His Bloody Project: Documents relating to the case of Roderick Macrae

Author(s): Graeme Macrae Burnet

Fiction.

A Man Booker Prize FinalistA New York Times Editors' ChoiceNamed a Best Book of 2016 by Newsweek, NPR, The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Sunday TimesA brutal triple murder in a remote Scottish farming community in 1869 leads to the arrest of seventeen-year-old Roderick Macrae. There is no question that Macrae committed this terrible act. What would lead such a shy and intelligent boy down this bloody path? And will he hang for his crime?Presented as a collection of documents discovered by the author, His Bloody Project opens with a series of police statements taken from the villagers of Culdie, Ross-shire. They offer conflicting impressions of the accused; one interviewee recalls Macrae as a gentle and quiet child, while another details him as evil and wicked. Chief among the papers is Roderick Macrae's own memoirs where he outlines the series of events leading up to the murder in eloquent and affectless prose. There follow medical reports, psychological evaluations, a courtroom transcript from the trial, and other documents that throw both Macrae's motive and his sanity into question."The clever tale is told through a collection of historical documents, including Roddy's written confession, interviews with villagers and a report by a criminal psychologist. The ingenious structure provides for a unique sociological study couched in a chilling true crime investigation. The period language and poetic descriptions of place will enthrall readers of historical fiction. For fans of Iain Pears and Umberto Eco." -- Bill's Bookshelf Selector, Bill Kelly


Product Information

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2016

"A real box of tricks... a truly ingenious thriller as confusingly multilayered as an Escher staircase." --Jake Kerridge, Express. "A gripping crime story, a deeply imagined historical novel, and glorious writing - all in one tour-de-force of a book. Macrae Burnet is an exceptional new voice in Scottish literature." --Chris Dolan, Books of the Year, Herald. "A historical revenge tragedy and courtroom drama... [are] at the heart of this masterful psychological thriller." Ian Stephen "Masterful, clever and playful. It is every inch the riveting second novel I had hoped for." --Louise Hutcheson, A Novel Bookblog.

Graeme Macrae Burnet was born and brought up in Kilmarnock and now lives in Glasgow, Scotland. In between, he lived in Prague, Bordeaux, Porto and London. His debut novel, The Disappearance of Adele Bedeau, is a psychological crime thriller set in the small town of Saint-Louis on the French-Swiss border. His second book, His Bloody Project, which deals with a triple murder in a crofting village in the Scottish Highlands, has been longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize.

General Fields

  • : 9781925498257
  • : Text Publishing Company
  • : Text Publishing Company
  • : August 2016
  • : Australia
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Graeme Macrae Burnet
  • : Paperback
  • : 916
  • : English
  • : 823/.9
  • : 288
  • : FA