Highland Wolf by Hannah Howell

Annora MacKay senses a disturbing evil in Dunncraig Keep, the estate acquired by her cousin, a cruel and ruthless man. Only her affection for the tiny girl he claims is his daughter stops her from fleeing. Then a mysterious woodcarver arrives at the castle, and she cannot stop thinking, or longing, for him.

James Drummond, once a laird now an outcast, wants what was stolen from him – his good name, his lands and his child. His disguise for getting into Dunncraig is step one of his plan, but the enticing raven-haired woman who cares for his daughter is an unwelcome surprise. For he has come seeking justice, no love…

Thoughts

I love a good Highland Romance and Hannah Howell is one of my favourite authors of the genre, but this book left a lot to be desired.

The concept is good - a powerful laird driven from his keep and forced to live in exile returning to reclaim what was stolen from him and our heroine is an underappreciated, poor relation (read: bastard) that nobody cares about. She travels from relative to relative depending on their generosity to keep her alive. James and Annora find each other and strive to right the wrongs that her family has done to him and in the process, heal their wounds. As I said, the concept is good but that is pretty much the only thing that is.

What I didn’t understand and didn’t like was the fact that James Drummond is the foster child of an EXTREMELY powerful Highland clan – The Murray’s - and yet he doesn't seek their help at all. While I understand that he wouldn’t want to cause any undue hardship to his family, they have the power to help him, his child and his people. Yet he STILL doesn’t bother, choosing instead to hide in a cave for three years. At the end of the story however, he is willing to take his little family and move to France or seek out his clan for protection. Why not do this earlier? Why not just live in France for three years, plotting his revenge on the bad guy while his family worked on his pardon.

The disguise he uses to gain entry into the keep is laughable and how the evidence to his innocence is discovered is a joke. Or, maybe I was just fed up buy the time these things came to light.

I liked our hero but I wanted to like him more. He seemed much too timid and helpless to be a Scottish laird. Annora was likeable enough, a typical Howell heroine.

There were many occasions when I wanted to throw in the towel and stop reading altogether. However, if you must read it, I suggest borrowing it from your local library and saving the space on your bookshelf for another of Ms. Howell’s novels.