189 ratings | 147 reviews | avg rating:4.06

Neil’s Year In Books

Neil’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Neil’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Neil’s 2025 Year in Books

Neil MacDonald’s Followers (18)

Neil’s Bookshelves

to-read (18)
currently-reading (2)
read (219)

Neil’s Friends (13)

Amanda Meuwissen

139 books | 164 friends

Trish

723 books | 18 friends

Sarah Zama

885 books | 104 friends

8stitches 9lives

9,246 books | 2,883 friends

Mary

759 books | 406 friends

Toni Allen

117 books | 576 friends

Alina

170 books | 68 friends

Vanessa Morton

181 books | 74 friends

More friends…

Neil MacDonald

Goodreads Author

Born

Dundee, The United Kingdom

Website

https://neilmacdonaldauthor.com/

Genre

Nonfiction, Contemporary, Thriller

Member Since

March 2014

edit data

I was born in Dundee, Scotland and raised in Jamaica. I have a PhD in genetics and started my working life as a scientist. From there, I moved through journalism (the last profession of the gentleman) and publishing to working for international aid organisations.

I have always written, one way or another, and am the author of five current affairs books on Latin America and the Caribbean, and most recently, in 2013, Cautionary Tales for Development Workers, a collection of stories about international aid.

Over the last several years I have been serving my apprenticeship in fiction and my debut literary thriller,The Tears of Boabdil, is out in September 2020. My historical fantasy novel A Prize of Sovereigns. was serialised on BigWorldNework ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Neil MacDonald questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Neil MacDonald’s books

Average rating: 4.3 · 50 ratings · 45 reviews · 15 distinct works

	The Tears of Boabdil 4.35 avg rating — 46 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cautionary Tales for Development Folk 3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Caribbean: Making Our Own Choices really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Andes (Oxfam Country Profiles Series) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1992	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Central America: Options for the Poor 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hard Lessons: Report of a N.U.T./W.U.S.Delegation to El Salvador 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	With Full Conviction 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Western Way 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Eachunn agus an Tarbh: Hector and the Bull 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Palliative Medicine: A case-based manual by Neil MacDonald (2012-05-04) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Neil MacDonald…

741 posts
Neil MacDonald's Blog

Friday Fictioneers – Her Face

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

The face she wears is not her only face. Though she performs the role well, smiling and agreeable, every now and again the skin coruscates for a moment and I glimpse an altogether different creature beneath. This thing has teeth.

She will come for me one day—I know it.

Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in r

Neil is Currently Reading

Neil MacDonald is currently reading

THE SPIRE by Golding, William by Golding, William

by William Golding

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jan 01, 2026 12:01PM

Neil MacDonald is currently reading

The Tears of Boabdil

by Neil MacDonald (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jul 30, 2024 05:26PM

rss
Neil’s Recent Updates

Neil MacDonald is currently reading THE SPIRE by Golding, William by Golding, William by William Golding	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 01, 2026 12:01PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of THE SPIRE by Golding, William by Golding, William by William Golding. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — THE SPIRE by Golding, William by Golding, William by William Golding <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Neil MacDonald rated a book really liked it A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A Little Trickerie is the debut novel of Rosanna Pike. The vagabond protagonist, Tibb Ingleby has numerous adventures in Medieval England. I never felt the plot was terribly important, but thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Tibb. She is a characte ...more
Jan 01, 2026 12:00PM · like · see review
Neil MacDonald rated a book it was amazing The Inheritors: Introduced by Ben Okri by William Golding	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Inheritors by William Golding is a story of the Fall. But the fall is that of the Neanderthals to their more cunning siblings—modern humans. Golding’s evocation of the world of the Neanderthals is masterful. Through dexterity of language he captu ...more
Dec 18, 2025 03:59AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Inheritors by William Golding. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Inheritors by William Golding <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Neil MacDonald started reading A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 18, 2025 03:59AM · like
Neil MacDonald rated a book it was amazing The Inheritors: Introduced by Ben Okri by William Golding	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Inheritors by William Golding is a story of the Fall. But the fall is that of the Neanderthals to their more cunning siblings—modern humans. Golding’s evocation of the world of the Neanderthals is masterful. Through dexterity of language he captu ...more
Dec 18, 2025 03:57AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Inheritors by William Golding. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Inheritors by William Golding <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Neil MacDonald started reading The Inheritors: Introduced by Ben Okri by William Golding	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 19, 2025 08:09AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Inheritors by William Golding. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Inheritors by William Golding <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Neil MacDonald rated a book liked it Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang is a trek through the circles of hell undertaken by two Cambridge post docs studying magick. I loved Kuang’s Babel, also set in Oxbridge and had expected to love Katabasis. But this excursion into dark academia left me curious ...more
Nov 19, 2025 08:08AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Katabasis by R.F. Kuang. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Katabasis by R.F. Kuang <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Neil MacDonald rated a book it was amazing Basilisk by Matt Wixey	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Basilisk of Matt Wixey’s bold and experimental novel is four words so deadly they can scramble your brain, like a computer worm. The idea of such a cognitohazard is brilliant (though not entirely new). What makes this novel so entrancing is the w ...more
Oct 16, 2025 03:00AM · like · see review
Neil MacDonald wants to read A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 10, 2025 08:36AM · like
Neil MacDonald wants to read The Inheritors: Introduced by Ben Okri by William Golding	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 22, 2025 05:14PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Inheritors by William Golding. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Inheritors by William Golding <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">