His Bloody Project: Documents Relating To The Case Of Roderick Mac Rae (Man Booker Prize Finalist 2016)

Description

Man Booker Prize Shortlist Finalist A 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. Graeme Macrae Burnet s multilayered narrativecentered around an unreliable narratorwill keep the reader guessing to the very end. His Bloody Project is a deeply imagined crime novel that is both thrilling and luridly entertaining from an exceptional new voice."

Reviews

Man Booker Prize Finalist Graeme Macrae Burnet makes such masterly use of the narrative form that the horrifying tale he tells in His Bloody Project, a finalist for this year s Man Booker Prize, seems plucked straight out of Scotland s sanguinary historical archives. --Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review Burnet is a writer of great skill and authority . . . few readers will be able to put down His Bloody Project as it speeds towards a surprising (and ultimately puzzling) conclusion. Financial Times "A stellar crime novel and a wrenching historical portrait, HIS BLOODY PROJECT also succeeds at lyrically questioning whether it's possible to know another man's mind--or even desirable. The novel sends out vines in all directions, its characters' tangled motives obscured by tragedy and lies."-Lyndsay Faye, author of Gods of Gotham "Psychologically astute and convincingly grounded in its environment . . . a fine achievement. The National Fiendishly readable . . . A psychological thriller masquerading as a slice of true crime. . . The book is also a blackly funny investigation into madness and motivation. The Gaurdian . . .sly, poignant, gritty, thought-provoking, and sprinkled with wit. Publishers Weekly, starred review One of the most convincing and engrossing novels of the year. The Scotsman A truly ingenious thriller as confusingly multilayered as an Escher staircase Daily Express There is no gainstaying the ingenuity with which Burnet has constructed his puzzle. . . The Telegraph A masterful psychological thriller Ian Stephen, author of A Book of Death and Fish A gripping crime story, a deeply imagined historical novel, and gloriously written all in one tour-de-force of a book. Stevensonian that s the highest praise I can give. Chris Dolan, Sunday Herald, Books of the Year Psychologically astute and convincingly grounded in its environment, this study of petty persecution and murder is a fine achievement from an ambitious and accomplished writer. Richard Strachan, The National Masterful, clever and playful . . . one of the most experimental and assured authors currently writing in Scotland Louise Hutcheson, A Novel Bookblog One of the most enjoyable and involving novels you ll read this year - Alistair Braidwood, Scots Wha Hae"

Author description

Graeme Macrae Burnet has established a reputation for smart and literary mystery writing with his highly praised first novel, The Disappearance of Adele Bedeau, which was featured in the List s Top Scottish Books of 2014. He was born and brought up in Kilmarnock and has lived in Prague, Bordeaux, Porto, and London. He now lives in Glasgow, Scotland."