‘A Wind in the Hebrides’ by Donna Fletcher Crow

Independently Published,
27 November 2024.
ISBN: 979-830145321-2

‘A Wind in the Hebrides’ is the seventh novel in ‘The Monastery Murders’ series, and features Felicity Sherwood and her husband Father Antony Sherwood, a priest in the Church of England and a lecturer in church history. The latter has been asked to lead a course on Iona which will study Saint Columba, and Felicity, a former student of Father Antony, needs to prepare a lecture she has agreed to give at the AGM of the association of Spiritual Directors. Given that her theme is spiritual awakening, Felicity must research the so-called Lewis Awakening of the post-Second World War years. This was a religious movement whose fervour gripped the outer Hebridean island and led to packed meetings in churches and halls.

Antony and Felicity, accompanied by their five-year-old son Teddy (who plays an important role in the story) go to Iona, via Glasgow where they stay with old friends, one of whom lends Felicity a manuscript of a relative’s story of the Awakening. During her brief stay on Iona, Felicity is convinced that she has seen a body, but as she was in a dangerous position leaning over a cliff to rescue a prized possession of Teddy, she gets only a glimpse. Subsequent investigations by the authorities find no body.

Before long Felicity and Teddy are on their way to Lewis. Between her own researches Felicity reads the manuscript she has been loaned. It was written in 1949 by a young lady from Lewis called Aileana Mackay who appears to be on the verge of a breakthrough in her singing career in Glasgow when she is told her parents are very ill, if not on the verge of death, on her native island. Much against her will Aileana races to Lewis to find that there is nothing wrong with them apart from what was probably a bad attack of food poisoning. However, Aileana’s return throws her into a number of affairs, the maelstrom of the Awakening being one. Her sister’s boyfriend Euan has gone missing. It seems he has led a far from spotless life, and suggestions of wartime dodgy dealings – not only concerning Euan - hang in the air. As Aileana’s story reaches a climax, old relationships come into play. Who can she believe?

Felicity’s own researches on Lewis lead her into an apparently parallel situation. A yacht belonging to one of Antony’s students is seen a few times. What is it doing there when its owner is on Iona? Somebody she is convinced she saw on Iona reappears on Lewis. Who is he? Reports in the press about ‘dodgy diesel’ causing traffic accidents give more credence to her suspicions. Is Lewis a centre for illegal importing? More to the point, are she and Teddy in danger? As her story and suspicions grow, Felicity (like Aileana 70 years before) has to decide who she can trust.

The novel is a slow-burner, with plenty of background before matters come to a head. It is not only Aileana and Felicity who don’t know who to trust, as you will find out. The resolution to both stories is well-handled and convincing, with good plot twists (particularly in Felicity’s tale) that you may or may not foresee.
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Reviewer: David Whittle 

Donna Fletcher Crow is a former English teacher and a Life Member of the Jane Austin Society of America. She is the author of 50 books, mostly novels dealing with British history.  The award-winning Glastonbury, A Novel of the Holy Grail, an Arthurian grail search epic covering 15 centuries of English history, is her best-known work.  She is also the author of The Monastery Murders: A Very Private Grave, A Darkly Hidden Truth and An Unholy Communion as well as the Lord Danvers series of Victorian true-crime novels and the literary suspense series The Elizabeth & Richard Mysteries. Donna and her husband live in Boise, Idaho.  They have 4 adult children and 12 grandchildren. She is an enthusiastic gardener.

To read more about all of Donna’s books and see pictures from her garden and research trips go to: http://www.donnafletchercrow.com/ 
You can follow her on Facebook at: http://ning.it/OHi0MY

David Whittle is firstly a musician (he is an organist and was Director of Music at Leicester Grammar School for over 30 years) but has always enjoyed crime fiction. This led him to write a biography of the composer Bruce Montgomery who is better known to lovers of crime fiction as Edmund Crispin, about whom he gives talks now and then. He is currently convenor of the East Midlands Chapter of the Crime Writers’ Association.