sneaking around with an older boy, and her son Dylan is acting squirrelly - like he's up to something.

Things get even more sinister when the murders begin. People who were at the shooting event two decades ago are being killed, sometimes in very bizarre and public ways.

Cade Ryder helps investigate these homicides while he also tries to insure the safety of his ex-wife Rachel and their children Harper and Dylan. (I have to say, the kids' behavior doesn't ring true. If people in town are being killed, and they have a connection to your mother, do you still sneak out of the window at night to meet your boyfriend? And does your younger brother act as an accomplice?)



In any case, one person who seems almost oblivious to the chaos in Edgewater is Rachel's former schoolmate Lila, who's in charge of the high school reunion. Lila is adamant about holding reunion meetings to organize the event, give out tasks, check the guest list, etc.



Rachel, whose job is to locate classmates who've moved away, wants to skip these meetings, but Lila is adamant.....despite potential reunion attendees being murdered.



Another person who seems rather cold is journalist Mercedes, who knows she can boost newspaper sales by writing article after article about the 20-year-old tragedy. Mercedes mercilessly hounds people for interviews, even after the murders start and it seems anyone might be a target.



Many secrets are revealed as the story unfolds, and there are plenty of suspects for armchair detectives to mull over. I must say it's hard to find characters to like in this story, though I was rooting for the high school Vice Principal, who has to deal with devious teens. 🙂



All in all, this is a very good mystery, recommended to fans of the genre.

Rating: 4 stars