After disgracing themselves at a high society New Year’s Eve
party in Philadelphia in 1944, Madeline Hyde and her husband, Ellis, are cut
off financially by his father, a former army colonel who is already ashamed of
his son’s inability to serve in the war. When Ellis and his best friend, Hank,
decide that the only way to regain the Colonel’s favor is to succeed where the
Colonel very publicly failed—by hunting down the famous Loch Ness
monster—Maddie reluctantly follows them across the Atlantic, leaving her
sheltered world behind.
The trio find themselves in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands, where the locals have nothing but contempt for the privileged interlopers. Maddie is left on her own at the isolated inn, where food is rationed, fuel is scarce, and a knock from the postman can bring tragic news. Yet she finds herself falling in love with the stark beauty and subtle magic of the Scottish countryside. Gradually she comes to know the villagers, and the friendships she forms with two young women open her up to a larger world than she knew existed. Maddie begins to see that nothing is as it first appears: the values she holds dear prove unsustainable, and monsters lurk where they are least expected.
As she embraces a fuller sense of who she might be, Maddie becomes aware not only of the dark forces around her, but of life’s beauty and surprising possibilities.
The trio find themselves in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands, where the locals have nothing but contempt for the privileged interlopers. Maddie is left on her own at the isolated inn, where food is rationed, fuel is scarce, and a knock from the postman can bring tragic news. Yet she finds herself falling in love with the stark beauty and subtle magic of the Scottish countryside. Gradually she comes to know the villagers, and the friendships she forms with two young women open her up to a larger world than she knew existed. Maddie begins to see that nothing is as it first appears: the values she holds dear prove unsustainable, and monsters lurk where they are least expected.
As she embraces a fuller sense of who she might be, Maddie becomes aware not only of the dark forces around her, but of life’s beauty and surprising possibilities.
This story is
filled with some unique characters that we both liked and disliked. There were many subtopics that created good
discussions in this book. We found the personal
relationships interesting plus the struggles between rich and working classes. Maddie personality changed greatly throughout
the plot, while her husband’s did not change. Ordinary people became family to
Maddie. Local Scottish superstitions, supernatural
events, drug/alcohol abuse were presented.
Story was set during World War II
which affected the storyline. The story
had a slow, difficult beginning, but most of our group liked this book
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