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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Castles, mystery, history, and love -- what more could you want?, March 4, 2008
Jean Fairbairn and Alasdair Cameron had found each other amid death and mystery and found they had more in common than they thought: they could both sense ghosts. So they tentatively shared time and energy and in a leap of faith decided to spend some time together. Jean writes for Great Scot magazine and Alasdair is a retired DCI now working for Protect and Survive and having difficulty in adjusting to his new status of being outside the police information network. Alasdair has the use of an apartment at Stanelow Castle until P&S finds a new caretaker. It's perfect for them to get know each other better -- that is, until they learn the new owner is Alasdair's ex-wife, the previous caretaker was murdered, the ghost and the history don't seem to mesh, and some villagers aren't too happy with the new age direction the castle's owner wants to take.
While this is the first Jean Fairbairn/Alasdair Cameron Mystery, it hopefully won't be the last. Jean and Alasdair are fully developed adults with a lot of the emotional and intellectual baggage that implies. The story is totally from the point of view of Jean so we learn more of how she's feeling and reacting to events. All is filtered through her viewpoint and as a journalist she's an observer. Her observations on people and places are very insightful, and sometimes such that I laughed out loud. She manages to be an active observer and yet let the audience know her own feelings about events. Alasdair is dealing with his first instance where he's not the officer in charge. He's not even in the loop; Jean understands and it adds an extra layer to her observations and emotions.
The mystery is simple in its conclusion but the convoluted, twisty path to the solution is one that you'd expect when so many suspects are involved. Stanelaw is a small village in Scotland and everyone knows everyone, warts and all. Luckily friends of Jean's are helping out local friends by running their B&B while they're on vacation, so Jean has a touchstone for local information.
This isn't a page turning thriller that will keep you up all night. But it is a good solid story with characters you come to care about while learning to appreciate the slower life of the Scottish countryside and small villages. Carl also plays with expectations and often turns them on their heads surprising not only the characters but the reader. I loved this book for the characters, the ambiance, the history and culture of Scotland, and the ripping good story.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
terrific Fairburn-Alasdair whodunit, September 21, 2007
Great Scot magazine sends American expatriate reporter Jean Fairbairn to do a story on ancient haunted Ferniebank Castle before the renovation to change it into a modern day conference center and spa occurs. However, to Jean the excitement is not in the story; instead she knows that former police officer Alasdair Cameron works security at the crumbling castle. They plan a fortnight of loving decadence amidst the ruins even though the legend of the place is that Isabel Sinclair, who allegedly died four centuries ago on the way to a tryst in a fire caused by her burning glass, still haunts the place
However, instead of privacy as they expected, others have plans for the castle's artifacts. Soon item go missing like Isabel's harp that played for Queen Mary and three killings follow. As the local cops bungle the case while telling Alasdair to butt out, he conducts his own serendipitous inquiry; at the same time, Jean tries to stay out of the homicide investigation after her previous experiences (see THE MURDER HOLE and THE SECRET PORTRAIT) and avoid myth-babbling renovator and da Vinci Code dreamer Ciara Macquarrie, who intimately knows Alasdair, finds herself caught in the killer's web.
Though the local dialect can become intrusive almost as much as authentic, this is a terrific Fairburn-Alasdair whodunit with whimsical hints of the paranormal adding to the fun. The story line is fast-paced as the ex cop dives into the mystery while the journalist wonders what happened to two weeks of romance. With a strong investigative plot, readers will enjoy this fine entry in what is an entertaining series.
Harriet Klausner
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Very satisfying mystery, good characterization, July 11, 2010
This is the first mystery by Lillian Stewart Carl I have come across, and it makes me eager to read more of her work. Jean Fairbairn, a college professor, and Alasdair Cameron, a former police inspector, are planning a first vacation together, a kind of "let's see how it goes" trip. With both having a past of a broken marriage and being wary of new relationships, they still see something in the other that makes them want to try. Alasdair has a new job as security chief at a castle that is being renovated as a "wellness" center and new-age gathering place, and the two of them look forward to a quiet period in an out-of-the-way pastoral location where they can get to know each other.
Though the first day has its surprises (one in the form of Alasdair's former wife), the two manage to find a blissful interlude as night closes in. Unfortunately, their tryst is disturbed by strange sounds and lights and serious breaches of security that Alasdair was unaware of. Circumstances drive a wedge between Alasdair and Jean as problems occur in multitude in the very UNquiet countryside.
Two deaths occur which make Alasdair uneasy, even though the local police term them not suspicious. A mysterious lady-in-waiting to Mary Queen of Scots whose spirit refuses to rest, tomb raiders, souvenier hunters, officious police constables, and wandering townspeople add to the carnival atmosphere that descends on Jean and Alasdair's hideaway. A third death brings Alasdair into the investigation, while he and Jean begin to come to a deeper involvement with each other.
This is one I would recommend as a good mystery and just a plain good story. Kudos to Carl.
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