The Devil's Assembly

by Stuart S. Laing

In the chaotic aftermath of the Battle of Culloden British forces spread across the Scottish Highlands to hunt down and destroy all those who had played a role in the final Jacobite Rebellion. One of the most ruthless and determined of these agents of death is Captain Alisdair Mackenzie, a man obsessed with snuffing out the flame of insurrection whatever the cost to human life, whether his victims are guilty or not. Now his focus is centred on a beautiful young woman, Lady Margaret Murray. She has managed to escape his clutches for the moment but is hunted relentlessly through the hills and glens. Driven onwards by an obsessive hatred Mackenzie is prepared to lose as many men as it takes to see her hang from the gallows pole. It is this obsession which sees him pursue her from the wild landscape of the Highlands to the wild streets of Edinburgh in his thirst for blood. In Scotland’s ancient capital Robert Young, solver of problems for the wealthy, finds himself and his friend Captain Charles Travers of the Town Guard being dragged into the hunt as the suffering of the north is brought to the cobbled wynds and closes of the city. Robert soon finds himself embroiled in a twisted affair of lies, vengeance and blood which places him at risk from both those who wish to see Lady Margaret dead, and those who are prepared to do anything to protect her. From the elegant drawing rooms of high society to the crumbling alehouses of the Cowgate, it is a hunt which must end in the death of either Lady Margaret or Captain Mackenzie when the time comes for the Devil’s Assembly.

256 pages, Paperback

Published October 9, 2017

About the author

Born in 1966 and raised on the east coast of Scotland in the ancient Pictish Kingdom of Fife.
Married to a wonderful woman for 19 years and we have been blessed with a beautiful daughter.
I really have to say thank-you to my wife for allowing me to spend so much time in the 18th Century when there are jobs in the 21st Century probably requiring my attention!

I have always been fascinated by the history of Edinburgh and have spend most of my adult life studying Scottish history in all its aspects but always find myself being drawn back to the cobbled streets of the Old Town.

I would urge all visitors to Scotland's ancient capital to (briefly) venture into one of the narrow closes/alleys running off from the Royal Mile to get a flavour of how alive with mischief, mayhem, love and laughter these streets once were.