Awful

I tried, honestly I tried, but this book … Now, if you like ‘mountain man’ stories set in the US, you might like this book because it is just another rehashed story. If, however, you were looking for a story set in Scotland - don’t bother with this one. I would have thought that the author would have done SOME research into the setting of the book, but no - she gives great insights such as Inverness not being in the Highlands (guess that nickname of ‘the capital of the Highlands’ now has to go!); that the Highlands of Scotland are rumoured to be ‘unihabited’ (not sure where I was living then!); sets part of the story in the Catholic Inverness Cathedral (better inform the Protestant attendees!); that if you drive just outside Inverness you start to climb mountains that are so very steep your ears keep popping (I must have missed that road!). When the protagonists get to the ‘enclave’ where this ‘mafia’ family has lived for generations, it’s a log cabin with a porch surrounded by ‘chalets’ - hmmmm sounds just like something in the US! And that is the problem with this book - the author seems to have decided to jump on the Highlander bandwagon and written a book in a genre she is familiar with with scant regard for where she has set it other than a couple of ‘lasses’, ‘ayes’ and references to places in Scotland. For the love of God, if you are going to set a book in a particular time and/or place, have some respect and do some research.

A couple of comments I read praised the narrator for his Scottish brogue. He sounds like an American tourist doing a VERY bad Scottish accent, occasionally falling into more of an Irish accent, and sometimes just not bothering. In his defence, however, he does a great job of narrating the story (but the garbled accent is hard to get past).

It’s a firm “ no” for me, and is the first book I have returned.

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