Brian McNeill is a Scottish folk musician performer, songwriter, composer, producer and musical director. He was a founding member of The Battlefield Band which combined traditional celtic melodies and new material.
As a novelist he has published two books, The Busker and To Answer The Peacock. He has also produced an acclaimed audio-visual show about Scottish emigration to America, The Back O' The North Wind.
A darker book than To Answer the Peacock. Very high body count, among both villains and sympathetic characters.
The book has been out of print since before I heard of it. So I bought a used one online. When I paid $27 for the used book, I somehow failed to realize I was getting a little mass-market paperback. Oh well.