The novel begins with the sentence of death. There were certain scenes when Auld Reekie really did reek again! I could immerse myself into Foster’s story and atmosphere of Edinburgh of days gone by. I went into the novel with no prior knowledge and am very glad of it. There are some significant deviations from fact in Foster’s telling, and these may prove bothersome. However, I advise you to hold off, if you’re planning on reading Kate Foster’s novel. Now you can look up the case it is well documented with Lady Christian allegedy living on as The White Lady of Corstorphine. Between 1564-1710 she was used to execute over 150 people, including in 1679 a certain Lady Christian Nimmo for the murder of her uncle and lover, Lord James Forrester. They named the device, The Maiden, and you can read all about her here. The Scots got there some 200 years prior. If you think the French invented the guillotine, think again. Winner of the Bloody Scotland Crime Debut of the Year 2023