A college student travels to Scotland to work on an archaeological dig, but finds herself framed for murder when she begins to unravel a plot to loot Scotland’s most valuable archaeological treasure.

Once again, a thoroughly predictable plot full of boring, unlikeable characters. Very disappointing. ( )

If you like Scottish accents, you'll enjoy the reading of this tale of murder, chase and romance. ( )

For an armchair archaeologist, this romp had plenty of history and just enough of a dig to have me googling sites and finds. It's a good tale for those who enjoy a comedic cozy mystery. ( )

3.5 stars...I thought it was good quick read. I enjoyed the Scottish heritage stories and the setting the most. The writing was not on the level of the Peabody or Bliss series but it was still fun. ( )

I’m addicted to Elizabeth Peters and couldn’t pass up the chance to read a mystery set in Scotland. The mystery and setting were great as usual, but the main characters were not the best. Susan is a Scottish history buff who receives a message not intended for her and, as usual, it draws the bad guys’ attention. This, of course, leads to chaos for our heroine. Susan isn’t a bad heroine, she’s just… average. Nothing stood out about her personality and a lot of the time it felt like her only main purpose was to give us crash courses on Scottish history. The hero, James, was average as well. Except his main purpose was to drag Susan along with him while he was playing super secret spy. At the beginning James really bothered me, because he was an asshole and did very little to prove otherwise.

The plot and supporting characters were good enough to carry my attention throughout the whole book. There were only one or two small parts where the story dragged a bit and it was easily picked back up by another plot twist or quirky side character being added to the scene. The plot involved some small group of baddies bent on getting their hands on something.

I wouldn’t recommend anyone starting off with this book as their first Peters mystery. If you’re going to start off with any of her books I’d start with Crocodile on the Sandbank. But if you’re a fan her books, then there’s no harm in reading this one. It's still a good read, just not one of her best. ( )