ISBN: 1-55690-678-1 Order from: Recorded Books
This murder mystery is occasionally witty in poking fun at the colorful characters populating a Highland Scottish festival, but suffers from lack of appealing characters, and obvious plot elements.
Reviewed by David on June 01, 2002
Genre: Mystery (Humor)
Synopsis: This is an unabridged recording of Highland Laddie Gone.
Elizabeth McPherson, a young woman participating in a Scottish festival in Virginia, is surprised by her encounter with a real Scotsman. Dr. Cameron Dawson, despite his origin, has little interest for the exagerated nostalgia of the festival, and is supremely content with his ignorance of the Highland Clans, Bonnie Prince Charlie, and all the other items that form the core of the festival society.
Mixed with several ludicrously funny feuds and plots, there are deadly serious passions, which result in murder. Elizabeth, her cousin Jeffrey, and the unwilling Dr. Dawson are all involved in the mystery.
Full Review: This book is colorful in its depiction of the Highland Games, the people taking enormous pride in their Socttish heritage, frequently with little historical foundation, and the exaggerated nostalgia for Scottish Clan history. The poking of fun is sometimes witty; regretfully, most of the time it is obvious and exaggerated. Irony is spelled out in large letters; the caracters are frequently cartoonish. With a few exception, the actors, including the protagonist, are woefully ignorant of both history and modern British slang, all to take advantage of sitcom-level joke opportunity.
Unfortunately, Davina Porter, while an excellent narrator, injects an English accent to most of the dialogue, which provides some confusion as to the origin and whereabouts of the characters, especially in the beginning of the book. Given that a significant portion of the humor is derived from linguistic differences between American and British dialects, this is a distraction.
Added to the rather obvious mystery, the plot seems both lightweight and heavy-handed, and the occasional glints of real humor lose out to the thickly sprinkled jokes. While having some mild entertainment value, on the whole, this humorous murder mystery is less than satisfying.
Overall: 4.5; Plot: 4; Characters: 4.5; Style: 5; World-building: 6; Originality: 5.5;
Copyright date 1986, Recorded Books, Audio cassette, 5 cassettes
ISBN: 1-55690-678-1 Order from: Recorded Books