Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published in USA
Sep 2011
384 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
Two Women, Two Murders...
A stunning and suspenseful story of families, betrayal, and a community divided.
Nothing is ever quite at peace on Scotland's Black Isle - the Traveling people are forever at odds with the locals, the fishermen have nothing in common with the farmers, and the villages have no connection with the town. But when two deaths occur on the same day, involving the same families from the same estate - the Black Isle seems as forbidding as its name.
Joanne Ross, typist at the Highland Gazette, is torn whether to take on the plum task of reporting on these murders - after all, the woman at the center of both crimes is one of her closest friends. Joanne knows the story could be her big break, and for a woman in the mid-1950s - a single mother, no less - good work is hard to come by.
But the investigation by the staff on the Gazette reveals secrets that will forever change this quiet, remote part of the Highlands. The ancient feudal order is crumbling, loyalties are tested, friendships torn apart, and the sublime beauty of the landscape will never seem peaceful again.
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"Readers willing to forgive slow pacing and some unresolved story points should enjoy Scott's careful attention to creating characters who convincingly belong to a past era's attitudes and values." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Set against the bleak beauty of the Highlands, Scott's second (A Small Death in a Great Glenn, 2010) continues to explore the slow transformation of Scotland from a highly ordered society while presenting a fine mystery with engaging characters." - Kirkus Reviews
"Starred Review. Lots of action, lots of atmosphere, and above all, lots of fun." - Booklist
"Scott brilliantly evokes the life of a small Scottish town." - Richmond Times-Dispatch
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Photo: Etienne Bossot
A.D. Scott was born in the Highlands of Scotland and educated at Inverness Royal Academy and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She lives in Vietnam and Australia.
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