A gothic novel set in Scotland, “A Falcon for a Queen” by Catherine Gaskin is the story of Kirsty Howard, a young woman who has traveled a long way to seek out the story behind her brother William’s death. She and her brother were raised in China, but he went to Scotland to seek out their grandfather and establish a relationship there. Not too long into his visit, he was killed, and Kirsty feels she must find out more – very little information was given. She has his letters, and a scroll he sent which contains strange Chinese symbols. She knows what the characters say: she has killed . . . but they don’t make sense to her.
Angus McDonald is Kirsty’s grandfather, owner of Cluain, an estate where whiskey is made. He has never reached out with any warmth or friendship toward Kirsty’s side of the family, and it’s odd that he and William got along as well as they did. With William gone, Angus sees no use for Kirsty – a woman can’t run the distillery and he has no heir to leave his estate to. Mairi Sinclair, the enigmatic housekeeper, can’t see much use for Kirsty either, and from the moment she first steps foot on the property, makes Kirsty feel very unwelcome.
Despite all the opposition she faces, Kirsty is determined to make a place for herself at Cluain. Angus is her only remaining relative, and Cluain is her destiny. Enlisting the help of Callum Sinclair, Mairi’s equally enigmatic son, she takes a tour of the whiskey brewery and begins learning all she can about the process. But why is she continually being blocked in her quest to find out what really happened to her brother?
This book was beautifully written with flowing landscapes and rich imagery. I wanted to hop a plane for Scotland as soon as I was done reading it. A delightful “snowy day, snuggle up in a blanket with some hot chocolate” read.
(This book was published by Doubleday in 1972.)
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