HERO IN THE HIGHLANDS is book one in the new No Ordinary Hero series from Suzanne Enoch. Set in 1812 Scotland, it features the usual seventeenth century tension between English and Scots peppered with the spice of a 100 year old curse and some good ole modern sheep thieving. An spitfire of a liberated lass butts heads with a stubborn Englishman, and Enoch makes the feathers fly!

Major Gabriel Forrester is known as the Beast of Bussaco for his daring actions in setting Napoleon's munitions wagons afire outside Lisbon. Gabriel is a competent and down-to-earth man with a sense of fairness. I like him a lot. Gabriel abruptly find himself as the Duke of Lattimer after the death of a distant uncle and is now owner of several small estates in England and one very large one in Scotland, Lattimer Castle. Gabriel hires himself off to the Highlands to investigate why his newly-inherited Scottish estate has been bleeding money for several years. It's endearing how he'd like nothing more than to quickly solve the dilemma of his Scottish estate and return to war in Spain.

Fiona Blackstock is the acting steward of Lattimer Castle after her brother, the real steward, disappeared several years ago. Fiona has been struggling to keep the crumbling castle from disintegrating around her. She has also been struggling to keep her clan employed and fed around the castle, protecting them from a protracted spate of disasters that all nearby attribute to the Lattimer curse. The Highlanders believe that Lattimer would be ruined as long as it lays in English hands. Fiona will appeal to the modern reader who likes their heroines with some gumption. Fiona being a Scot allows the historical reader to accept her independent spirit and her management of the castle.

Gabriel uses his forthright approach to investigate the troubles that have befallen his estate, and quickly discovers Fiona's noble nature and trustworthiness. I like how they learn to work together to solve the mystery and, of course, fall in love. There's a fairly obvious villain, but that doesn't significantly decrease the suspense of the plot. Fiona has a heavy brogue that can make for some slogging through her dense dialogue. The setting and history are where Enoch shines here, and make HERO IN THE HIGHLANDS a thoroughly enjoyable romp through the Highlands with a stalwart solder and a pert Scottish miss.

Book Summary