A Captivating Historical Saga. Deeply Moving and Richly Detailed.

• This book has received A Discovered Diamond Award & been selected as Book of the Month for July 2018.

• The Blood And The Barley has won a Chill With A Book Reader's Award.

  The North-Eastern Highlands, 1780. The Jacobite cause is lost, and life in the high glens is now harder than ever. To prevent another uprising, the British Government is bent on destroying the entire Highland way of life. Yet in Strathavon, the folk of this remote glen fight on in their own unique way. To maintain a foothold on the land - a land not theirs by right of deed or paper but held precious in their hearts - the people must be wily. Must risk their lives. And smuggling whisky is the way.

The daughter of a notorious smuggler, Morven MacRae is also a smuggler herself, although her greatest wish is to be a healer like her mysterious neighbour Rowena. Only Rowena has troubles of her own. Branded a witch, she's a struggling widow desperate to avoid eviction, and a ruthless exciseman has her in his sights. A jealous man she once jilted with a dark past and a stranglehold on the glen.

When Jamie Innes, Rowena's young kinsman returns to the glen of his birth and saves Morven's life, despite herself Morven becomes intrigued by him. He's a man driven by honour and an abiding loyalty ... or so it seems. And by a desire to belong. But when it becomes clear there's a traitor in the glen, Jamie's true motives are less clear. Can she trust him? For this is a mystical land of lore and superstition. A place where loyalties are tested and secrets kept close ...

If you are drawn to magical storytelling, vivid characters and unique historical detail, then The Blood And The Barley will find a place in your heart. A fascinating tale of a lost way of life and a sensitive love story. Perfect for fans of the Poldark novels of Winston Graham and the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.

".. .the author's description of the Highlands is so evocative one can almost feel the texture of the heather. MacRae conjures a mystical land of crags and burns, where belief in the old ways still hold and are made plausible by its isolation from what Wordsworth described as the 'getting and spending' of everyday life. This is a well-told tale, and I'd love it to become a saga along Poldark lines. Morven has the makings of an excellent Demelza. The community of the glen, their whisky stills and smuggling born out of necessity make for a convincing backdrop and I look forward to reading more about Strathavon. I recommend The Blood And The Barley to anyone who enjoys family sagas. - J.G. Harlond, historical fiction award-winning author.