Blood Across the Water

I’ve been reading this over the last couple of weeks . This is a collection of short true stories , it’s the follow on from Blood Beneath Ben Nevis some of the stories in this are a continuation from the previous book. The stories are set between the 1600s going into the early 1900s . There were quite a few real life murder stories in this , I thought this was a lot darker than the previous book, which I did really enjoy.I found the story Fort Williams Darkest Day particularly chilling it was very graphic and gruesome , it also broke my heart a bit it was actually very sad. Another one that really grabbed my attention was who killed Catherine MacClellan , I also found that very upsetting and it also met with a very sad ending . And I really loved the story The problem With Murder, I love how it was written in a script format it was very interesting and I was really gripped by that one .I feel the author has done an awful lot of research into this book and I really enjoyed the book overall , the stories were interesting , I do like a short story in between my other reads, I find it quite refreshing . I think if you like history / real life murder stories then this would appeal to you 🤩

I’ve read all of Mark’s books and you don’t have to be familiar with the local area to become immersed in the dark subject matter. The stories give the reader a glimpse of social attitudes that we wouldn’t necessarily recognise today in the 21st century. I finished Blood Across The Water last night and the penultimate chapter, The Ghosts of Lochaber, is a section devoted to supernatural occurrences which didn’t do much for a restful nights sleep; however I wasn’t visited by any ghostly apparitions during the night thankfully. Mark brings stories to life, you can visualise and feel the courtroom tension in the chapter called The Problem With Murder. Stories are from the 1700s all the through to the 20th century and I really enjoyed The Great Post Office / Train Robbery stories. And somewhere out there is the lost Jacobite gold, will anyone find it? It could be you. I’m really looking forward to reading more of Mark’s work.

Enjoyed the dark history of this book. Very interesting read. I recommend this to one and all. 5 stars ⭐😊

This is the first book of Mark's I have read in a while and immediately I was taken back to his unique writing style. He pulls me into his stories and they become all consuming. An intriguing, well written selection of true stories from Fort William and the surrounding area. I particularly liked Mountain Mysteries, The Problem with Murder and Ghosts of Lochabar. Another great read from Mark Bridgeman. Bring on the next one.

Another great read and fascinating stories!