The Mourning Necklace

Sentenced to hang for a terrible crime, Maggie Dickson somehow survives her own execution. Now she must race to prove her innocence before the hangman catches up with her . . .

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'Kate Foster is an exceptional writer and masterful storyteller' – Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal

Inspired by the infamous real-life case of Maggie Dickson, The Mourning Necklace is an unforgettable historical novel from Women's Prize-longlisted author, Kate Foster.

They said I would swing for the crime and I did . . . Surely, they can't hang me twice?

1724. In a village tavern on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Maggie Dickson’s family drown their sorrows, mourning her death yet relieved she is gone. Shame haunts them. Passers-by avert their eyes from the cheap-looking coffin on the rickety cart. Despite protesting her innocence, Maggie was hanged that morning for the murder of her new-born child. But as her family pray her soul rests in peace, a figure appears at the door. It is Maggie. She has survived her execution.

Whether Maggie bribed the hangman or has been touched by God matters little now. What matters is proving her innocence before she is hanged again . . .

Praise for Kate Foster:

'Exceptional – a tense, thrilling investigation, with a decidedly feminist slant' – Daily Mail on The Maiden

'Riveting . . . the tension persists until the last page’ – The Times on The Maiden

'Enthralling, compelling and at times chilling . . . An utterly timely tale' – D. V. Bishop, prize-winning author of Ritual of Fire, on The King's Witches