This is the sequel to A Small Death in the Great Glen by A.D. Scott in the "Joanne Ross/ Highland Gazette" series. I've also read A Kind of Grief, which comes later in the series (#6) and was a bit of a spoiler for reading this one but....still worth the read. As with her other books, she does a wonderful job of conveying a sense of place for a small town in the Highlands of Scotland 10 years or so after WWII has ended. In this book, Joanne is being given the opportunity to spread her wings and do real reporting for the regional newspaper, which the editor, McAllister, is attempting to revamp and expand. They get a golden opportunity when someone firebombs a fishing boat in the town's canal and sinks it to the bottom, providing lots of fodder for front page news. Joann and friend/ colleague Rob are assigned the story and race to the scene where "wee Hector" is taking photos left and right, aggravating the boat's crew members, but hoping to get himself hired onto the paper as the official photographer. The British class system is fully on display when Joanne's best friend from boarding school, Patricia, reveals that she is pregnant and getting married to the owner of the destroyed boat, Sandy Skinner. Patricia's mother, who is the lady of the manse on the Black Isle (which is really a peninsula) is outraged that her daughter would marry a common fisherman, and many suspect he was only after Patricia's land and money. Then, on the same day, Fraser, the elder son of the manse's farm manager and Patricia's new husband die. Are they accidents or murder? There are plenty of people who didn't like both men, but the prejudiced town policeman immediately seizes upon two McPhee brothers as likely culprits in the murder of Fraser because there had been a shoving match between them outside a bar the evening before he died. The McPhees are Tinkers or Travelers, itinerant laborers, who are looked down upon by settled folk. Joanne and colleagues are, of course, trying to get to the bottom of things but she also has to deal with the challenges of being "a single mother working to support her two girls after leaving her abusive husband" (Kirkus). The abusive husband puts in a couple of appearances. Her colleagues (all men) don't fully understand why she doesn't divorce him, but the culture looks down on divorced women and Joann fears it would taint her daughters' lives as well. Richly drawn characters and settings as well as colorful dialog, interesting relationships, and "a fine mystery" (Kirkus) make this a worthwhile series.
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