As in her other books, Jean Macleod beautifully evokes the Scottish landscape. The characterisation of the people was somewhat lacking. The narcissistic sister of the male protagonist was too blatantly evil and lacked the charm and the ability to make a good first impression that the best sociopaths have, as did his fiancée. I did like the detail that the fiancée's uncle wondered what attracted Stephen Lang to her. When the author intends us to be sympathetic to a character, that character gets more layers, but also a strong ability to ignore the obvious when that will further the plot. ( )