Ever since I discovered the joy of novels at an early age, my bookshelves have been a sort of gentleman’s club. Not through sexism or prejudice — I just figured men wrote in a style I was most comfortable with.
One glance at my book collection will show that I like a literary diet of grit, atmosphere, and just the right amount of danger to spice things up. It’s also fair to say that I’m most comfortable in the company of a protagonist whose moral compass may need recalibrating.
While I know women can write in that vein, too, I’ve long preferred the subtle nuance of a male author’s presentation. Consequently, for decades only men have qualified for a space on my shelves.
Then, late last year, all that changed.
While browsing in a local Oxfam second-hand bookshop, my wife was drawn by a particular book cover’s stylish artwork. She slipped it off the shelf and passed it to me. This was it:
A novel — ‘The Seeker’ — by someone called S.G. MacLean.
Gender undeclared.
I have to admit, the cover impressed me, too. But it was the back blurb that hooked me and reeled me in:
London, 1654 – In the teeming warren of spies, exiles and assassins that is Cromwell’s London, the Lord Protector’s most feared agent is Damien Seeker. No one knows where Seeker comes from, or even his real name. But one thing is certain – nothing remains hidden from him for long.
When a popular captain and hero of Cromwell’s all-powerful army is murdered, and Elias Ellingworth, an outspoken critic of Cromwell’s regime, is found standing over the bleeding body clutching a knife, his guilt seem to be without question.
Yet Seeker is not convinced. He will stop at nothing to unmask the true killer and save Ellingworth from the gallows, and Seeker knows better than any man where to search …
So, we had spies, secrets and deceit in Cromwell’s England.
It ticked the boxes — grit, the promise of atmosphere and danger to spice the dish.
I bought it without a second thought.
Only later did I discover the S stood for Shona. The author was a woman!
As it turns out, my wife had discovered one of the sharpest historical crime writers working today. And since that introduction I’ve now read eleven of her books!
To say I was hooked would be to downplay the impact she’s had on my literary consumption. So I’m forced to admit that in only a few short months she’s completely hijacked my reading list.
Who is S.G. MacLean?
Shona MacLean grew up in the Scottish Highlands, has a PhD in history from Aberdeen University, and writes the kind of historical crime fiction that makes you forget you’re sitting in the twenty-first century.
Twice winner of the Crime Writers’ Association Historical Dagger, she’s a master at turning dusty archives into pulse-racing page-turners.
The Damian Seeker Series (London & Yorkshire, 1650s–1660s)
- The Seeker (2015)
- The Black Friar (2016)
- Destroying Angel (2018)
- The Bear Pit (2019)
- The House of Lamentations (2020)
- The Winter List (2023)
Subject & Characters:
These novels are set during Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth and the chaotic Restoration period.
Damian Seeker, a tough and principled intelligence agent in Cromwell’s network, is at the centre—tracking spies, uncovering conspiracies, and navigating the morally murky world of 1650s London and northern England.
The plots are razor-sharp, the historical depth uncanny, and the portrayal of Seeker’s psyche is remarkably authentic—even though I once assumed only male writers could capture the male psyche so believably.
The sixth book, The Winter List, shifts focus to Seeker’s daughter Manon, now living in York with her husband Lawrence Ingolby, as the hunt for former republicans begins after Charles II’s return.
The Alexander Seaton Series (Scotland, early 1600s)
- The Redemption of Alexander Seaton (2008)
- A Game of Sorrows (2010)
- Crucible of Secrets (2011)
- The Devil’s Recruit (2013)
Subject & Characters:
Set in early 17th-century northern Scotland (Aberdeen, Banff, Ulster), this series introduces Alexander Seaton, a former minister’s candidate who becomes embroiled in mysteries involving religion, curses, alchemy, and political intrigue.
From the opening lines of book one in the series – ‘The Redemption of Alexander Seaton,’ the reader is pulled into the captivating tale that follows:
‘The old woman lifted her candle the better to observe me.
“You would not think of going out tonight?”
She fixed me with a look I knew well. “On a night such as this, no honest man would stir from his own hearth.”
“Indeed he would not, mistress,” I said. “But as you have often assured me, I am no honest man.” I took down my hat and, bidding her farewell, I went forth into the remorseful storm.’
Seaton is complex, honourable and beautifully flawed.
His well-portrayed vulnerabilities, the richly atmospheric settings and moral depth of the stories pulled me in from the first page.
Whilst both series — and the stand-alone novel, ‘The Bookseller of Inverness‘ — are well-crafted and the characters well depicted, it was clear to me that, of the tales’ protagonists, it is Alexander Seaton who has a place in the author’s heart.
Once asked to state her preference, MacLean declared:
‘ … for me it will always be Alexander Seaton, my first love as a writer. He lodged in my head so many years ago, before I even knew I would be a writer, and he lives there still.’
She Nailed It
MacLean nails male characters — not just in how they act, but in how they think; their ego-led insecurities and inner conflicts. Her men are complex without being over-explained, principled without being predictable.
And she does it all while weaving history so tightly into the story that you can feel the grime of London’s streets and smell the woodsmoke of Aberdeen’s taverns.
I once thought I could tell a writer’s gender from a few pages. Shona MacLean has made that theory look as reliable as an old, broken clay pipe. And I’m delighted.
RAVEN MOON 