A verra, verra good book - McKenna's Honor by Suzan Tisdale

Well, I’ve now read 4 Suzan Tisdale books in a row. Whew! I’m not obsessive, believe me. (Yea, right!) But when I do find a new author I like, I will tend to read straight through his/her books.

But, that’s enough of my personal foibles.

I loved, loved, loved McKenna’s Honor. This book doesn’t have a romantic arc, so don’t expect one when you pick it up. There are romantic elements as far as thoughts and ideas of characters towards their husbands and wives. Don’t let that deter you from reading the book. If you’ve read the others in the series, this one is a must read as well, especially since it appears to serve as a bridge between the Clan MacDougall series and the Clan Graham series.

Angus McKenna and his son-in-law, Duncan McEwan, are in prison for crimes against the king. Their wives, Isobel and Aishlinn, who is also Angus’s daughter, are missing. Duncan’s children are missing as well. It’s not long before the men are sentenced to hang at dawn. Angus’s signed confession hasn’t helped matters, but he is a man of honor, and the safety of his clan means everything to him. The old adage things are not always what they appear to be holds very true in Angus’s case. I won’t say more for fear of revealing plot twists.

I literally couldn’t put this book down. The plot is tightly woven and literally drives you forward to the next disaster of which there is one after the other. You really feel the anguish of everyone involved at the thought that they might not be able to rescue Angus or Duncan from the hangman’s noose. I don’t think I’ve read a book that had so many scenes from different viewpoint characters, but the plot is woven in such a way that you don’t notice the changes. The revealing of the plot, layer by peeled layer, is fabulously done. Its doubly nice as we are in the heads of characters we have already grown to love through the first three books. The introduction of Lady Arline is compelling, and her meeting with Rowan Graham set us up nicely for the next book Rowan’s Lady.

Tisdale’s growth as a writer has been nothing short of inspirational. I only hope I can do as well with my own novels. She is certainly a force to be reckoned with among Scottish historical romance.

Now, on to Rowan’s Lady.

Suzan Tisdale's website can be found here.

McKenna's Honor can be found for purchase at Amazon here.