A Pound of Flesh

Robert Young of Newbiggin Mysteries #1

by Stuart S. Laing

Edinburgh 1745.

Deep beneath the rain soaked and wind scoured streets of the city a foul crime committed in the dark of night leaves two men lying dead in a dank cellar. A bankrupt young nobleman with an addiction to the twin vices of gambling and loose women stands accused of the horrific double murder and all the evidence seems to point towards his guilt. In desperation his lawyer turns to the one man in Edinburgh who can save him from the hangman's noose.

Robert Young of Newbiggin.

He is a young man who has earned a reputation amongst the city's legal fraternity for being the one person who can root out the truth by venturing into the capital's criminal underbelly. His investigation leads from the elegant drawing rooms of Edinburgh's high society to the city's most infamous brothel and into the grim hovels of the lowest alehouses on the Cowgate.

But as more bodies are discovered Robert Young is forced to confront the possibility that his client may actually be guilty!

Genres: Mystery

335 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 18, 2012

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.

Reviews

[Bob Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve spent many an evening wandering the closes and wynds of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, trying to imagine what it would have been like in days gone by. The noise, the bustle, the smells of seventy thousand people, high and low born, all living cheek by jowl in Scotland’s ancient capital.
What a pleasure it was, therefore, to start reading Stuart Laing’s ‘A Pound Of Flesh’ and find ‘Auld Reekie’ recreated just as I would have imagined it. Not the dreamily romantic image we see on shortbread tins, but a harshly realistic picture of old Edinburgh where chamber pots are emptied out of windows, and taverns are dark drinking dens.
However, I could not have imagined the wealth of characters he has brought to life to people these old streets. From the drink-sodden, philandering Earl of Strathmickle, to Robert Young of Newbigging, the crime investigator who is hired to exonerate His Grace from a series of grisly murders, of which he has been accused.. Then there’s Kitty McQueen, the paradoxically moral brothel Madam, or Estelle Cannonby, the lovely lass she has taken under her wing. My favourite character I think is Effie the Highland orphan rescued from the streets. There is a strength and feistiness and beauty in her which personifies old Edina herself. As Stuart Laing puts it:-
“Robert had come to describe this city as being like young Effie. Under all that grime and filth was a beautiful woman, who only asked that you take the time and trouble to look a little closer, and she knew that you would fall under her spell.”
The reader is drawn through this grimy, noisy, bustling city following Robert Young and his friend the Captain of the guard, Charles Travers, as they try to solve the series of brutal murders. En route falling under the spell of Stuart Laing, his cast of wonderful characters, and the old city he loves so well.
‘A Pound Of Flesh’ is an engrossing, enjoyable five star read, which I would recommend to anyone who has ever trodden the streets of Scotland’s beautiful capital city.

[Deborah · Rating 2 out of 5]

So many things are quite good about this novel, but the kindle version I read was in sore need of an editor which detracted from the overall story. This was my book club's novel for the month, and we all had the same response to the book. Our biggest objection, besides the poor editing, was the character of the Earl. Seriously, no one who is a sadistic wife beater spends one night in jail on another charge and is totally reformed. No way.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stuart Laing did it Again!!!! This book is amazing once you pick it up you can not put it down. The copy that I read was an e-book so the amount of pages I am unsure of. I can tell you that I started reading it the am and finished in the pm.
As for our story line we have a little bite of everything. An English nobleman, an attorney, or rather several attornies, and even a brothel. Yes, I said a brothel. The year in the 1700`s so you can picture the clothes and the country side in Edinburgh.
Robert Young , who happens to be a very good attorney has been hired to get this English nobleman off charges of murder. The night before there were 2 men killed all the signs point to him as being the killer. When Robert comes to his house to ask him some questions--the seen is not a good one . The poor wife is being man handled by her husband his client, which if the attorneys wife finds out about it, well that's another matter he will have to take care of.
He questions his client who not giving him any real answers. All the man wants is for him to get out so that he can get on where he left off.
Now I will let you know that the story does get really interesting when Robert ends up at the brothel with what you could say is a law man to help arrest a man. Now imagine what his wife says she. She finds out that he was the and what he says when he finds out that she will be tutoring the girls at the brothel. There is alot more action and several more deaths and you will be never believe who the killer is. Nope .........For that my friends you will have to read the story. The ending is a shocker!!!!!!! This story is a 10 plus stars and I am now reading Capital Crime. Stuart you are definately an amazing author and I am so glad that I found your books! Thank you so very much.....

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this fabulous book!
Loved the characters very believable portrayal of 18th century Scotland, as someone with a soft spot for my fellow Scots I got completely addicted to this story.
I MUST READ MORE!!!!!!!!! Was Wowed!

[Jeanette Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s obvious that the author knows Edinburgh very well and has done his research on what the city was like during the time period this story is set, the eighteenth century. His portrayal of life then is excellent and the reader has no problem visualising the narrow streets, and the smells almost assail the nose as if we were there. As other reviewers have pointed out that it needed a proof-read, I can only agree to that, but at the same time I have to say that it didn’t spoil my enjoyment and engagement with the story.

The plot was well thought through and constructed, the characters well developed and ‘real’. I found myself feeling what they felt, whether that of compassion or anger at injustice and wanting the murderer to be… no spoilers in my reviews! Except to say that really I didn’t quite get why it was necessary to mutilate the bodies in the way described; again I don’t want to give any spoilers; except to say that I understand how it gave the book its title!

Like other reviewers, there were odd times when I wondered if that expression or that object, or whatever, would have been used back then but they were such fleeting thoughts that I can’t remember what they were. All in all, I thought the story was good and I liked Robert Young; I might drop in on him again.

[Jeannie Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the descriptions, characters and storyline the author put in this novel. I believe he has a knack for storytelling. I applaud his bravery in putting his thoughts onto paper. He has quite a way with words. He makes you want to walk back in time to the 1700’s on those streets of the beautiful city that he details and describes. I think he has a good thing going in the Robert Young of Newbiggin Mysteries.

Jeannie Walker (Award-Winning Author)

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had difficulty reading this book due to the poor editing, punctuation and formatting but since the storyline and the vocabulary were interesting, I'm glad that I persevered. The historical detail was well described and the Edinburgh setting was really excellent. I'm sad I couldn't give more stars but the poor punctuation really meant it was very hard to read.

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the whole thing but I had to force myself. The author needs a good editor or a better ebook formatter. There were many sentences without periods at the end. Edinburgh itself was described well.
If typos bother you, avoid this at all costs.

[Frances · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needs an Editor.
This book started off really well but soon became tedious. Unfortunately there were many spelling/grammar errors throughout the book that were an annoying distraction.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Edinburgh in 1745 and Robert Young has been employed to prove that the Earl of Strathmickle is innocent of murder.
Looking forward to reading the others in the series.