Castles in the Snow

Alladale Series, Book 1

By: Linda Heavner Gerald

Narrated by: Naomi Rose-Mock

Caroline Emma Corbett Reid and her husband Thomas hail from Charleston, SC, but move to the estate of Alladale in Scotland when a nasty family lawsuit ruins their reputation. After five glorious years living at Alladale, the beautiful Caroline awakens tied to her bed inside her favorite suite, the Willow. After three days without food or water, she realizes her end is near.

This story features flashbacks of her life in Charleston, SC, and Inverness, Scotland, and her struggle to remember what happened in the final days before finding herself shackled. The listener is quickly drawn into this tale of greed and murder as the lives of this couple are detailed. Historical facts mingle with the appeal of a mystery in this whodunit will keep the listener engaged late into the night.

Castles in the Snow is based on Paul Lister, a true ecologist and the actual founder of Alladale, a 23,000-acre wilderness reserve in the Scottish Highlands. Paul’s goal is to create a controlled wolf reserve within his beloved estate. This great conservationist’s story has received media attention from 60 Minutes and other sources in the US and the UK. The importance of philanthropists like Paul Lister and their impact on our world challenges us to take the fate of our planet seriously.

©2020 Linda Heavner Gerald (P)2021 Linda Heavner Gerald

4/5 Stars

*Disclaimer: Flashbacks have never been my favorite technique.

Summary:

A woman wakes up tied to her bed. The rest of the story is about 98% flashbacks. You hear about her parents, upbringing, beloved servants, handsome husband, and a giant move across the Pond to Scotland. You’ll also hear about some harassment and the history that leads to the character’s current predicament.

Additional Comments:

· Caroline Emma Corbett Reid and her husband Tom leave Charleston, South Carolina and move to Scotland. Somehow, she ends up tied to her bed. I’m surprised she doesn’t complain more about having a headache or something. The story unfolds where she takes some very, very long walks down memory lane.

· The action doesn’t happen until the last 20 minutes of the book. Then, it’s over in two winks.

· Writing the book this way puts an odd filter on things. It’s almost like the reader is getting the story second hand from an unreliable source. She doesn’t have amnesia about most of her life, just the last few days.

· There are elements of mystery in here as we don’t know how the MC wound up tied to the bed until the last few minutes.

· The conclusion involves the bad guy basically laying out the whole sordid tale. While fine, I wish Caroline had more to do with her eventual fate than everything happening to her.

· The back cover copy talks about greed and murder, but it’s probably mostly a tale of revenge.

· There isn’t much chance of figuring out whodunnit because you’re not even sure what the “dunnit” part is until the last part of the story. But in the end, there are some clues scattered out.

· Many portions of the flashbacks are interesting, but they do not seem to connect well to the rest of the story. The style in which this unfolds lends itself to building Caroline’s world, but that includes a lot of unnecessary pieces. I guess they’re either purposeful or incidental red herrings for the mystery.

· Caroline is a pretty likable character.

· Narration’s fitting for the story. Southern and Scottish accents are decent.

Conclusion:

A uniquely told mystery.
*I received a free copy of the audiobook. I have freely chosen to review it. All thoughts are my own.