The Gripping Beast Book

On the windswept Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland, the mysterious rings, standing stones, and elaborate tombs of ancient peoples still survive, as do the ruins of the Picts who followed them and the monuments and graves of the Vikings, who ruled the Islands for hundreds of years. Today's inhabitants, though gentle, modern Scots, try to keep alive their ever-present, turbulent history and the rich folklore of their ancestors. Margot Wadley uses this dramatic background to introduce her heroine, Isabel Garth, an American woman who travels to Orkney to mourn her father and to illustrate his journals-the memories of his childhood there. On the sea journey she meets Johanna MacLeod and her son, Andrew. The boy tells Isabel that a fellow passenger is a Viking witch, a claim his chiding mother denies. But as soon as Isabel steps off the ferry Thora, the freckled, blue-jeaned, self-styled witch, accosts Isabel with a warning of danger if she remains in the Islands. Isabel dismisses the warning as theatrics, but as the days go by she is plagued by a rash of accidents. Could Thora be right?Maybe she is in danger. But from whom? As the list of suspects grows, Isabel becomes unwillingly drawn into the search for a missing treasure. Then Isabel finds a body. In the stormy landscape of Isabel's heritage, the combination of ancient ruins, rare birds, and Viking gold help her discover a killer. Can they also help her to save a life?AUTHORBIO: Margot Wadley is the 2000 winner of the St. Martin's Press/Malice Domestic Best First Novel Contest. She lives in Blacksburg, VA and has traveled to the Orkney Islands.Read More