Malcolm Archibald Books In Order

Publication Order of Detective Watters Books

Publication Order of Jack Windrush Books

Publication Order of Matthew Pryde Adventure Books

Publication Order of Mendick Mystery Books

Publication Order of The Swordswoman Books

Publication Order of Warrior's Path Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Malcolm Archibald is a historical mystery, fantasy and historical fiction author from Edinburgh the very romantic Scottish capital. His father and other male relatives were imbued into the military tradition and his Jacobite grandmother was a collector of books and had her own business. His grandfather was a man from Arran, the legend crammed mystical island he always loved to visit. With such diverse emotional and geographical influences, it is not surprising that he became an author. Moreover, his hometown is crammed full of legends and stories of murders and ghosts. He spent a lot of his free time as a child exploring hidden alley ways and dark roads when he should have been in class. In Arran, he walked the mist covered hills where the spirits of ancient warriors, smugglers, heroes and druids mixed with the calls of eagles and the great herds of deer. His later work would enable him to gain an even more intimate knowledge of the country. He worked as a postman and then spent some time in finance, travel, retail and other jobs that he believes are best forgotten. He currently lives with his wife in Inverness from where he writes his novels.

As a forty year old, Malcom Archibald went back to school and moved the family to Dundee where he did not know anybody. While the times were tough and they lacked a place to sleep in at one point they would thrive soon after. He had several published novella and articles to his name and he leveraged this to get going. At the university, he learned how to become a proper academic and author and he believes the years spent at the university were the most significant in shaping his career. He graduated with a history degree and then went to work the streets of Dundee as a postman before he got work as a historical researcher and then professor at a local college. During this time, he continued writing getting his inspiration from the people he met, life and his many experiences. He had brushed shoulders with students, intellectuals, men with callused hands from Fife and Angus coasts, the very human women from Dundee, the scheme dwelling youths who lived in the underworld of Edinburgh and the gentle farmers with what were seemingly outlaw names.

Soon after, Archibald moved north since his wife Cathy who had earned her master’s degree had been offered a position at Moray. For a year or so, she worked as a lead researcher for the Dundee Whaling History project even as he went back to school to study for his masters in history. He would usually commute back and forth between the university, his place of work and home and found it a lot of fun. It was at this time that he consecutively wrote “The Darkest Walk” and “Sink of Atrocity.” When he finished his contract with Dundee Whaling, he got another job at Inverness College as lecturer. He worked and taught a host of youngsters and middle aged students from across Scotland and some from Europe and the Americas. He was still writing historical crime fiction, historical crime and even took a dive into fantasy, which he combined with whaling history just to keep up with the research in the field. When his last child finally graduated from university, he thought it was time he got out of formal employment and become a professional full time author. He now has more than thirty novels across six series and several single standing titles.

Malcolm Archibald’s “Windrush” introduces Jack Windrush the lead of the series. He was born the eldest son of his father and brought up as a gentleman that would eventually be heir to his father. Upon his death, the elder Windrush had instructed the executors of his will to ensure his son joined the highly respected branch of the military – the Royals Regiment. He had once upon a time served in the regiment and wanted his son to learn the lessons he had learned by serving. William who is Jack Windrush’s younger brother is to stay behind and take care of the family estate. But then it had been discovered that Jack was a bastard from an affair between a kitchen maid and his father. His supposed mother who had brought him up coldly told him that William his younger brother was the real heir and that he was to join the Royals in his place. Jack was to join the 113 regiment as an ensign which was an insult, given the cowardly reputation of the regiment. Jack is offered a small stipend and instructed to never show his face at the place he called home. But he is on a mission to redeem himself and earn his place in society via serving with distinction in the army. But after a chance meeting with a rebel soldier, he is not so sure about his cause and destiny.

“Crimes,” the second novel of the series is a novel set in 1854 Malta. Jack is working with the disreputable 113th regiment who are forced to perform ungentlemanly acts to get out of an undesirable posting in Crimea. Jack has worked hard and is now a lieutenant of the worst regiment (reputation wise) in the British Army though he always wants to earn back his station in life. When the Battle of Alma gets too hot, the 113th that is headed by Jack is sent to relieve the Highland Brigade that is under the command of General Campbell. Jack soon meets Helen Maxwell, a beautiful woman only for his superiors to order him to leave Crimea. He is supposed to go on an undercover mission and he completes that to come back to find his regiment facing up to the fearsome Cossacks. Most of the men he had been spying on soon turn up leading enemy troops and things get very interesting. It is now up to him and his junior commanding officers to resolve a very sticky situation.

“Blood Price,” the third novel of the series sees the 113th regiment commissioned to Sevastopol. The Crimean War is at its peak even as the soldiers on the field have to deal with the great storm of 1854. As the storm rages on, naval officer Ben assists Jack Windrush in rescuing sailors from a ship that had run aground. Jack soon learns that Helen Maxwell his former lover is among the survivors. It is not long before the 113th had to face the Plastun Cossacks. With the war dragging on, the men start taking on a lot of strain. British casualties are mounting and Jack and his regiment may have to take some radical measures to survive the war.