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Queen Macbeth

Darkland Tales

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About this listen

The unmissable new story from bestseller Val McDermid

A thousand years ago in an ancient Scottish landscape, a woman is on the run with her three bosom companions–a healer, a weaver and a seer. If the men hunting her find them, they will kill her because she is the only one who stands between them and their violent ambition. She is no lady: she is the first queen of Scotland, married to a king called Macbeth.

Shakespeare fed us the myth of the Macbeths as power-hungry murderous conspirators. But now Val McDermid drags the truth out of the shadows, exposing the patriarchal prejudices of history.

As the net closes in on the queen, we discover a tale of passion, forced marriage, bloody massacre and the harsh realities of medieval Scotland. At the heart of it, one strong charismatic woman who survived loss and jeopardy to finally outwit the endless plotting of a string of ruthless and ambitious men. Her struggle won her a country. But now it could cost her life.

©2024 Val McDermid (P)2024 W. F. Howes Ltd Historical Historical Fiction Medieval Thriller & Suspense Royalty Highlander
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There was nothing to dislike .Excellent performance and a better outcome for all and not madness with hand wringing.

The MacBeth Story

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The Narration was excellent. Very historic story. Loved the Scottish Highlands setting. Quite a different type of story from Val McDermid's usual crime thrillers but such an interesting step back in time.

Scenic Location.

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I really struggled to follow the timeline of this book. It seemed to jump around everywhere which led to me being really confused. The narration was excellent though.

Confusing

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I discovered the Darklands series via David Greig’s “Columba’s Bones”. If you’d like a series set in the murky and blooded depths of medieval Scotland, and you don’t mind that the books are very short then …
Val McDermid’s “Queen Macbeth” is excellent. It has a lot of detail, to which you have to pay close attention, especially at the beginning; then, about half way through, it becomes doubly confusing my adding a second timeline, without any explanation. Stick with it, good descriptive prose and great narrative.

Pacy Thriller

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