The Vanished Days (The Scottish series)

I have been waiting for what seems like forever for Susanna Kearsley’s latest book in her Scottish Series, The Vanished Days. I must say, the wait was well worth it! Because this novel is billed as the prequel to The Winter Sea, I expected to have a lot more back story about John Moray and Sophia, however, both characters are woven in almost seamlessly into the larger plot of the novel. I was quite pleasantly surprised at the number of names from Kearsley’s other novels such as Mariana and even Bellwether that often popped up. It was as if the author was giving us, her most faithful readers, a secret gift.

The Vanished Days concerns a young widow, Lily Aitcheson Graeme, who is called upon to prove her marriage to the late James Graeme is indeed valid to the Queen’s investigator, Sergeant Adam Williamson. During the investigation, Williamson must hear Lily’s tragic life story, the testimony of her late husband’s friends and family, and search for other proof of the truth of her claim. Williamson soon discovers that there is more beneath the surface of this inquiry and many lives may be at stake regardless of the outcome.

Kearsley does not disappoint with her latest and the end leaves us waiting impatiently for the next Scottish novel!