SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE WEEK

The Fall of the House of Thomas Weir by Andrew Neil MacLeod, Burning Chair, £8.99

It is 1773, and in Edinburgh Dr Samuel Johnson is visiting his good friend James Boswell in anticipation of their journey to the Western Isles. The pair have their interest piqued by the sighting of a ghoul in Greyfriars’ cemetery – Dr Johnson being somewhat of a celebrity in supernatural investigations. Boswell shows Dr Johnson round Edinburgh, pointing out locally notorious landmarks – including the house of Major Thomas Weir, infamously known as The De’il of West Bow.

The pair are inducted as honorary members to a gentleman’s club, where we meet a number of historical figures, such as Deacon Brodie, who are to play a significant part in the developing plot. Dr Johnson’s reputation results in his being invited to solve a ghostly burglary at the house of the Duke of Queensberry, whose ancestor was the driving force behind the union of the parliaments in 1707. (Ironically Queensberry House is now part of the Scottish Parliamentary complex!) In setting a trap to catch the erstwhile burglar, Dr Johnson captures and kills a most unexpected perpetrator.

Mrs Boswell takes an interest in charitable works, and with her daughter Veronica determines to visit the local orphanage to make a donation and provide comfort to the orphaned girls. Her suspicions that all is not well lead to disastrous consequences.

Naturally these three threads are interlinked, and we are led deeper and deeper into the realms of the supernatural and fantasy. The action becomes more and more desperate, eventually involving the whole of Edinburgh in a chaotic climax.

As a long-time resident of Edinburgh, I particularly like books that explore the history and geography of the city. This book is extremely well-researched, and references places and characters in their correct context (where the plot permits), and had me periodically heading to Google in interest.

Dr Johnson and Mr Boswell did have an interest in the occult – as the reference to Cock Lane shows. The author’s extension of this into a Holmes/Watson parody is obvious from the full title of the book, and from one particular quote: “When you have eliminated the natural, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the supernatural.”

It having started as a detective story, I have to admit to being surprised and a little confused at the extent to which the later pages of the book include fantasy and science fiction – but entertained nonetheless.