A Pig of Cold Poison

Gil Cunningham #7

by Pat McIntosh

"Although he was watching closely when the mummer was poisoned, it took Gil Cunningham several days and three more poisonings to work out how it was done."Danny Gibson and Nanty Bothwell, rivals for the affections of Agnes Renfrew, the apothecary's pretty daughter, are also good friends. When they both take part in the festive play at the house of Gil's sister Kate, it ends in Danny's death, apparently by poison from his friend's flask. So was it deliberate, and if not, why won't Nanty defend himself? Why is Agnes's eccentric brother Nicol so insistent that Nanty had the wrong flask, and why do none of the apothecaries in Glasgow recognize the poison it held?Gil, convinced Nanty is innocent, sets out to answer these questions and finds himself enmeshed in the tensions of the Renfrew household and the tangled relationships among the apothecary houses. And then a second and third death confuse matters further still, and bring Gil's wife Alys into the investigation.Praise for Pat characterisations and period detail are first rate.' Publishers Weekly'The next Cunningham adventure is to be welcomed.' Historical Novels Review.'Will do for Glasgow in the 15th century what Ellis Peters and her Brother Cadfael did for Shrewsbury in the 12th.' Mystery Readers Journal.'Lots of dramatic characterisation and detail on medieval Glasgow.' Glasgow Herald.'McIntosh does a solid job of blending plot and period detail.' Publishers Weekly, starred review.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Medieval, Fiction, Scotland

162 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

McIntosh was born and raised in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Having begun to write at age seven, she credits the author who inspired her to write as "probably Angus MacVicar!" She lived and worked in Glasgow for many years before moving to the west coast of Scotland. Prior to making her mark as an author, she worked as "a librarian, a receptionist for an alternative therapy centre, taught geology and palaeontology, [and] tutored for the Open University."

Reviews

[Clemens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book in 2010, and its the 7th volume of the delightful "Gilbert Cunningham" series.

This tale is once again set in and around Glasgow, it is interwoven with Scots throughout to make this mystery as authentic as possible.

Gilbert Cunningham has a case on his hands concerning poisoning, and it starts at his sister's Kate house, where a mummer called, Danny Gibson is poisoned, a poison that should have been in the flask taken from his friend, Nanty Bothwell.

Both these young man are rivals for the affections of Agnes Renfrew, the apothecary's daughter, and why is Nicol, Agnes's brother so insistent that Nanty had the wrong flask, and why is their so much tension in the Renfrew household and also between apothecaries.

Cunningham is sure about Nanty's innocence, and os starts his investigations, but when a second and third death follow Alys steps in to help her husband in finding this cold pig spreading this poison.

What is to follow is an intriguing and thrilling Scottish mystery, in which Gilbert and Alys will need to go to any length to find the culprit, and after some twists and turns, followed by a superbly worked out plot, they will be able to unravel the threads of this web of deceit and death, and in the end they will reveal the murderer of all these poisonings.

Highly recommended, for this is another amazing addition to this terrific series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Marvellous Scottish Poison Mystery"!

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy this series, but this isn't my favorite book. The combination of three different languages, English, Scot and Gaelic makes for an interesting read, but it can be a bit confusing. Luckily, the author translates the Gaelic, but refers the reader to a Scot language online dictionary to help with the rest. I found the dictionary too cumbersome to use and Scot isn't that hard to pick up when mixed in with English. So really, the language isn't my main complaint, I just found the plot too slow and the cast of characters too many to keep straight.

But still .... I'll read the next in the series when it comes available. :)

One last note here ... the author blew it. Ipecac, made from the root of the Ipecacuanha plant, is native to Brazil and wasn't introduced in to Europe until the mid 1600 or so. The date of the story is during the reign of James III of Scotland, which is two hundred years earlier.

[Barb in Maryland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another strong entry on this series. The mystery is especially twisted, with more than one villain--I can say no more for fear of spoilers. But as you can tell from the title, poison is involved in all three deaths.
Gil and his charming wife Alys hit a bit of a rough patch in their marriage, much to both of their dismays. Don't fret, dear readers, I can tell you that it turns out well in the end.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the previous one in the series, but the action doesn't move along as much as it might in the first half of the story. In the end, a satisfying read, a whodunit you can figure out if you follow the clues, and an excellent dramatic ending.

[Bryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourites in the series, both for the apothecary details, and for taking the reader inside a household with all of its tensions and confusions and miseries and kindnesses.

[Bonsai · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's a 3.5

I'd taken a break from the series so I had to get back into the Scots and other arcane expressions heavily used in the dialogue but after a few pages that was okay again.

It's still a nice combination of likable characters, killings with motives that seem odd to our time but make it feel more authentic and a well worked out of live at the time.

[Nance Roepke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love, love, love Gil and Elys and this is another great book in the series. I liked that Gil's sister was back in this book but wished there had been more of his uncle and of Elys's father. Mystery was good, the characters are good, the writing is good ... in other words this is a great book in a great series.

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still enjoying this series, but the language has me all tapsalteerie. Yes, I know I could look up the words; but that would take longer than reading the book.

[Karin Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of the best in the series but still worth reading

[Vicky Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pat mcintosh always keeps me glued to the book and turning the pages. Like following the story of Gil and alys too.

[Cindie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!!!!

[Tabitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good if somewhat tricky read due to some of the wording! Though a little easier to follow and not so convoluted as The Counterfeit Madam!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book but a bit hard to get through the language at times.

[Lynne Tull · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the suspense was drawn out and out and out. Gil doesn't seem to figure things out too quickly. He and Alys figured it out at the same time, but Alys decides to do something stupid. It makes for an exciting ending. However, it doesn't make sense for that period for a wife would betray her husband even if she considers herself an independent woman. In fact, the ending left a lot of questions unanswered. It was like Ms. McIntosh was up against her deadline so she put a period on her sentence and sent it to her publisher. Still reading the series. Hoping for a better story in the next book.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good entry in the Gil Cunningham series. This time, a mummer is killed in view of the audience at Gil's sister Kate's house. Gil is sure (as is half of Glasgow) that the arrested man is not responsible, and sets to investigating a very unhappy family of potyngers (apothecaries - thus this is REALLY cool history this time). Lots of historical detail, as usual, and some focus on Alys & Gil's relationship, particularly Alys's fear of childbirth. A bit of Ysonde and Wynliane lightens things up occasionally but overall this is a darker book, even with the reappearance of young John the harper's son.

I wish this series was more even - the ending of the fifth book dragged on and on, but this one wrapped up so quickly I'm a little confused about the solution, some of which seems to have been supplied by the coroner's court. Still a series worth reading for the history and the likeability of the main characters. For the next book I hope we get to see Alys's father Pierre taking a more active role again.

[Drayton Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like a good plot and lots of insight into the way people lived in 15th century Glasgow you'll love this. It's all about apothecaries and, of course, poison. Nice touches like the large dog, Socrates.

I don't understand why such a good writer is given cover designs which are so badly drawn, with no relationship to the Scots theme. They look like bits of bad Italian paintings.

It seems Scotland is producing an endless stream of good writers of historical fiction. Must be the Sir Walter Scott effect.

I enjoyed this just as much as all the others of hers - I think I've read most - especially because the writer makes no concessions to the Auld Enemy: lots of Scots expressions you have to work out for yourself. Some fascinating, to me, anyhow. Like the expression for tomorrow morning - "the morn's morn" - which reminds me of the Spanish "Manana por la manana". Which in turn reminds me of a great Irish joke:

Visitor: Do you have any expression in Ireland equivalent to the Spanish "Manana".

Local: Nothing that expresses quite the same sense of urgency.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series, although this one wasn't her best. I like the texture of the novels, and I feel as if I'm in medieval Scotland, except for the dirt. The language and attitudes are consistent with the period and give a good insight into people's lives at the time.

This one, though, had a very unsatisfying resolution, which is underlined by Alys's father at the end. He complains that justice was not done, but more than that, there's some doubt on the fate of Agnes and who actually did the killing.

I hope for better next time.

[Spuddie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am very sorry to have to give up on this series, but I'm pulling my hair out with the (what I consider) gross overuse of 15th century Scottish vernacular. I had complained some about each of the other books in series--this is the seventh--but this one was way over the top and totally distracting from the story. I feel bad because I do like the characters and the stories tend to be interesting...but I got halfway through and realized how long it had taken to get that far, and that i kept losing the thread of the story because i was repeatedly puzzling out what was being said.

[Ronda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this series. This was not my favorite of them so far largely because it seemed to be incomplete-almost as though the ending was rushed through. I have come to expect more resolution to the plot, and while I didn't have a problem with the sense of justice as Alys described it, I did want some resolution of some sort with the characters who were not actively involved in the final action. Perhaps the next story will pick up the tale....

[Mary MacKintosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, this was a satisfying read. The main character of the novel were all "potyngars" —pharmacists in today's world. The mystery is not only who poisoned a young man, but what was used to poison him. The work Gil Cunningham must do to solve this issue is complex enough that two more people die of poison before the solution is puzzled out.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a disappointment. Bought this because it was set in 15th century Glasgow, but apart from a few geographical references it could have been set anywhere in Scotland (or even UK). It totally lacked a sense of place. The plot was uninspiring and I certainly wont be reading another one.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had quite an orgy with reading 5 of the books (2 - 6) during Thanksgiving weekend...you can read a lot when a lovely SIL does all the work...

[Maureen E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waaah. I have reached the end of the published Gil Cunningham books. When is the next one coming out? I did like this one a lot, although it was sadder than the others somehow. [Sept. 2010]

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is good in terms of setting, but it seemed clear enough early on who did it. I guess though that it was more about why. Will read more by this authoer.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the mummers is poisoned on Halloween and Gil sets out to find out whodunnit. Usual good writing and readable murder mystery

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a good puzzling plot, although you might work out 'whodunnit', but it does keep you guessing, until yes, it was who you thought all along.

[Ray Melville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. Better places the storey to the 1400s than 'The Fourth Crow' with a good plot with plenty of twists.

[Nrr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of characters, should have a list like Lindsay Davis. Dreadful images. Rather lost what happens to Agnes.

[Julie Durovchic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this mystery it moved along quickly even with the mix of languages. My only complaint is I wanted to know what happened to some of the secondary characters, I hope I will find out in future books.