Queen MacBeth

Crime writer McDermid (the “Karen Pirie” series) pens a new entry in the multiauthor “Darkland Tales” series (following Columba’s Bones by David Grieg), which offers retellings of Scottish history, myth, and legends. McDermid’s installment takes on the story of Lady Macbeth. Listeners will likely be familiar with her name, her husband’s story, and her end. But how much is known about Gruoch, the real woman behind the legend? Alternating between the past and the present, McDermid introduces Gruoch and her three ladies-in-waiting—Aife, the healer; Eithne, the seer; and Ligach, the weaver—tracing the path from Gruoch’s love story with Macbeth to their desperate flight across the Scottish landscape. McDermid peels back the stage dressing of Shakespeare’s Macbeth to reveal a rawer look at the historical figures. Lesley Harcourt’s atmospheric Scottish accent and pronunciation lend additional beauty to an already alluring story. The novella’s short length occasionally makes the action and emotion feel cramped. Even so, lush descriptions of the landscape and the machinations of clan society flesh out the setting, making for a robust and satisfying story.