Shake Loose the Border

Name: Shake Loose the Border
Rating: 4.39 (471 reviews)

by Robert Low Book 3 in the Border Reivers series.

First published 2021

Amazon

4.3(471)

In 1548, the formal war between England and Scotland is losing momentum, but the Border remains violent and unstable. Batty Coalhouse is sent to recover an old friend who has been taken to Berwick, England’s heavily defended northern stronghold.

The mission draws Batty among former allies, surviving enemies and men trying to profit from an uncertain peace. Reaching the prisoner is only the beginning: escape requires him to expose betrayal within his own network and survive one final confrontation in the country that has shaped his life.

The Border's violence survives formal diplomacy because local feuds, reiving and divided kinship do not end when courts declare peace. Berwick's fortifications make it a symbol of central power, but the countryside around it remains governed by reputation and personal alliances. Batty's mission therefore shows why Anglo-Scottish relations could remain dangerous even during pauses in conventional war.