Legend in Green Velvet

I’m addicted to Elizabeth Peters and couldn’t pass up the chance to read a mystery set in Scotland. The mystery and setting were great as usual, but the main characters were not the best. Susan is a Scottish history buff who receives a message not intended for her and, as usual, it draws the bad guys’ attention. This, of course, leads to chaos for our heroine. Susan isn’t a bad heroine, she’s just… average. Nothing stood out about her personality and a lot of the time it felt like her only main purpose was to give us crash courses on Scottish history. The hero, James, was average as well. Except his main purpose was to drag Susan along with him while he was playing super secret spy. At the beginning James really bothered me, show more because he was an asshole and did very little to prove otherwise.

The plot and supporting characters were good enough to carry my attention throughout the whole book. There were only one or two small parts where the story dragged a bit and it was easily picked back up by another plot twist or quirky side character being added to the scene. The plot involved some small group of baddies bent on getting their hands on something.

I wouldn’t recommend anyone starting off with this book as their first Peters mystery. If you’re going to start off with any of her books I’d start with Crocodile on the Sandbank. But if you’re a fan her books, then there’s no harm in reading this one. It's still a good read, just not one of her best. show less

Susan is a young archaeology student with a passion for Scottish history. She comes to Scotland to work on a dig and becomes entwined in an antiquities theft ring. She meets James, the sarcastic son of a Scottish laird, who even lives in a relic of a castle. James helps her uncover the thieves and restore the antiquities, mostly while running desperately across Scotland.

This was a fun, quick read with a fairly straightforward plot. I liked the quirky, wacky characters. James' father was hilarious. There was plenty of action and plot twists and turns that kept me reading briskly until the end.

I pulled this off the shelf for a before-sleep re-read last week, since I remembered very little about it.

There's something so unapologetic about the books written before the 80's and before everything had to be so politically correct. Susan is romantic; she's in love with all things Scottish-history and Bonnie Prince Charlie is the very height of romantic. She's in Scotland to participate in a highland archeological dig as part of her university studies. A case of mistaken identity has her embroiled in adventure and on the run with a son of the gentry.

It's a fun read, if not really very gripping. The back cover categorises it as a "romantic suspense" novel, which made me giggle just a bit. Either due to changing styles over time, or show more Ms. Peters' intention, the whole thing reads more than just a little bit tongue-in-cheek. Perhaps a combination of both.

I love how at the end, it's just taken as read that Susan will stay in Scotland and marry Jamie. No undying vows of love, no talk of deep connection or visceral need. They get through this grand adventure and that's that. Jamie announces to his father (who is absolutely hysterical, btw) that they'll not live in the damp old family manor but will live in a nice flat in Edinburgh. Susan, apparently, has no horse in this race, since she utters very little in the way of her own wishes. I just had to laugh. show less

The story didn't engage me. Also difficult to keep track of the characters. Plenty of atmosphere and local colour about Scotland.

Elizabeth Peters never takes her stories too seriously, which is what makes them fun and engaging. Susan and Jamie are likeable and witty. There's plenty of Scottish flavor and an obvious love for the history and legends of the country. Finally, there are plenty of "characters" to give the novel some color.

For an armchair archaeologist, this romp had plenty of history and just enough of a dig to have me googling sites and finds. It's a good tale for those who enjoy a comedic cozy mystery.

I enjoy reading an Elizabeth Peters romantic adventure, and this one was no exception. I'm not sure how I managed to miss it until now!Susan has a passion for Scottish history, (and so I learned a number of tidbits as the story advanced) and this leads to a case of mistaken identity, and gets her embroiled in a nasty affair, with bad guys trying to kill her. Luckily her wits and the resources of the guy that gets dragged into this with her are enough to keep them a step or two ahead.Bonus points for a brief appearance by an inconvenient and adorable ginger kitten.