I always know I'm going to learn something new when I read a S.G McLean novel as there's plenty of researches and the historical background is always detailed and vivid.
I knew something about Culloden and the Raisings as I'm a fan of Outlander but this book made me understand what was the aftermath and how people were affected.
As for Prince Bonnie Charles it's a fun story as his wife belonged to the family of my former German teacher and I can say I wasn't one of his fan when I was a teenager.
It's a historical mystery but it's also a description of what happen when you are on the losing side and how the situation is still uncertain.
Ian is a survivor of Culloden, his face is scarred. His entire family is supporting Prince Bonnie Charles.
His granmother and her friends are great characters, strong ladies that I loved. I found all the women in this book interesting as they were affected by the history losing their freedom or worse.
The plot is well done, gripping and kept me turning pages. There's a lot of twists, secrets, and the history is a sort of character, not only the background.
I hope this is the first in a series because I liked Ian and loved the Grand Dames.
I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to Quercus and Netgalley for this arc, all opinions are mine