1949 and Beattie Cavendish is off to Scotland. Beattie is a special operative for one of the more secretive parts of GCHQ, and there are concerns about the listening station in Kilbray. The senior officer has disappeared, and Beattie’s superior is also concerned about the activities of Beattie’s uncle, Howard, who lives nearby – and has also vanished.

As Beattie investigates – under cover, of course – she recruits Irish private detective Patrick Corrigan, the only person she truly trusts after their escapades in the previous title. But secrets from both of their past are coming back to haunt them – and, of course, there’s at least one person in the present trying to kill them…

First of all, I suppose I should point out that this felt like the second chapter in a saga, rather than the second book in a series. There seem to be three strands to the story – the will-they-won’t-they relationship between Beattie and Corrigan, the ongoing Cold War story and the current situation. Let’s take a run at them one at a time.

Beattie and Corrigan are well-constructed characters and have interesting histories. The relationship, however, did feel as if there was a single obstacle – Corrigan’s fiancée –  and possible Beattie’s past relationship ending very badly – and nothing was really added to the narrative. They make a good couple and clearly eventually they will get together, but I was more interested in Beattie’s alternative suitor.

The ongoing Cold War story – I’m not at all sure how much of the background is general 1949 history that I’m not aware of, and which was specific to this series. Maybe I missed something, but it wasn’t clear to me. There seemed to be a lot of moving people into place in this book, setting up things for Book Three, which is great if you’re reading this as a trilogy…

And the spy plot and the game of Who’s The Traitor? It’s entertaining, certainly, with a couple of surprises, but unfortunately the reveal of the traitor wasn’t one of them, mainly because there weren’t that many candidates.

So, I think as part of a series that you’ve invested in, this would be a good read. Strong characters, interesting over-arching plot. However I am wary of recommending this as a standalone – in case you can’t tell, I haven’t read Book One = but there is still a lot to like, especially if you’re a fan of frustrated romance… 

Beattie Cavendish And The Highland Hideaway is out on February 19^th from Allison & Busby – many thanks for the review copy via NetGalley.