A Scottish Mystery and a Shared Last Name

I first read of this book from a fellow blogger, the well-respected Cathy at Kittling: Books who gave the book an A+ rating.  Who isn't drawn to  a cozy mystery set in Scotland and when the author shares my Scots-Irish family's last name, Scott, it seems like the mystery is calling my name literally. 

According to family lore, my ancestor James Scott was actually born in 1736 in Northern Ireland, but moved to Scotland to work as a groom for a prominent family, the Holmes, on their estate.  He ended up eloping with the Holmes' teen-age daughter and fleeing to America where they settled in the Blue Springs section of the southwestern Virginia mountains.  There they had 7 children who were fruitful and multiplied, scattering Scott relatives like roaches (my husband's words), across the country!

I don't believe this author is kin folk, but I put this novel on my Christmas Wish List anyway, and a friend kindly gifted me with the book.

Atria Paperback, 2011, 357 pages

Joanne Ross is a typist at the Highland Gazette, but has always wanted the opportunity to cover a big story as a reporter.  She gets her chance when two murders occur the same day on the local estate, but one of the "persons of interest" is a close friend of Joanne's from her school days.  Can a reporter maintain her objectivity under these circumstances?  Joanne accepts the challenge.  She is a single mother, trying to make a life for herself and her two children and stay safely away from her physically abusive former husband.  She is also anxious to prove herself worthy of her editor-in-chief's confidence in her.

Joanne and her colleagues at the paper keep pursuing the truth, although with everyone lying to protect someone else, it's sometimes hard to tell who the good guys are.  Likable characters, a setting in 1950's Scotland and a community full of secrets keeps the plot moving forward.   There are times when the events in the book strain ones credulity, but overall it is an enjoyable read.

A. D. Scott is the pen name of Ann Deborah Nolan who herself was born in the Highlands of Scotland.  A woman of many interests, she was educated at Inverness Royal Academy and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and has worked in theatre, in magazines, and as a knitwear designer .  According to the publisher's blurb, she currently lives in Vietnam and north of Sydney, Australia. 

This is the second book in this series featuring Joanne Ross and the folks at the Highland Express.  The first was A Small Death in the Great Glen, which I haven't yet read.  I'm a sucker for small town newspaper stories, so I'll be adding this book to my To Be Read List.