#murderr

Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (1980)

Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (1980)

Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (1980)

Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (1980)

Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (1980)

Ok but in all honesty.

Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (1980)

Bronco Billy (1980)

Paint Your Wagon (1969)

The Return of Sabata (1971)

On May 29th 1546 Cardinal Beaton, Lord High Chancellor of Scotland, was murdered.

On the morning of that day when the gates of St. Andrews opened, ten or twelve men entered with the throng of workmen, these were no ordinary men, they had murder in mind, and revenge for the death of their friend the Protestant martyr, George Wishart, who had been executed on the orders of Beaton two months before.

Leading the first group was the noble, Kircaldy of Grange. While Kircaldy diverted the attention of the porter, another man, Norman Leslie led in a second contingent.

Finally, another Fife noble, John Leslie arrived with four men. Something about them alarmed the porter. He tried to raise the drawbridge, but the conspirators snatched away his keys and threw him into the moat.

Thinking that an army must be close behind, the repairmen fled. The conspirators then hustled fifty other people out of the castle. Cardinal Beaton stuck his head out a window and asked what the commotion was about. Someone shouted that Norman Leslie had taken his castle. This frightened the cardinal. The two had recently fallen out. But many others had reason to dislike the cardinal. His enemies said he had forged a will for the late King James, overthrown Scottish liberties, and tortured and murdered Protestants.

When Leslie ordered the cardinal to open his door, Beaton refused. But when the assassins prepared to burn him out, Beaton pleaded for a promise that they not kill him and when it was given, opened the door. Sitting in a chair, he protested, “I am a priest, I am a priest; you will not slay me.”

John Leslie struck him twice with his dagger, followed by Peter Carmichael. James Melville, seeing that they were acting in fury, reminded them that the judgment of God should be dealt out soberly. Rebuking Beaton for his wicked life and especially for the murder of Wishart, he ran him through twice with a sword. Beaton died saying again, “Fie, fie, I am a priest, all is lost.”

John Knox joined the murderers soon afterward, seeking protection. He was a hunted man, known as a close associate of George Wishart. The murderers urged him to become their chaplain and he agreed. The men took refuge in the cardinal’s stronghold. They were besieged in the Castle by the governor of Scotland, Regent Arran. On 11 March 1547 Norman and his colleagues, Henry Balnaves, James Kirkcaldy of Grange, and Alexander Whitelaw of Newgrange witnessed a pledge made by Patrick Gray, 4th Lord Gray to Edward VI. 

According to World Journal, witnesses at the scene stated there were two adults and one child in the car. The driver was female. After hitting the two women, the female driver dragged one of the victims for about 330 feet before stopping. Isabelle died at the scene. Christine was sent to a nearby hospital but later succumbed to her injuries.

REVIEW

The Unbroken by Alex Caan

A Khan & Heaton Crime Thriller #1

A wedding rushed into

An unhappy couple beginning their honeymoon

Kidnapped

One missing and one dead

Police called in

Will they find the missing before he is dead?

Who is the mastermind behind the crime

and

Why did it happen as it did?

This was a complex complicated character driven twisted terrible tale in which every person seemed to have a secret, past horrible experiences, ulterior motives or just not be 100% normal...but then...what is truly normal?

From the beginning of the story to the end I kept wondering how the author came up with the plot and the characters. I felt horrible for more than one person in the story and especially so for Millie who paid with her life. The team set to solve Millie’s murder were an unusual duo of women that were similar and yet very different. Their partnership at work proved to be excellent as both were skilled in doing their jobs but they also were scarred in ways that created a dependency between them outside of their job that was intriguing and made more and more sense as their pasts were revealed.

There was so much to contemplate in this story...so very much. My mind is struggling to put into words what to say about this book. Hmm…

What I liked: * It was not a simple tale and made me think

* Learning more about what made each character tick

* Finding out who was behind the tragic events and why what happened did

* That the perpetrator did not achieve all that was planned

* That this was deeper and darker than I thought it might be

* Learning about Sarah and Moomy but not learning everything – there is more I want to know about both of them

* The police procedural aspects of the story

* How twisted it was – and how dark – but also how karma might eventually get the baddie

* Knowing this is not a one and done story

What I did not like:

* The loss of an innocent life

* The darker hidden sides of some of the characters

* Some of the past experiences of more than one character

* The fact that there are so many dysfunctional families in the world

* The reminder of how evil people can be.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley, Hera and BOTBS Publicity for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4.5 Stars

BLURB

Millie didn’t get time to think. The car door was pulled open and she was dragged out, her screams loud and raw, as she kicked and fought. She called out for Oscar, again and again, screaming for help.

But he never came.

It was the wedding of the year. Millie Beaumont marrying billionaire playboy Oscar Hayat, the eyes of the world watching.

But the dream turns into a nightmare when Millie and Oscar are brutally abducted while on honeymoon. Millie is killed, her body dumped in London. Oscar is still missing…

Enter DS Moomy Khan and DI Sarah Heaton – not your typical police officers. Moomy is running from her own troubled past, while Sarah is having to live with the hard choices she has made. Yet they will stop at nothing to find Millie’s murderers and track down Oscar. Only a family as high profile as the Hayats have enemies lurking in every corner – have they taken the ultimate revenge, or is someone else behind the death and kidnapping?

And can Moomy and Sarah find Oscar – before time runs out and he suffers the same fate as his wife?

The first book in the gripping, fast-paced new Khan and Heaton crime series, The Unbroken will thrill fans of A.A. Dhand, Angela Marsons and Robert Bryndza.

AUTHOR BIO

Alex Caan has spent over a decade working in Information Systems Security for a number of government organisations, and is currently specialising in Terrorism Studies. A lifetime passion for writing was sparked by the encouraging words of an English Teacher in school, and eventually led to Alex successfully completing an MA in Creative Writing, and write Cut to the Bone.

Cut to the Bone has been a Kindle Number 1 bestseller, was picked as a WH Smith ‘Everyone’s Talking About’ book of the week, chosen as Sainsbury’s best of summer reads and was Angela Marson’s pick for crime novel recommendation of the year. Alex Caan was also a rising star on Amazon in 2016.

First to Die, the shocking sequel to Cut to the Bone, was released June 14th 2018.

Alex then took a different direction for his next novel, writing as Alex Khan, for the scandalous Bollywood Wives, which was another Kindle Number 1 bestseller.

His latest novel is The Unbroken, which is released in March 2020.

@alexcaanauthor

https://www.facebook.com/Alex-Caan-Crime-Thriller-Novelist-681632121980003/

By Dick Roberts:

I often have times suggested that folks read the Qur’an in order to learn firsthand what Islam is and what motivates Muslims to kill innocents, those that do not abide in an “authentic” Muslim’s Qur’an based belief system. As I listened to Barack Obama claim that “ISIL is not Islamic – No religion condones the killing of innocents! ” I thought; the guy needs to read the Qur’an…