A Scottish Fling

An elderly woman, a hand-written note, and a suspicious accident.

Eliza Thomson Investigates…

August 1902: A family trip to Scotland to visit her in-laws had been Eliza’s idea but as they arrive, she wonders what she’d been thinking! Archie’s parents had never liked her and even now, after twenty years of marriage, they make no effort to hide the fact. At least she has best friend Connie to keep her company.

Not that she’s the only visitor to receive a frosty welcome to the village. Mrs Scott had become nothing but a memory to some of the older residents, but now she’s back, determined to exact revenge for past wrongs.

When a body is found on the beach there are questions to answer. But with the police refusing to believe it was murder, Eliza struggles to uncover a motive.

Itching to discover the truth, Eliza takes matters into her own hands, but in a tight-knit community, no one is willing to betray their neighbour. As she delves deeper into the past, she uncovers a dreadful secret. Perhaps it would have been better if it had stayed hidden...

It had taken eight hours, but finally the train pulled into St Andrews, the railway station they’d been longing to see. Eliza stood up as a porter entered their compartment to collect the luggage. 


“Whoever said the railways have made life easier have never made the journey from London to the outer regions of Scotland.” Her humour had deserted her within an hour of leaving Edinburgh, and she grimaced as husband Archie offered her a hand to climb down from the train. “Father’s got a lot to answer for.”


“In fairness, he hasn’t been further than Edinburgh.” Archie released her hand and waited for her friend Connie Appleton to appear by the door.


“Getting to Edinburgh was bad enough, but it was a breeze compared to this latest journey. Why we had to wait so long to change trains in the middle of nowhere, I’ll never know. Has nobody thought to hold one train back until the other one arrives?”


“At least we’re here now.” Connie joined Eliza on the platform before her eyes darted to Archie. “We are in the right place, aren’t we?”


“Nearly.”


“Nearly?” Eliza put the back of a hand to her forehead. “How much further?”


“Only about twenty minutes. Your transport awaits.” He pointed to two horses standing in front of a covered carriage. “We’re in St Andrews and just need to go around the headland to our little village of St Giles.”