Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Dark academia novel The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan has hit the shelves.
Set against the haunting backdrop of Scotland’s Western Isles, the story begins when the body of middle-aged Eleanor Bruton is discovered on the shore.
Her mysterious death shocks her family, who believed she was an ordinary woman – someone who arranged flowers and plumped kneeler cushions at church. But beneath that quiet exterior, Eleanor had been hiding a dark and consuming secret.
Eleanor was in possession of a scrap of fraying embroidery that seemed worthless at first glance, but was actually wanted by two rival groups of women named The Order of St Katherine and the Fellowship of the Larks. The groups had gone to deadly lengths to secure a valuable artefact in the hopes of finding the original medieval manuscript from which it was torn.
While detective constable Clio Spicer begins a private investigation into Eleanor’s death, translator Dr Anya Brown is handpicked by a high-ranking fellowship member to translate ancient texts that the fellowship believes is critical to their mission.
As the women grow further entangled in this ancient web, circumstances spin out of control and their lives are put in great danger.
“Think dark academia, all-female secret societies, bookish mysteries, chilling secrets and ancient puzzles with a feminist twist,” author Gilly said on social media.
“It’s fresh and fun and thrilling and a bit different from my earlier novels. I hope readers will love it,” she added.
Gilly is a bestselling author of eight novels. She is a former art historian and photographer who studied at Bristol University and the Courtauld Art Institute in London.
