There’s great character development and quite an assortment of people, mostly good, all suffering, plus a plot of revenge for betrayals that happened a generation ago.

I used my new time machine to travel back to the Chicago World Fair in 1893, and then it broke down. The story woven around the historic facts is interesting, entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable and leaves me hoping for more.I am a big fan of SJ MacLeans Seeker series and her books set in Scotland and I was not disappointed by the Bookseller of Inverness. The backdrop is a brilliantly portrayed insight into the aftermath of Culloden and the impact of defeat on the Highland Jacobites, full of stories of cruelty, courage and conflict. MacLean has a PhD in history from Aberdeen University, specializing in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Scottish history. It's set in the aftermath of the Jacobite rebellion but the history is woven in seamlessly and the plot is swept along by bigger human themes, like treachery, intrigue, hope and revenge.

Although he’s been an absent father for most of Iain’s life, they still have a strong bond of love, and Hector’s arrival stirs Iain back to life from the kind of dull stagnation he has felt since the defeat at Culloden. Eventually, though, the story gets going, with strong characterisation, a twisty plot and some great set-piece scenes. He looks for a missing book of forbidden names bought as part of the book collection owned by the Old Fox, Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, that appears to hold the answer as to why certain people are being found dead.

I would love to read more about Iain Ban MacGillivray, Ishbal, Hector and the other fascinating characters who come alive in these pages. The necessary information is supplied in an accessible form, and the intrigue keeps the reader’s interest peaked. If you’ve never read a SG Maclean novel; well, you should start with the Damien Seeker novels, but after that you should acquaint yourself with The Bookseller of Inverness. As the story unfolds , the book explains the various intrigues and connections surrounding the Jacobite cause across the years.