Paying the Piper

Sharyn McCrumb

Elizabeth is in love. So she accompanies Cameron to Scotland. She has never been there, but romanticizes the country of her family's heritage. Cameron grew up there and has no care for things historical. But Elizabeth McPherson drags him through the different romantic places, seeing them through eyes of the past rather than eyes of the present.

They are on their way to different positions. He is going to the northwest side of the country to watch seals, his summer research project. She convinced him to get her a spot on a remote archeological team that will be studying standing stones on a nearby island. They will be close enough to visit each weekend.

When one of the young, strong men on her dig dies, things get worriesome. Have they uncovered some mystery from the past coming back to haunt them? Or is there a modern day solution to the odd accidents and illnesses occuring to the crew? Once again Elizabeth finds herself in the middle of a mystery.

Although billed as a mystery, Paying the Piper is more of a story of Cameron and Elizabeth and the colorful Scot countryside. Sharyn McCrumb uses the first half of the story to set up the murder mystery. She has used this style before, pulling in the mystery in the end.

Paying the Piper never caught my interest. It's a quick, easy read, that only took me a couple hours. While I like Elizabeth's and Cameron's characters, only one of the others seemed believable. The story doesn't come to life. If it had been a longer book, I would have put it down quickly and gone on to something else. It's only fair, in my opinion.

Sick of Shadows
Lovely in Her Bones
Highland Laddie Gone
Paying the Piper
The Windsor Knot
Missing Susan
MacPherson's Lament
If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him
The PMS Outlaws