When Coira MacDugall was stabbed for attempting to kill the new Lady of Clan Lathan, the Healer saved her life and gave her something more and unexpected...empathic sensitivity.

Coira has now been returned to Clan MacDugall and must learn to cope with not only her own regrets and emotions, but the emotions of others around her. Can she learn to understand and control her gift in time to earn her place at home? Or will her inability to cope lead to more death and treachery.

As the new MacDugall Laird, Logen MacDugall has been given not only a dwindling and fractured Clan, but a ward that has been sent home from Clan Lathan in some sort of secret shame. Rumors pin her as a murderess, but Logen sees something far more fragile and maybe slightly more dangerous in her. Trying to stay alive long enough to uncover the treasonous plot that has ended the lives of the previous Lairds, can Logen trust Coira and her unbelievable gift to discover where the danger lies? And will she even be willing to trust him in turn?

In THE HEALER'S GIFT readers get a chance to see the outcome of Coira's actions in Highland Healer, Book One of Willa Blair's Highland Talents series. While Coira was obnoxious and narcissistic in Highland Healer, in THE HEALER'S GIFT Coira is contrite and regretful as a result of the gift presented to her by the Healer. We see her struggling to find her place among people whom she fears will never accept her, which is quite a departure from her previous attitude.

Willa Blair does a fantastic job weaving a story of mystery, regret, hope, danger, and trust set against the back drop of the shores of the Scottish Lowlands. Given that this story is only a novella, she only had so much time to create a tale that was both captivating and satisfying, all while pointing to the rest of the series and subliminally saying "if you like this, you should read these". That is, in fact, just what she accomplishes with this wonderful tale.

Bottom Line: The characters are endearing, the story is fulfilling, and the set up for the remainder of the series presents an open invitation to dive right it. THE HEALER'S GIFT is a highly recommended read.