Jennifer McQuiston's debut novel is titled What Happens in Scotland, a phrase that I seem to remember started out about Las Vegas, and has now been applied to many places in many different parts of the world.
What Happens in Scotland is the story of two people who end up in bed together one morning, neither having any immediate memories of how they got there. Lady Georgette awakens first and without much thought does what every girl would do....she runs. When her bed partner James MacKenzie awakens, he wonders at her disappearance, but is more concerned because his money is missing and he immediately thinks she has stolen it. Neither knows exactly who the other is, but it does appear that at some point before they got to the bed part, they were married.
It all makes for a delightful mix-up which is finally unraveled by novel's end. Along the way we are treated to the characters of Elsie. who is Georgette's lady's maid in training with a shady past and a mind of her own, a lovely little kitten that was a wedding present and spends most of the first of the first half of the novel nestled between Georgette's breasts (the action of the novel takes place in one days time), James' brother William, and his best friend Patrick.
My main problem with the book was its pacing. The first one hundred fifty or so pages is spent with the two main characters trying to find one another, and it began to wear on me after a while. Then, once they found each other, the ending seemed a bit hurried. Since there will be a second novel, concerning David Cameron, also a character in this book, I will have a second chance to see if this is a problem there too. The second book will also help unravel more of the mystery of the animosity between James MacKenzie and David Cameron.
What Happens in Scotland by Jennifer McQuiston is well worth the read. Just don't give up on it if you think it slow going at first.
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