“And if a stranger comes within your gates you will not reject him. The stranger at your gate will be as one born among you, and you will love him as you love your own family.”

When Finnie and Paddy Doyle are offered the golden opportunity of a new start, in a new place, they jump at the chance. It would seem that lady luck has favoured them. They both have new jobs and a cottage as well. Paddy is over the moon at their new circumstances while city girl Finnie is less enthusiastic.

Their cottage, a gate house, starts to unnerve Finnie with its strange nocturnal noises and remote location.

They are invited to dinner up at Widdershins, the ‘big house’, by their neighbours, the Dudgeons.  They can hardly refuse as Lovatt Dudgeon is Paddy’s new boss and partner at the local law firm. After a pleasant dinner, and shortly after leaving Widdershins, they backtrack to the house to fetch Finnie’s handbag which she had forgotten. They find both the Dudgeons dead on the kitchen floor.

The decisions they make following this discovery will turn their world on its head, expose myriad secrets, and bring tension and even danger to their door…

I’ve read several novels by Catriona McPherson and this is one of her best! In my personal opinion it is second only to “The Day She Died“, another one of my favourites.

Dripping with a dour Scottish atmosphere, the story kept me enthralled from first page to last. With themes of illegal adoption, deception, extortion, embezzlement and more, the novel will appeal to many readers who enjoy a good thriller.

I will keep my eyes peeled for the next book by this talented author. Highly recommended!

This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur  via NetGalley.     ISBN: 9781250070012 –  ASIN: B07P7BYGGB   368 pages

Catriona McPherson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the author of the Dandy Gilver historical mystery series, which was nominated for a Macavity Award in 2012.   She moved to California in 2010 but she returns to Scotland every year for a wee visit to quell her homesickness.

She is now a full time writer.  When not writing, she is reading, gardening, cooking, baking, cycling , and running.

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