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This page lists novels that feature the 15th century Scottish lawyer and sometime investigator Gil Cunningham.

The Harper's Quine

Pat McIntosh

2004

A Gil Cunningham novel.

"At the May Day dancing at Glasgow Cross, Gil Cunningham sees not only the woman who is going to be murdered, but her murderer as well. Gil is a recently qualified lawyer whose family still expect him to enter the priesthood. When he finds the body of a young woman in the new building at Glasgow Cathedral he is asked to investigate, and identifies the corpse as the runaway wife of cruel, unpleasant nobleman John Semphill. With the help of Maistre Pierre, the French master-mason, Gil must ask questions and seek a murderer in the heart of the city."

The Nicholas Feast

Pat McIntosh

2005

A Gil Cunningham novel.

"In this mysterious adventure Gil Cunningham returns to his old university for the Nicholas Feast, where he and his colleagues are entertained by a play presented by some of the students. One of the actors, William Irvine, is later found murdered and Gil assisted by Alys, begins to disentangle a complex web of espionage and blackmail involving William's tutors and fellow students. Matters are further complicated by the arrival of Gil's formidable mother who is determined to inspect his betrothed. Little do Alys and Gil realise that it will be she who provides the final, vital key to unmask the murderer and lay his motives clear."

The Merchant's Mark

Pat McIntosh

2006

A Gil Cunningham novel.

"The barrel should have contained books - instead it held treasure and a severed head. Gil Cunningham and his old acquaintance, Glasgow merchant Augie Morison, expecting a delivery of books from the Low Countries, report the gruesome substitute to the Provost, and at the inquest the next morning Morison is accused of the murder and imprisoned. He appeals to Gil, who sets out with his friend and future father in law Maistre Pierre, the French master-mason, to find the treasure's owner, trace the barrel and identify the dead man. The trail they follow leads them from the court of James IV at Stirling via a cooper's yard in Linlithgow, to another death on the bare slopes of the Pentland Hills."

St. Mungo's Robin

Pat McIntosh

2006

A Gil Cunningham novel.

"The warden of St Serf's has been found dead in the almshouse garden. He appears to have been killed on the previous night but there are those who are convinced he was present at that morning's service, The elderly residents, the almshouse nurse and Humphrey, her deranged favourite, have all been set against one another by the dead man's scheming - and then there is the discarded mistress and almshouse ghost to consider. Tracing the dead man's last movements between the Cathedral precinct and the shores of the Clyde, Gil Cunningham is both helped and hindered by his two sisters who have come to Glasgow for his wedding to Alys. An uncanny event followed by the arrival of Gil's godfather, precipitates the crisis. Finally, it is Alys who helps Gil identify the warden's killer."

The Rough Collier

Pat McIntosh

2008

A Gil Cunningham novel.

"When the peat-cutters came to report the dead man, Gil Cunningham was up in the roof-space of his mother's house, teaching his new young wife swordplay. They believe the corpse to be that of a local missing man. His wife and the widow who runs the local coalmine are sure the body belongs to someone else, but then they find themselves accused of having killed him by witchcraft. And if the corpse is not the missing man, who is it? Gil and Alys try to get to the heart of the matter. Together they uncover more murders than they bargain for, and encounter the chilling secret at the heart of the mystery."

The Stolen Voice

Pat McIntosh

2009

A Gil Cunningham novel.

"In Sir William's remote part of Scotland it seems almost possible that a young boy could have been stolen away by the fairies and returned forty years later, no older - and if he isn't Davie Drummond, who is he? And then he suffers a succession of near-fatal 'accidents'. Could there be a connection with four other local singers who have vanished, one of them with political information of value to Scotland's enemies? Gil and his wife Alys have been sent into Perthshire to investigate. Gil's pursuit of the missing singers leads him to a vision of the Devil and the reappearance of an old adversary, while Alys finds herself drawn deeply into the affairs of the Drummond family, particularly the mysterious Davie."

A Pig of Cold Poison

Pat McIntosh

2010

A Gil Cunningham novel.

"Although he was watching closely when the mummer was poisoned, it took Gil Cunningham several days and three more poisonings to work out how it was done. Danny Gibson and Nanty Bothwell, rivals for the affections of Agnes Renfrew, the apothecary's pretty daughter, are also good friends. When they both take part in the festive play at the house of Gil's sister Kate, it ends in Danny's death, apparently by poison from his friend's flask. So was it deliberate, and if not, why won't Nanty defend himself? Why is Agnes's eccentric brother Nicol so insistent that Nanty had the wrong flask, and why do none of the apothecaries in Glasgow recognize the poison it held? Gil, convinced Nanty is innocent, sets out to answer these questions and finds himself enmeshed in the tensions of the Renfrew household and the tangled relationships among the apothecary houses. And then a second and third death confuse matters further still, and bring Gil's wife Alys into the investigation."

The Counterfeit Madam

Pat McIntosh

2011

A Gil Cunningham novel.

"Gil Cunningham had hoped that the first time he set foot in the brothel on the Drygate it would also be his last, but by the time all was settled he felt quite at home within its artfully painted chambers. The bawdy house, along with the neighbouring property and two more in Strathblane, are all part of a deal offered to Gil and his wife Alys by the forceful Dame Isabella. Her proposal also involves Gil's young ward, and matters are further confused by an outbreak of counterfeit coins in Glasgow, which Gil has been ordered to investigate. Then Dame Isabella is found dead in strange circumstances, and the more Gil pursues the cause of her death, the more false coins he finds. And then the bawd-mistress, the enigmatic Madam Xanthe, gets involved and rumours circulate that the Devil is abroad in Strathblane. By the time Gil and Alys have untangled matters, some very surprising - and sinister - thing have come to light."

The Fourth Crow

Pat McIntosh

2012

A Gil Cunningham novel.

"The crows are gathering above Glasgow, watching the movements of the clergy and townspeople alike...Tied to St Mungo's Cross by the cathedral to be cured of her madness overnight by the saint, the young woman is found in the morning beaten and strangled, still tied to the cross. But is she who she seems to be? And who would flout the saint's protection like this? Gil Cunningham must trace the dead woman and find her enemies, track down the thieves and murderers and identify the watchers in the shadows, particularly the elusive fourth person who holds the secret of what happened that night. Questioning cathedral staff and apprentice boys, pilgrims and tradesmen, he uncovers only more puzzles. And then there is another death. How is it connected to the first? While his wife Alys deals with the tensions within their family, Gil has to untangle the threads of the mystery to find the solution to all the crimes."

The King's Corrodian

Pat McIntosh

2013

A Gil Cunningham novel.

"Arnold Fleming, the widely dislike pensioner, or corrodian, lodged in the Dominican's house in Perth, has vanished from a chamber, and a local knight and his mistress claim to have seen the Devil abroad that very same night. Three of the friars are accused by their fellows of involvement, documents found in Fleming's lodgings suggest he was blackmailing somebody, and when Gil is called in to investigate, he reveals theft, ancient murder - and more recent secrets. Then a body turns up - then a second one. Are these deaths connected to Fleming's disappearance, or to the victim of his blackmailing activities? Gil's questioning uncovers some of the truth, but it is Alys who discovers the answer, with the help of the Dominicans' redoubtable lay-brothers and the priory kitchens."

The Lanimer Bride

Pat McIntosh

2016

A Gil Cunningham novel.

"Young Mistress Audrey Madur is missing and her husband, responsible for maintaining boundaries and overseeing land use in the burgh of Lanark, is strangely reluctant to search for her. Gil Cunningham, answering the frantic appeal of Audrey's mother, finds himself searching the burgh and the lands round about, questioning family and neighbours. He and Alys uncover disagreements, feuds, adultery and murder, and encounter once again the flamboyant French lady Olympe Archibecque, who is not at all what she seems. And then another lady goes missing."