The Call of the Highlands

By Hannah Reed.

It began as ideas often do, with a small spark out of the blue. Most flashes of insight (also known as moments of insane thinking) sputter and die a quick death. As they should. But sometimes one will ignite and take off, and there’s nothing you can do but go along for the ride. That’s what happened with my new Scottish Highlands mystery series. Once those thoughts came alive and were in motion, I wouldn’t have been able to douse them even if I had an ocean of water. They had to be written.

Mostly, I credit one of my more colorful ancestors, who managed to get thrown out of Scotland in 1685 after his capture and imprisonment in Dunnottar Castle for taking up arms against the king. These days the castle still exists as a ruin, sitting high on a windswept hill beside the sea. This character survived when many didn’t and was shipped to the new world. A real rabble-rouser, that one. Not an uncommon trait in my family line. I believe his adventure was the inspiration for this new series. It fueled my imagination.

And although the weapons have changed in the time that has elapsed between then and now, motives for murder remain the same.

So back to the present and a wee bit about Off Kilter.

Romance writer Eden Elliott arrives in the Highlands only to discover that the local sheep shearer has been clipped with his own shears. She better figure out the motive for his murder and the person behind the deed before she finds herself on the receiving end of more shear terror!

I hope you enjoy your romp through the ‘blades’ of the Highland’s slippery slopes. I know I did.

For more information about the story or about my other tales, visit me at hannahreedbooks.com




Berkley Prime Crime has generously offered a copy of Off Kilter to one of my readers. Please comment below before midnight on November 5, 2014. Entries from the US only, please.  Please don't forget to include an email address so I can contact you if you win.

By Yon Bonnie Braes

Off Kilter (Scottish Highlands Mystery #1) by Hannah Reed (Berkley Prime Crime mass market, 7 October 2014).

Following a year which included the death of her mother and the end of her marriage, Eden Elliott's best friend Ami gifts her with an open-ended ticket to Scotland.  Eden reluctantly agrees, mostly to stop Ami from bugging her.

But she admits to herself that it will be a wonderful opportunity to get some fresh ideas for the novel she's working on.  Seated next to her on the flight from London to Inverness is a woman who happens to be headed to the same village as Eden.  It turns out that Vicki MacBride, now living in London, is going to Glenkillen for her father's funeral.  Although she hadn't seen him for years, he'd left her everything:  house, business and property.

Her first evening, there, Eden sees the funeral procession from her room at Glenkillen's only inn. Despite being exhausted, she convinces herself that this would be a good way to experience some true Scottish culture as fodder for her book.  Later in the evening, she accompanies Vicki to visit one of her father's old friends, Gavin Mitchell, who had notified Vicki of her father's death.  But there's no answer to their knock, and when they go into his cottage, they find him lying on the floor in a pool of blood with a metal object sticking out of his chest.

Of course, being the only outsider with any connection to Gavin, Vicki is the prime suspect.  But although Eden hasn't known her very long, she's certain that her new friend is innocent, and decides to stay in Glenkillen at least long enough to make sure Vicki isn't unjustly accused and/or arrested.

Eden soon discovers that she feels very comfortable in the Scottish highlands, and begins to make friends with some of the locals.  Despite the murder and its attending drama, she also finds ideas for her book beginning to flow.

Eden finds adventuresome depths she didn't know she had, and her innate loyalty and intelligence make her the perfect friend and champion for Vicki.

If you've never been to Scotland, reading this book takes you there vicariously, and provides good company and an adventure as well.



FTC Full Disclosure;  Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy of the book.