Crucible of Secrets

Aberdeen, 1631. Robert Sim, librarian of Marischal College and a close friend of Alexander Seaton, receives a package of rare works on alchemy and hermetic philosophy. Before he can explain their importance, he is murdered and the books disappear.

The college principal asks Alexander to investigate Sim’s private affairs while the town authorities pursue the formal inquiry. His search uncovers secret intellectual networks, disputed religious ideas and ambitions hidden inside the university community, and it also places strain on his new marriage as personal loyalties interfere with the evidence surrounding the librarian’s death.