"Romance blooms in Kurland's latest Time Travel"
Madelyn Phillips has always wanted to visit Scotland.
Unfortunately the trip has not been taken under the best
circumstances. Madelyn had once been blinded by her ex-
fiancé's charm, but he had merely been using her. He'd even
gotten her fired from her law firm for good measure. This
was supposed to be her honeymoon trip, instead it was a
token compensation for lost wedding expenses. It would be
the last trip she would be able to afford for a long
time. Mastering driving on the wrong side of the road was quite
enough without being nearly run off it by an impatient hunk
in a fast black sports car. When she later comes across him
in a ditch, she isn't feeling much sympathy for him,
especially after her offer of aid meets with a surly
refusal. He is Patrick MacLeod (brother to Jamie, a former
medieval Laird and hero of A DANCE THROUGH TIME), who had
accidentally stumbled upon a time gate and found himself in
the present. He'd married, but had chosen poorly, and had
later lost both wife and unborn child to her vices. Lisa's
perfidy had left a bad taste in his mouth, and although he
had made a niche for himself in this modern time, and had
eventually been joined by other family members, he had no
wish to involve his heart again. Madelyn's visit isn't about to get much better anytime
soon, as it seems her psychopathic ex has changed his mind
yet again. Arriving ahead of her, he steals her
reservation, and when she refuses to tow the line, has car
returned to the rental agency as well. Just when it seems
she's been backed into a corner, the kindly
innkeeper (a distant descendant of Patrick's) intervenes.
Thus she manages to evade Bentley and continue her tour. A
visit to
Culloden Field is her first inkling that strange forces are
at work and that she and Patrick might share a connection.
Patrick is reluctantly attracted and of course being a
MacLeod, he can't ignore a lady in distress. Unfortunately Patrick has a lunatic of his own to contend
with. His ex-father-in-law has a big grudge, and is
determined to destroy Patrick's happiness in any way
possible. But don't forget that on Jamie's land things have
a way of working themselves out -- strange ways -- from
ghostly pipers, to a multitude of time gates that work
whenever it happens to be convenient. Not that the path to
true love is ever easy when it involves a MacLeod. Anyone
doubting Madelyn's fortitude in her handling of Bentley
will soon be disabused of that notion when she is thrust
back into time and the hands of the MacLeod's sworn
enemies. The medieval Fergussons were no knights in shining
armor.
As with all of Ms. Kurland's novels the gritty scenes are
balanced with heaps of humor. Patrick's family never minds
their own business, anymore than the plethora of ghosts
that happily haunt them. And of course it's always fun
when their enemies get their just comeuppance. If you've
enjoyed Lynn Kurland's time travel's in the past don't miss
this latest installment.
Copyright © 2004
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted October 30, 2006
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