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Judith Flynn and Renie Jones' husbands have told their wives that they are taking them on a vacation to a secret destination. Judith believes it will be sunny California. Renie's husband has confided that it will be a colder climate. Sure enough, the vacation spot turns out to be Scotland, where the men are to fish with retired policeman Hugh MacGowan, a man knowledgeable about the local waters and the five star hotels where the men will put up. The cousins are left to fend for themselves in the isolated, drafty castle aptly named Grimloch. On the first day they meet the arrogant, obnoxious Harry Gibb. The next day, after seeing him swimming in the buff, they witness the explosion of his car and his death. Here's where things begin to fall apart. Judith takes it upon herself to solve the mystery of Harry's death. Her reason? The very self-righteous explanation that when she sees a murder she must try to solve it. (Perhaps she should spend a weekend in Detroit.) In a 'real' world, she would probably have been told to pack her bags and get out of town. Her nosiness would make most people tell her to take a hike. Renie is the poster child for 'the ugly American.' She bangs up a woman in the local grocery store, she provokes a fight in a restaurant over the salt, and she defaces some portraits in a stately home the cousins visit. The only character one would want to spend time with is Beth Fordyce, third wife of the owner of the house, a man who also owns the local distillery. Beth serves as both comforter and guide. Shortly after they arrive, the cousins come upon a most unusual young man (or 'wee laddie' as he comes to be called). Chuckie is son of the owner of the house and therefore heir to the distillery. As he tries to lure her to visit his favorite place, the dungeon in the castle, Chuckie confides in Judith that he know the identity Harry's killer. Not long after, he is found drowned in a barrel of whiskey. Much of the bitterness among the main characters rests on control of Blackwell Petroleum, a firm that could make the Gibbs family rich if Moira Gibbs would bow out of the leadership and turn the reins over the her half brother, Jimmy, who is a whiz at business but who has been shut out because he is illegitimate. Also bitter are Mr and Mrs Gibbs, one-time owners of Grimloch, now handyman and cook. They believe that the Fordyces cheated them on the sale, while the Fordyces contend that the castle was in such dreadful shape that their offer was a gift. The atmosphere of rainy, gray Scotland is very well evoked; it reminds Judith and Renie of their native Seattle. The conclusion is dizzying, rather like being in the House of Mirrors at an amusement park; one turns from mirror to mirror to find which one is showing the truth. Judith's nosiness and Renie's constant whining about the source of her next meal got tired about three books ago.
Reviewed by Mary Elizabeth Devine, September 2007
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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