Ayrshire Murders

by E R Dillon

Overview

In 1297, Scottish lawman Kyle Shaw returns home to discover that his estranged father has been killed. But was his father a patriot or a traitor, and how was he connected to the English soldiers who loot and plunder the Scottish countryside at will? While Kyle seeks to thwart the raiders, someone starts murdering English soldiers from a nearby garrison and mutilating their corpses. Kyle must balance his duty to the English sheriff with his need to protect his countrymen and clear his father's name.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781509228430
Publisher:	Wild Rose Press
Publication date:	11/04/2019
Series:	Deputy Kyle Shaw Mysteries , #1
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

E. R. Dillon was born in New Orleans and still lives in Louisiana, although she now resides on the north

shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Her acquaintance with certain aspects of the law comes from working for

civil and criminal attorneys for many years. As a medieval history buff and a fan of mysteries, she likes to

incorporate both elements into her stories. Her current work-in-progress is another novel in her historical

mystery series set in 13th-Century Scotland featuring Deputy Sheriff Kyle Shaw.

Editorial Reviews

06/09/2014
The relationship between England and Scotland was long marked by blood, and Dillon highlights a particularly violent time—the late 13th century—in her uneven if generally satisfying debut. The English, under Edward I, have their boots firmly planted on the necks of the Scots when Kyle Shaw returns from several years’ service in France to become deputy sheriff of Ayrshire, in the Scottish Lowlands. He hopes to reconcile with his estranged father, but is horrified to learn that James Shaw is dead. Moreover, James is believed to have collaborated with the English, represented locally by castellan Sir Percy. On a personal level, Kyle wants to find his father’s grave and learn what happened, while professionally he must walk a fine line to discover who’s been robbing the local farmers. The background and history are well-drawn and presented with just enough detail to convince; it’s a pity the same can’t be said for the characters. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

2014-08-05
A deputy sheriff balances patriotic loyalty against sworn duty in late-13th-century Scotland.After he lost his wife and child in a fire, Kyle Shaw hired out his battle-ax to King Philip of France. When he returns to his home in Ayrshire, Scotland, he agrees to resume his former post of deputy to the ailing sheriff Reginald de Crawford, even though the office has diminished over the years. The Scottish king is the prisoner of Edward Longshanks, King of England, whose soldiers have occupied Scotland and assumed increasing power, especially Sir Henry de Percy, the Castellan of Ayr. Although Kyle is able to fend off a band of English raiders stealing sheep from a small holding, he's hard-pressed to demand justice for the victim, who claims that what the English, or Southrons, can't confiscate legally, they simply seize. When Megan Brodie, a girl of 16, is raped and murdered, Kyle asks an apothecary friend to examine the girl's body and learns she was pregnant. Megan's father insists that Lucky Jack Sweeney, captain of horse at Ayr Garrison, is the murderer, and Kyle suspects the Englishman is also the father of Megan's child. But the deputy must proceed cautiously and prevent the aggrieved father from avenging his daughter's defiling and death. Good Scotsman though he is, Kyle is bound to keep civil order and follow English law, much as he doubts that Sir Henry will take action against his own countryman. Kyle is also charged with protecting a royal envoy to Philip at the same time painful rumors about his father's death five years ago add to his grief, which a hint of romance to come could ease. Although the Scottish hero and his apothecary sidekick in Dillon's series debut are a mite anachronistic in their pursuit of forensic science, Kyle is an attractive hero trying to do right by both Southrons and Scots.

Kirkus Reviews