A Kind of Grief by A.D. Scott

First Line: She'd first visited the house up the isolated glen in Sutherland when she was a child.

Alice Ramsay is a talented artist who lives alone in a remote area of the northern Highlands of Scotland. She's unconventional, and although she doesn't go out of her way to attract attention, she has her own opinions and isn't afraid to voice them. This has created enemies for her in the nearby village, and the rumor mill insists that she's a witch.

When Alice is found dead in her home, the verdict is suicide, but Joanne Ross of the Highland Gazette won't have it. Too many things just don't add up-- like the art critic of rather dubious scruples who writes for a national newspaper... and those officials from some sort of secretive government agency who are also lurking about. They're enough to send shivers down anyone's spine. No. Alice Ramsay did not commit suicide, and Joanne Ross will not rest until she proves it.

I've been a fan of A.D. Scott's series since the very first book, A Small Death in the Great Glen. The setting of the Scottish Highlands in the 1950s is vivid, and a rock solid foundation for each book. 

The plot of A Kind of Grief was set in motion by the story of the last witch burned in Scotland. Alice Ramsay is the alleged witch here, and there are alternating sections of the book told in her voice. She's a strong, likable woman with secrets that Scott has readers itching to learn. And what better way to learn them than through the persistence of Joanne Ross, another unconventional woman who's had to fight to find her own path to happiness for herself and her children? Joanne is still recuperating from devastating injuries that occurred in a previous book, and Alice Ramsay strikes a chord with her. Joanne's interest soon turns into obsession, and with those government types lurking in the shadows, it's altogether too easy for readers to begin to fear for this vulnerable woman.

But it's not just shadowy agents and oily art critics who need to be feared. There's a small-minded, evil-tongued woman in Alice's village-- the dreaded Mrs. MacKenzie-- who's gone so far past the mere title of gossipmonger that it boggles the mind. Scott uses characters like MacKenzie to prove that danger can live in plain sight... right in our midst.

I love Scott's books for their setting and their complex stories, but it's her characters and her insight into human nature that make them dear to my heart. A Kind of Grief is another strong entry in this series, and I look forward to the next. A.D. Scott's writing reminds me a great deal of Louise Penny's, and I would urge Penny's fans to sample life in the Highlands. Scott's characters grow and change throughout the series, so I recommend starting at the beginning. You're in for a treat.

A Kind of Grief by A.D. Scott

eISBN: 9781476756196

Atria Books © 2015

eBook, 368 pages

Historical Mystery, #6 Highland Gazette mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley 

The Low Road by A.D. Scott

First Line: He shuddered as he got off the bus outside the main gate of the former Duke Street Prison.

John McAllister has come to the mean streets of Glasgow on a mission to find his friend, Jimmy McPhee. McPhee has disappeared from sight, and since he is involved in some sort of blood feud with a gang there in the city, McAllister intends to use his old newspaper contacts to see if he can find his friend. 

Although he's ashamed to admit it, he's relieved to be back in Glasgow and feeling the allure of a big city newspaper. Joanne Ross, the woman he loves in Inverness, is still recuperating from serious injuries. She's not really the woman McAllister fell in love with... but he doesn't really want to think about that. Instead he teams up with a young crime reporter who has her eye on the Big Time. In trying to track down Jimmy, the gang finds them, and now McAllister is in danger of losing everything-- and everyone-- he loves.

Although I missed being in Inverness in this latest Highland Gazette mystery, I rapidly came to appreciate the visit to some of 1950s Glasgow's most dangerous areas.

It's also an opportunity to see McAllister on what used to be his home turf and to observe the way he behaves with family, friends, and former work colleagues. Moreover, what readers observe isn't always flattering. McAllister-- a lifelong bachelor and rather set in his ways-- is finding it very difficult to cope with the changes in Joanne Ross. Although he thought he loved her beyond all reason, the difficulties she's experiencing with her health have him wondering if they really should get married. For anyone who's followed this marvelous series since book one, his behavior is almost like a slap in the face. Granted, it's only natural for him to have these doubts-- and it shows how A.D. Scott has created nuanced characters who live and breathe on the pages of her books.

She also knows how to create a level of menace and danger that keeps your eyes glued to those pages. Although I truly feared for McAllister's life on more than one occasion, I still felt that The Low Road suffered a bit from the characters being split apart. This is such an ensemble cast that the flow of the book felt a bit out of kilter from time to time.

Scott gives us a real feel for Scotland in the 1950s by showing how some of the old-fashioned Calvinist ways are very gradually being ground under by modern ideas and behaviors. As in tune as she is with the land and the times, it's with her characters that A.D. Scott truly shines. These are characters who embrace both the good and the bad. We're able to learn their strengths, their weaknesses, and some of their motivations. There's a lyrical and oh-so-human quality to this author's writing that reminds me of Louise Penny, and-- as I am with Penny's books-- I'm always thrilled to see a new Highland Gazette mystery.

The Low Road by A.D. Scott

ISBN:  9781476756165

Atria Books © 2014

Paperback, 336 pages

Historical Mystery, #5 Highland Gazette mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley 

Beneath the Abbey Wall by A.D. Scott

First Line: Ten past nine on a mid-September night, everything in the town was tight shut, including the sky. It must have known it was the Sabbath.

Much of the Highland Gazette's recent success has been due to the hard work and common sense of Mrs. Smart, so when she's found dead on a dark Inverness street, everyone on the newspaper staff is left reeling in shock. But that's not the end of it. As more information comes to light, it is learned that the dead woman's name wasn't Smart, she was married to the newspaper's editor, Don McLeod, and McLeod is soon hauled off to jail, accused of her murder. The Highland Gazette office is in chaos. A handsome stranger is brought in temporarily to help with advertising and accounts, and in the midst of all this, reporter Joanne Ross finds herself falling in love with him.

Once again A.D. Scott has worked her magic and drawn me into the world of Inverness, Scotland, in the late 1950s. Attitudes may be changing quickly elsewhere, but in this small Highland town, change doesn't come easily... or fast. The cast of characters fit this setting beautifully. McAllister, a newspaper man from Glasgow, wants to modernize the paper and make it a success. Reporter Joanne Ross has put an end to her abusive marriage. Hector Bain, staff photographer and "serial nuisance" may be a pain, but he's magic with a camera. Young Rob McLean is a gifted reporter who wouldn't mind making a name for himself in front of the camera. Of all the main characters there are only two readers have never learned much about: Don McLeod, the deputy editor, and Mrs. Smart, the office manager. This book centers on them-- the "old guard"-- and as it does, what appear to be inconsistencies begin to show in the story.

Scott reminds us that Inverness is a small town where everyone spends most of their time gossiping and learning everyone else's business. However, no one knew about the marriage between McLeod and Smart. Joanne Ross, whose personal life has already set fire to the local grapevine, falls in love with a stranger, has an affair with him, and her soon-to-be ex-husband doesn't find out? I have to admit that that does strain credulity. You see, I was born and raised in a very small town. (My grandparents lived two doors down from one nosy parker, and I lived across the street from another.) There are people who spend most of their time sticking their noses into everyone else's business. In fact, these people are so talented that Joanne Ross's every move would be observed and reported. There would have been no unseen sneaking in and out of houses. However, I also know that it is possible to live in a small town and have secrets that no one else knows about. That's why the hidden lives of McLeod and Smart don't bother me as much. Most of their history took place well away from Inverness... but those evening meetings when Mrs. Smart would slip through McLeod's back gate? People knew.

With that said, these inconsistencies did not ruin the book for me at all. I love Scott's evocative writing style. She sets a scene so well that I can easily picture it in my mind. The main characters are so real to me that I swear I've had them all over for tea (or in McAllister's case, a wee dram o' Talisker's) many times. I've joined with them in sorrow and in joy, and in unraveling the intricate mysteries they must solve. Each mystery in this series involves uncovering layers of secrets people thought were safely buried, and I enjoy trying to get to the answers first.

It's a brave writer who kills one of her main characters, and I admire Scott for doing it. Now that she's effectively shaken up the "old guard," I wonder how much faster those at the Highland Gazette will work to bring Inverness to the modern world?

Beneath the Abbey Wall by A.D. Scott

ISBN: 9781451665772

Atria Books © 2012

Paperback, 352 pages

Historical Mystery, #3 Highland Gazette mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen. 

A Day in Heaven: Leakey's Bookshop and Café, Inverness

Don't you love serendipity? More than once, it's played an important role in my life-- most recently in the days leading to the month-long trip Denis and I took to the UK. Some of you know that on Fridays I post a batch of (usually) book-related links that I've found on the internet. A couple of weeks before we were due to leave for England, I happened across someone's post of (however many) "most beautiful bookstores in the world." I began scrolling through and after recognizing the first six or seven as ones I'd seen many times before, I almost closed the browser window and moved on. For some reason, I scrolled on... and I came upon a photo of a bookstore that made my jaw drop and my tongue hang out of my mouth. The caption read "Leakey's Bookshop, Scotland." I Googled it, although I was certain I'd find that the bookshop was in Edinburgh, and we were not going to Edinburgh this trip.

Leakey's Bookshop (Photo Credit)

When I clicked on a link and "Inverness, Scotland" was staring me right in the face, I think I shrieked with surprise and sheer glee. Denis and I were going to be staying in a cottage on the shore of the Cromarty Firth... just a few miles out of Inverness!

I told Denis about my find when he came home from work. He found it easily on Google Earth and found out that Leakey's has a Facebook page. He sent them a message about parking and received a quick reply.  Leakey's was officially on our itinerary!


The entire month we were in the UK, it was bitterly cold, and the sun seldom shone. In fact, we saw more sun in the extreme northwest of Scotland than anywhere else on the entire island. But the day we drove to Inverness, the sky was almost uniformly grey with only brief flashes of brilliant sunlight.

As far as I'm concerned, Inverness is the best shopping city in the UK. We parked in a multi-story car park (er... parking garage to us Americans) that was right next to the bus station. Leakey's was a two-block walk from the car park. A couple of blocks in a slightly different direction will take visitors to two different shopping malls-- and this was all in "downtown"-- the old city center of Inverness, on the banks of the River Ness and within walking distance of the castle! Trust me, you just don't get this kind of convenience in the UK (and for a good reason)-- my mind still boggles!

Pedestrian Bridge over the Ness

Leakey's is a block away from the pedestrian bridge across the River Ness, and there are all sorts of marvelous shops along its banks to be explored. But there was a bitter wind blowing, and I had a bookstore in my sights, so I didn't want to tarry long.

In fact, I was in such a hurry to get inside Leakey's that I forgot to take a picture, hence the one I used above from Wikimedia Commons! (Don't worry, the rest of the photos are mine, and you can click on any one of them to see them in their original sizes in a new window.)

Back in 1982, Leakey's stock was spread out in two small shops in Inverness. In 1993, they began the process of converting an old church into their present business. (So if you thought those windows in the first photo looked a bit ecclesiastical, you were correct!)

My first glimpse of Wonderland

After climbing a few steps, Denis and I entered a small vestibule. Up another step or two, open a door, and... look upon a Book Lover's Wonderland! I think Denis took one look at my face and didn't say a word; he just moved on and did his own exploring and browsing and left me to my own literary communion.

Immediately to my left were modern fiction and paperbacks, but I didn't even stop.

My kind of job!

I took a few steps inside and peeked at the woman sitting at the front desk. She was surrounded by stacks and piles of lovely books. Then I think my attention was drawn to the architecture of the building itself... to the row upon row of books... and to the big wood-burning stove in the center of the room, throwing out waves of blessed warmth. I then heard the clink of cutlery upon plates and the murmur of quiet conversation. I looked up and there was the café. It was lunchtime, and it was packed up in that tiny space. The daily menus on Leakey's Facebook page sounded delicious, but the best judges of the food are always the locals, and it was obvious that this was a popular spot to eat. No doubt about it, Denis and I would be sampling the cuisine before we left!

Now I'm going to shut up and let my photos do the talking for me. I hope you enjoy your tour of Leakey's because it's definitely a place that I plan to return to as often as I can.

The heat was welcome on a bitterly cold day.

Spiral staircase leading to the upper floor and café.

Heaven...

I'm in heaven...

Looking over to the café.

From the top of the spiral staircase.

Where we waited for the café to clear out a bit.

Our delicious meals!

Inverness City Center

If you're wondering about those meals in the café, I had the tuna mayonnaise, and Denis had the curried tomato soup. Both were absolutely delicious!

I took many more photos than this, and if you're either a Facebook friend or if you've liked the Kittling: Books Facebook page, you are more than welcome to take a look at all the others. It was a truly wonderful day-- and all because I didn't give up on an article I thought I'd read before!