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Archive for Scotland

Edinburgh Dusk cover

Review: Edinburgh Dusk

By Jan
 on November 17, 2018

Edinburgh Dusk (#2 Ian Hamilton Mysteries)

Edinburgh Dusk coverAuthor: Carole Lawrence;
Genre: Historical Mystery;
Format: Audiobook;
Narrator: Simon Mattacks;
Publisher: Brilliance Audio (2018);
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (3 / 5).

This is the second in a series of detective novels set in Victorian Edinburgh, Scotland; the first is “Edinburgh Twilight” (read my review). Ian Hamilton is a likable main character, and the entertaining supporting cast includes people from vastly different levels of society, including some real-life personalities in this case.

The descriptions of the city in 1880 are very good and the atmosphere is fun. I did question a few things that didn’t seem authentic to the time period, but I tried not to let those throw me off. There are also times when the author goes a little overboard with philosophy, but otherwise, the story moves along at a decent pace. The mystery itself was presented very well, and the denouement was satisfactory but not exciting.

I have to add that the coming out of one of the characters as homosexual was—as far as I can tell—just jumping on the gay bandwagon. It seems all authors these days feel they must include the topic, although it didn’t add anything to the plot. That was a disappointment, merely because it was unnecessary.

The narrator of the audiobook, Simon Mattacks, was very good. His timing was particularly good, and his Scottish accents really added to the story; I wasn’t fond of one of the voices, but a narrator only has so many choices.

Quite a bit of sexual references, some violence but nothing graphic, no foul language. The tone is quite dark, but so is the plot; this is definitely NOT a cozy mystery.

Amazon Kindle links: Edinburgh Twilight, Edinburgh Dusk

© Copyright 2018 Jan McClintock
In categories Audiobooks, Book Review, Historical Mystery Tagged with Scotland

The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers

By Jan
 on July 26, 2012

The Ship Inn, Gatehouse of Fleet, formerly known as the Anworth, where Dorothy L. Sayers wrote the book “Five Red Herrings”, a Lord Peter Wimsey mystery that included many local landmarks. Located in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland.

The Ship Inn photo

When I visited the area in 2007, the guide pointed out this inn with the sign. He also showed us a few of the locations from the book, including the murder scene!

© Jan McClintock of We Need More Shelves

In categories Historical Mystery Tagged with mystery, Scotland