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John MacKenzie #2
Testament of a Witch
Set in the 17th century against the backdrop of political and religious conflict, the second of Watt's John MacKenzie series is as historically rich and gripping as the last. MacKenzie investigates the murder of a woman accused of witchcraft and he must act quickly when the same accusations are made against the woman's daughter. Superstition clashes with reason as Scotland moves towards the Enlightenment. The 1600s are expertly recreated with a strong sense of history and place.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
83 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Watt
15 books12 followersI was born in Edinburgh in 1965 and grew up there and in Aberdeen. I have an MA and PhD in history from Edinburgh University.
I’m the author of a series of historical crime novels and a prize-winning account of Scotland’s Darien Disaster. I live in East Lothian and work as a financial writer.
I’ve loved Scottish History since reading John Prebble’s Glencoe as a teenager – the book brought the past alive for me. I’ve written six historical crime novels set in 17th century Scotland featuring investigative advocate John MacKenzie and his side-kick Davie Scougall. The books are first and foremost crime fictions but they are also journeys through the paradox of late 17th century Scotland – a time of witch hunting, religious fanaticism and blasphemy trials when the green shoots of the Scottish Enlightenment first appeared. I’m now writing the seventh book in the series.
I’m also the author of The Price of Scotland, a history of Scotland’s Darien Disaster which bankrupt the country and precipitated parliamentary Union with England in 1707. The book won the Hume Brown Senior Prize in Scottish History in 2008.
I’m the author of a series of historical crime novels and a prize-winning account of Scotland’s Darien Disaster. I live in East Lothian and work as a financial writer.
I’ve loved Scottish History since reading John Prebble’s Glencoe as a teenager – the book brought the past alive for me. I’ve written six historical crime novels set in 17th century Scotland featuring investigative advocate John MacKenzie and his side-kick Davie Scougall. The books are first and foremost crime fictions but they are also journeys through the paradox of late 17th century Scotland – a time of witch hunting, religious fanaticism and blasphemy trials when the green shoots of the Scottish Enlightenment first appeared. I’m now writing the seventh book in the series.
I’m also the author of The Price of Scotland, a history of Scotland’s Darien Disaster which bankrupt the country and precipitated parliamentary Union with England in 1707. The book won the Hume Brown Senior Prize in Scottish History in 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 24, 2011
I great mystery novel based in Scotland during the late 1600's witch hunts. I found the Scottish dialect hard going at times but well worth the effort of 'hearing' it said in my head as I read!
Scotland
Scotland
February 9, 2020
Well written detective story against the backdrop of the Scottish witch hunts. The narrative gives a good sense of the time, including descriptions of how accused witches and warlocks were treated in custody and passages in Scots dialect and a few Gaelic proverbs thrown in here and there. Quick, informative and enjoyable read!
June 28, 2021
This one was quite creepy. Taking place during one of the witch hunt periods in Scotland, it gives you a real feeling for the horror of it and the superstition that the church fostered in their contest for theological power over each other and their flocks. Douglas Watt has a way with am historical mystery with good characters, fast-paced plot(s) and dialogue.
October 27, 2023
3 stars only because the story line was good and I'm reading this right before Halloween. The style of writing is quite poor. It could do with longer sentences, longer chapters, more descriptions.
September 23, 2015
Fire burn and cauldron bubble…
Late 17th century Scotland – a time of uneasy peace, of treasonable plots, of religious division and of superstition and witch-hunts. Grissell Hay, foreseeing her own death, leaves a letter for her old friend, lawyer John MacKenzie, seeking his protection for her daughters whom she fears may also be in danger. With his clerk, Davie Scougall, MacKenzie hurries to the village of Lammersheugh, but is it already too late? Euphame, Grissell’s eldest child, has been accused of witchcraft and, if found guilty, will be burned.
It is clear that Douglas Watt knows this period of history very well, as indeed he should, since he has a PhD in Scottish History and is also the author of The Price of Scotland which won the Hume Brown Senior Prize in Scottish History in 2008. He uses his two main protagonists to demonstrate the religious and political divides in society at that time. Scougall, a lowland Scot, is a Presbyterian protestant and a whole-hearted believer in the evils and power of witchcraft. He is concerned that the crown is held by the Catholic Stuart king, James VII (II of England), and, although a law-abiding man, has some sympathy with those who plot to replace James with the Protestant William of Orange. MacKenzie, on the other hand, is a rationalist – a precursor of the Scottish Enlightenment. With a highland background and from the Episcopalian tradition, he has come to believe that the superstitions peddled by both sides of the religious divide are the true evils in society, holding the people of Scotland back from advancing socially and intellectually.
However, Watt manages to get all this historical background over with a light touch. The book is well written, well plotted and the main characters engage our sympathies from the outset. The murder and detection elements are woven well into the historical aspects of the book. The descriptions of how witches were identified and dealt with are both fascinating and horrifying. A couple of chapters are written in Scots dialect but not broadly enough to cause problems for a non-Scottish reader to understand. Overall, a very enjoyable and interesting read. I will now be backtracking to read the first in the series Death of a Chief and look forward to meeting MacKenzie and Scougall again in the future.
NB This book was provided for review by Amazon Vine UK.
Late 17th century Scotland – a time of uneasy peace, of treasonable plots, of religious division and of superstition and witch-hunts. Grissell Hay, foreseeing her own death, leaves a letter for her old friend, lawyer John MacKenzie, seeking his protection for her daughters whom she fears may also be in danger. With his clerk, Davie Scougall, MacKenzie hurries to the village of Lammersheugh, but is it already too late? Euphame, Grissell’s eldest child, has been accused of witchcraft and, if found guilty, will be burned.
It is clear that Douglas Watt knows this period of history very well, as indeed he should, since he has a PhD in Scottish History and is also the author of The Price of Scotland which won the Hume Brown Senior Prize in Scottish History in 2008. He uses his two main protagonists to demonstrate the religious and political divides in society at that time. Scougall, a lowland Scot, is a Presbyterian protestant and a whole-hearted believer in the evils and power of witchcraft. He is concerned that the crown is held by the Catholic Stuart king, James VII (II of England), and, although a law-abiding man, has some sympathy with those who plot to replace James with the Protestant William of Orange. MacKenzie, on the other hand, is a rationalist – a precursor of the Scottish Enlightenment. With a highland background and from the Episcopalian tradition, he has come to believe that the superstitions peddled by both sides of the religious divide are the true evils in society, holding the people of Scotland back from advancing socially and intellectually.
However, Watt manages to get all this historical background over with a light touch. The book is well written, well plotted and the main characters engage our sympathies from the outset. The murder and detection elements are woven well into the historical aspects of the book. The descriptions of how witches were identified and dealt with are both fascinating and horrifying. A couple of chapters are written in Scots dialect but not broadly enough to cause problems for a non-Scottish reader to understand. Overall, a very enjoyable and interesting read. I will now be backtracking to read the first in the series Death of a Chief and look forward to meeting MacKenzie and Scougall again in the future.
NB This book was provided for review by Amazon Vine UK.
August 18, 2011
Why did I read it? It was given to me in exchange for a review and I was keen on the idea of a fictional work set in Scotland during the the notorious witch hunts.
Synopsis: John Mackenzie is an advocate in Edinburgh who is charged by a letter from a dead woman to investigate happenings in the village of Lammersheugh. He and his assistant, Davie Scougall, a man raised in religious superstition, arrive to find the dead woman's daughter, Euphame also accused of witchcraft and the enlightened Mr Mackenzie and his reluctant assistant must work quickly to save her.
What did I like? Douglas Watt keeps his chapters short and each has a different voice, focussing on one person, or section of the community and this keeps the story moving at a cracking pace. The zeitgeist of the Scotland in the 17th century - the religious fervour and political unrest - is evoked with apparent ease and Mr Watt is explicit when describing the gruesome nature of the treatment afforded those accused of being in league with the devil but this adds to the feeling of uncertainty and terror of the time.
I enjoyed this book and sped through it keen to discover the underbelly of Lammersheugh with John Mackenzie, but unlike other murder and/or mystery books, I was unable to unravel the mystery ahead of the author's reveal. For me, this is a big plus for the book.
What didn't I like? Very little. Some of the chapters were difficult to read as over half the chapter was written in a Scottish dialect, though the few Gaelic phrases scattered throughout other chapters were translated into plain English.
Would I recommend it? Yes! I would thoroughly recommend this book to others: friends, family and even my grandmother, a fussy reader.
Synopsis: John Mackenzie is an advocate in Edinburgh who is charged by a letter from a dead woman to investigate happenings in the village of Lammersheugh. He and his assistant, Davie Scougall, a man raised in religious superstition, arrive to find the dead woman's daughter, Euphame also accused of witchcraft and the enlightened Mr Mackenzie and his reluctant assistant must work quickly to save her.
What did I like? Douglas Watt keeps his chapters short and each has a different voice, focussing on one person, or section of the community and this keeps the story moving at a cracking pace. The zeitgeist of the Scotland in the 17th century - the religious fervour and political unrest - is evoked with apparent ease and Mr Watt is explicit when describing the gruesome nature of the treatment afforded those accused of being in league with the devil but this adds to the feeling of uncertainty and terror of the time.
I enjoyed this book and sped through it keen to discover the underbelly of Lammersheugh with John Mackenzie, but unlike other murder and/or mystery books, I was unable to unravel the mystery ahead of the author's reveal. For me, this is a big plus for the book.
What didn't I like? Very little. Some of the chapters were difficult to read as over half the chapter was written in a Scottish dialect, though the few Gaelic phrases scattered throughout other chapters were translated into plain English.
Would I recommend it? Yes! I would thoroughly recommend this book to others: friends, family and even my grandmother, a fussy reader.
November 21, 2018
It was a good read, but I felt the author gave too much way too soon in the book. There was no real mystery as to what was really going on, very predictable though compelling read.
February 18, 2014
Very well written. Excellent historic research. The characters are quite interesting. They seem to have a life of their own.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews