An Ayr author has penned his third crime novel – taking readers on a gripping journey of murder and conspiracy.
Alasdair Wham’s third novel ‘Devil’s Cauldron’ tells the story of Finn McAdam who witnessed his father’s murder when he was just 12 years old – but nobody believed him.
Now Finn has returned to his native Galloway to discover the truth.
But the conspiracy he discovers exposes a cover-up involving leading political figures and places his life in great danger.
Retired deputy head teacher Alasdair, who lives in Ayr with wife Christine and their Bordie Collie, is the author of the Scottish Islands crime series Machir Bay and its sequel Bac Mor.
He has also written a series of factual books exploring Scotland’s lost railways and has used his knowledge from those books as a setting to standalone Devil’s Cauldron.
Dad-of-four Alasdair said: “Mainly set in Galloway, the story should appeal to those who enjoyed John Buchan’s classic novel ‘The 39 Steps’ or Dorothy L Sayers’ ‘Five Red Herrings’.
“For nearly 30 years, I have written a series of books exploring Scotland’s lost railways – a hobby that I enjoyed with my sons and which took me all over Scotland.
“For the ‘Devil’s Cauldron’, I have managed to use my knowledge of the lost railways in Galloway to provide a background to the story.”
Alasdair told of the fascinating inspiration behind the name of his novel, whose cover and book design was created by his daughter-in-law Gillian.
He said: “During the First World War, a large munitions factory was set up in south-west Scotland to meet the crippling shortage of cordite for shells on the Western Front.
“On a visit, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle labelled the cordite paste as the Devil’s Porridge.
“After the world wars, the area was used mainly for storing munitions until a new unit nicknamed ‘the Devil’s Cauldron’ was set up.”
Devil’s Cauldron, published by Greenan Publishing Ayr and priced at £9.99, is available at Waterstones Ayr and other booksellers.
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