Double Toil & Trouble: A Story of Macbeth's Nieces

by Peg Herring

Scotland’s King Macbeth has been dead for a decade, yet his legacy changes forever the lives of his twin nieces, Jenna and Jessie macFindlaech. Viking raiders on a blood feud come to their home in the Cairngorm Mountains, intending to kill all males of Macbeth’s line. Finding only female descendants in the clan-hold, the Vikings declare they will seek out the older sister, who has two sons. Knowing she must somehow warn Tessa, Jenna escapes the marauders. To her horror, the Vikings take Jessie with them as a hostage.The girls must learn to live without each other, outside the world they’ve always known. It’s especially hard for kind-hearted Jessie, whose lameness makes her doubt her own worth. Jenna’s anger keeps her going, rage at the Vikings who ruined her peaceful life and, she fears, have killed her beloved twin. She refuses to believe any Northman has the tiniest spark of not the deformed vitki fortune teller called Aldis, and definitely not Lukas the Tracker, whose merest touch makes her feel weak in the knees.Jenna’s path takes her to England and then France, where she meets William of Normandy just before he leaves to conquer England. Jessie stays in Scotland, pursued by Viking Bjorn Bear-Slayer and protected by a kind man who sees her as a burden laid upon him by a benevolent priest.As each sister copes in her own way, love interferes with their intentions. In both cases it’s love that cannot be expressed, love that’s too irrational to ever be returned. Each girl struggles to put her emotions aside, but their hearts don’t know how. The attempt only leads to Double Toil and Trouble.

321 pages, Paperback

Published January 7, 2016

About the author

Peg is author of
the award-winning Dead Detective Mysteries,
the unusual Loser Mysteries,
the critically-acclaimed Simon & Elizabeth (Tudor) Mysteries,
the Kidnap Capers,
and others.
Her writing focuses on strong women, and Peg believes every book needs a central character that readers can admire, a little bit of humor, a suspenseful core, and an ending that satisfies our souls.

Peg's more recent work (DECEIVING ELVERA, SISTER SAINT, SISTER SINNER) is more mainstream fiction, though there is always a mystery to be solved.

Reviews

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful, but

The characters willful ignorance of things so obvious to the reader was annoying. Especially because these things were the essence of the story. We all know we are headed toward a happy ending, regardless of the efforts of even the leading characters. The good guys are too good and the bad guys are too one dimensionally evil.
However.......
My guess is that this is an older book, written before Peg Hering had fully developed her craft. Because the beauty of her writing is also evident. It is more than enough to carry the reader into the story and to put up with any weaknesses of the plot or characters. There is more than enough evidence of the delightful story teller Ms Hering is to become to make reading this book well worth it. Peg Hering is one of my favorite authors, and I'll read anything she cares to write, or has ever written.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started off a little slow, but ended as an amazing book!