Though her reputation for delving into the heart of murder
is matched only by that of her former partner and current
lover, Duncan Kincaid, newly appointed Detective Inspector
Gemma James has never thought to question her friend Hazel
Cavendish about her past. So it is quite a shock when Gemma
learns that their holiday retreat to a hotel in the
Scottish Highlands is, in fact, a homecoming for native
daughter Hazel – and an event that has evoked strong
reactions from the small community. Something is definitely
amiss – and that something is quite possibly Donald Brodie,
the charming if intense Scotsman who is a guest as well.
The truth comes out before long: Hazel and Brodie were once
lovers, despite a vicious, long standing feud between their
families, rival local distillers of fine whiskey. Their
affair was fierce and passionate, and its fire might not
have burned out completely. Certainly Brodie, now the
domineering head of the family business, believe
his “Juliet” still belongs to him alone – and he’s prepared
to destroy Hazel’s English marriage to make it so.
A brutal murder puts Hazel’s very life in peril when she’s
arrested for the crime. Hazel is the logical suspect, but
Gemma knows that nothing is simple in this place of secrets
and long-seething hatreds. As even more damning evidence
piles up against the friend that Gemma never truly knew,
the investigation into Hazel and Brodie’s history begins to
take darker and more sinister and tumultuous turns. Gemma
knows that she will need assistance to unravel this bloody
knot – and so she calls the one man she trusts more than
any other, Duncan Kincaid, to join her far from home…and in
harm’s way.