Others are villainesses, witches and dragons who do not make life easy for our noble hero. Some are honorable and brave, and meant to be protected (Al's mother, for example). One of the more interesting aspects of this book, which works into the Arthurian romance theme, are the female characters. Instead of jousting or going on quests, Al plays golf. He is ridiculously brave and honorable and true, and the villains are equally unreasonable and devious. Al is the knight errant, called in to fight his lords' battles for honor and treasure-swords and chalices, no less. Even though it's classified as a mystery, I think it's more accurate to call it a romance-but in the Arthurian sense of the word. Things only get more complicated when someone dies.
On the downside, he now has to save Sir Ivan's business from bankruptcy, protect his father-in-law's treasures from creditors, and keep an eye out for whoever hired the thugs to beat him up. On the plus side, Al is relieved to know they weren't looking for what he thought they were. This is where he learns that Sir Ivan has entrusted him with his two greatest treasures, one of which was probably the "it" of the thugs' questioning. The only clue Al has as to why the men attacked him was the question they kept asking: "Where is it?" Since his home is pretty much destroyed, Al decides to go to London to visit his mother and ailing father-in-law. Then his peaceful paradise is shattered when four thugs appear, toss the bothy, beat Al up, and throw his barely-conscious self down the side of a cliff. Alexander, or Al, Kinloch lives the idyllic existence of an artist in a stone cottage (or bothy) on the side of a mountain in Scotland, with no electricity, running water, cell phones, or intrawebz.
And it was! I freaking LOVED this book, and I'm so so happy I read it. And then I just happened to run across it in the $1 shelves at a used bookstore, so I figured it was kismet. This isn't the typical book I would pick up by any means, but the lovely Orannia from Walkabout was so excited when she recommended it to me that I thought I would give a try.
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