*Starred Review* This splendid debut mystery has everything going for it—and a bit more, if you count sly Scottish charm. Scott’s writing is engaging, and her plotting Macbethian. The setting is a village in the Great Glen (roughly encompassing what the author describes as the “fierce and stunning landscape” between Fort William and Inverness) in the Highlands of Scotland. The time, 1956, is fairly calm but close enough to WWII to have residents still recovering from its devastating effects. The main characters cluster in the tiny newspaper offices of the Highland Gazette, a local weekly that is supposed to concentrate on livestock prices, auctions, and obits. Scott brings back the sounds of a precomputerized newsroom, the smells of ink and acid, and the feel of banging out stories (with copy paper!) on an old Underwood. When a little boy is found murdered in the canal just outside the village, the newspaper’s new editor in chief recruits the part-time typist, whose daughters know the murdered child, to help him investigate the case. They uncover a host of secrets and a number of people with a vested interest in keeping the mystery of the boy’s death unsolved. The characters of the crusading small-town newspaperman and the part-time typist (a battered wife at home) are skillfully drawn and will have readers rooting for them unequivocally. This is the first entry in a projected series, and it is captivating on every level. --Connie Fletcher
Review
"A.D. Scott’s beautifully written debut novel brims with intimate knowledge of the Scottish Highlands and of the dark secrets that lie behind the walls of a quaint rural village. Vividly realized with memorable characters and a stunning setting,
A Small Death in the Great Glen is a novel to savor." — Malla Nunn, author of
A Beautiful Place to Die"An impressive first novel. I'd have imagined 1950s Inverness as gray and humorless, but Scott uses the background of religious intolerance, prejudice and petty jealousies, to bring together an engaging cast of warm and colorful characters. The central protagonists, all of whom work for a local newspaper, are interesting, well-rounded and sympathetic. I hope to meet them again." — Ann Cleeves, author of
Red Bones
"This atmospheric novel sets you firmly in small town Scotland of the 1950s. The characters are engaging and the suspense mounts along with a growing sense of dread as events surrounding the death of a young boy unfold. Once you start reading, you'll find it hard to put down." — Peter Robinson, New York Times bestselling author of The Price of Love
"This splendid debut mystery has everything going for it…Scott’s writing is engaging, and her plotting Macbethian…The characters of the crusading small-town newspaper are skillfully drawn and will have readers rooting for them unequivocally…captivating on every level" —Booklist, starred review
"Oh what a delight, this book! Almost perfect in every way. A.D. Scott's fine debut novel deserves a spot this year on everyone's 'must-read' list." —William Kent Krueger, author of Heaven's Keep
"This mystery is a delight to unravel, with its lively dialect-spouting players, inhabiting a lavishly described, forbidding but beautiful landscape. A rollickying, cozy escapade" —Kirkus
"Written with humor, compassion and a fine sense of tragedy, A Small Death in the Great Glen is the first in a series by this promising new author" —Bookpage
"A rich portrayal of provincial life in the middle of the 20th century" —Romantic Times Review
"Scott brilliantly evokes the life of a small Scottish town and touches on issues that continue to perplex and horrify us. Score a big victory for "A Small Death." —The Richmond Times-Dispatch
