In Dressed to Kilt by Hannah Reed, Eden Elliott is nearing the date of her six- month stay in Glenkillen, Scotland. She is surprised to get an invitation to a highly exclusive whiskey tasting at the distillery owned by Bridie Dougal, chieftain of her branch of the Dougal family. But when Eden meets Bridie the day before the tasting, she is disturbed to find that Bridie knew Eden’s grandfather and wants to talk about him and Eden’s father. Eden harbors a lot of anger towards her dad, who never returned home from Scotland when Eden was six, just as her mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
As the whiskey tasting event arrives, Eden goes with her friend, Leith Cameron, who looks especially good in a kilt and has inspired the sex scenes in her romance novels despite their never having had a physical relationship. At the event they find that a boorish American, Janet Dougal, has crashed the party. But no one notices Henrietta MacLeod, the younger though still senior, companion of the nonagenarian Bridie. Then, Eden spots a body hanging out of a whiskey cask. Someone has held Henrietta’s head under the whiskey and drowned her in the cask. As a special constable, which is a volunteer constable in the UK, Eden gets involved in the investigation, along with Inspector Jamieson and the newly minted Constable Sean Stevens, the new love interest of Vicky MacBride, the friend on whose property Eden lives. This investigation proves to be even more dangerous than anyone can imagine, but even further, Eden discovers that she has a family connection to this crime, making it personal for her.
Dressed to Kilt is a fun book with great plot lines, sympathetic or undesirable characters, and a vivid depiction of the land of Scotland. The story kept me drawn to it, not wanting to put it down. I enjoyed seeing Eden investigate the aspects of the crime and also look into her own family history.
The characters of this book were compelling, and I found myself especially wanting to see things work out for Eden. I have come to see Vicky and Leith as well as Sean and Inspector Jamieson as family. I also see just why certain individuals have given my nationality the reputation as “ugly Americans,” as Janet expects everything to be like it is for her at home and offends all around her by her sense of entitlement and speech, such as her insistence on calling the locals “Scotch” instead of “Scots.” I found myself cringing at Janet’s behavior and hoping I don’t run into such Americans myself. But beyond the people, the land of Scotland serves as a delightful character in this book. The imagery of the winter in Scotland adds a lot of flavor to the book, and the snow actually serves as a key plot device.
Angela Dawe performs the audio edition of this book. She uses effective accents for the different characters from around the world and voices that suit each one. Bringing a unique sense of energy to her outside, Dawe truly makes the book come to life.
I have come to feel a part of Eden Elliott’s life in Glenkillen over the course of this series, and Dressed to Kilt left me craving more. It’s too bad that Reed hasn’t written any more. Let’s hope she gives us more reading and listening enjoyment because I give this book a wholehearted five stars!
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