Beneath the Abbey Wall

September 3, 2012
In Scott’s appealing third novel set in the 1950s Scottish Highlands (after 2011’s A Double Death on the Black Isle), the arrest of Donal McLeod, the Highland Gazette’s deputy editor, for fatally stabbing the newspaper’s business manager, Mrs. Smart, throws the newsroom into chaos. None of the staff can believe Donal is capable of cold-blooded murder, least of all editor McAllister and reporter Joanne Ross, who set out to find the real killer. The police, on the other hand, think Donal had ample motive as a major beneficiary of Mrs. Smart’s will. Scott vividly evokes Scotland of the period, where tweed skirts are de rigueur for women, and separation from a spouse is almost unheard of. The well-drawn characters, who come from a range of backgrounds, give a broad view of the social milieu—especially Glaswegian McAllister, a relative newcomer to the Highlands. Agent: Peter McGuigan, Foundry Literary + Media.

October 1, 2012
A staff's attempts to bring the Highland Gazette up to modern standards are derailed by the death of one of their own. Glaswegian editor McAllister is shocked when the dead body of Mrs. Smart, his capable office manager, is found near a local church. He's even more shocked when Don McLeod, his deputy editor, goes on a binge upon hearing the news and then is arrested for her murder. With two of his staff gone, McAllister, hard-pressed to turn out a paper up to his standards, welcomes some part-time help from Neil Stewart. Neil is a Canadian college professor, born in Scotland, who's been looking for answers about his birth ever since his mother died and left him a note saying that she was not his real mother. Reporter Joanne Ross falls for the charming Canadian, to the dismay of McAllister, who's in love with her. Mrs. Smart's abusive spouse is furious at the news that he gets only the house the couple has been living in; her will leaves her estate in Sutherland to Don and all her jewelry to Jenny McPhee, doyenne of a family of tinkers. In order to find other suspects, Don's friends must dig into a difficult past that, like an onion, reveals layer upon layer of secrets and lies Don and others want to keep concealed. The third installment in this fine character-driven series, set in the Highlands of 1957 (A Double Death on the Black Isle, 2011, etc.), expertly evokes an area struggling with a painful past as it seeks a better future.

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October 1, 2012

Joanne, Neil, Rob, and the rest of the Highland Gazette staff are struck hard when, first, one of their own is savagely killed, and, next, Don, the assistant editor, is arrested for her murder. At the same time, a handsome young journalist from Canada shows up, ostensibly researching his own lineage but instead distracting (and romancing) reporter Joanne. Editor-in-chief Neil never believes Don could have killed the beloved Mrs. Smart, but the evidence is damning. When the reading of her will releases shocking and long-held secrets, Neil and his intrepid reporter Rob begin investigating because the suspect list just expanded dramatically. Surprises await them around every turn, and so does violence. VERDICT Scott's third installment in her 1950s-set series (after A Double Death on the Black Isle) does a fine job with the post-World War II era tone. Her strong emphasis on characters sometimes slows the story unnecessarily, so readers should be prepared for some roundabout plot building. This well-regarded new series will appeal to fans of Elly Griffiths for the relationships and those of Kate Atkinson for the Scottish culture.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2012
Scott's first mystery, A Small Death in the Great Glen (2010), introduced readers to the embattled staff of the Highland Gazette, the 1950s weekly that covers all the rugby matches, dances, sheep sales, and occasional homicides that the tiny village and its environs offer. The very high standard Scott established in her first mystery was met in her second, A Double Death on the Black Isle (2011), and may have been surpassed in this third in the series. The series star, Joanne Ross, is a wonderful mix of fear, diffidence, and iron determination. Ross is a single, working mother, a disdained combination in 1957, and the survivor of spousal abuse. The fact that she has become a reporter on the Gazette gives her great pride and also great fire in pursuing stories. The other hero is editor McAllister, who pushes all the staff to produce quality journalism and who is the chief force behind the investigations. In Scott's latest, the woman who held the paper's operations together, the business manager, is found murdered next to the graveyard of an old abbey. Police charge the deputy editor with her murder, leaving Ross and McAllister with a debt of honor to investigate on their own. The subplot, detailing Ross' infatuation with a handsome, perhaps dangerous stranger, adds an extra frisson to the action. A plot that's ingenious, characters that are both believable and surprising, and evocative Highlands atmosphere make this another must-read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)