Shortbread in the Highlands
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Jun 23, 2026
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- $12.99
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- Pre-Order
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
"When friends meet, hearts warm."
Scottish saying
Cousins Nora and Allie are bound by a friendship that feels more like sisterhood, so when their Gran asks them to travel to Scotland on her behalf to claim an unexpected inheritance and unearth her old diary, they jump at this chance for the trip of a lifetime together.
When they arrive in Gran's childhood village, they run into roadblocks but use the delayed schedule to experience the beauty of Scotland. Over shortbread from the local bakery and a boat ride on Loch Lomond, through exploration of ancestral castles and autumn highlands, they wonder what God wants to teach them in this land of mist and heather.
Though they revel in their time together abroad, they find they've brought more baggage than just their suitcases. While Allie fears she may have to leave early to deal with issues back home, Nora struggles to understand all the unknowns before her. What is it about Scotland that keeps drawing her to this unfamiliar place?
As the truth of Gran's past comes to light, Allie and Nora must make weighty decisions. Will they learn to rely on the creative purposes of God, even if it means their lives will never be the same?
On this armchair trek to Scotland, Robin Jones Gunn takes readers on a journey of faith, friendship, and family. Themes of European travel, midlife adventures, and unexpected secrets make this inspirational women's fiction a perfect selection for Christian book clubs.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gunn's latest Suitcase Sisters novel (after Gelato at the Villa) takes readers on a trite adventure into the wilds of Scotland. Cousins Nora and Allie have been eager to explore their family's Scottish roots and get the perfect opportunity when their grandmother asks them to travel there to retrieve her old diary from a now-deceased lover. The trip gets off to a rocky start when they discover they'll need to wait several days to access the manor where the diary is located, aggravating Allie, a high-powered executive who needs to head home to confront a work crisis. But traveling through the countryside reinvigorates the cousins' bonds to one another and their ancestral home—especially for Nora, who's sick of her ho-hum life back in Arizona. After the two are given access to the ex's manor, Nora is offered an intriguing job cataloging its book collection and must consider what it means to start over. At the same time, revelations about their grandmother push both women to grapple with their family's past and trust the "tremendous creative purposes of God" to chart their futures. Unfortunately, the cute premise is hampered by strained prose and awkward, exposition-heavy dialogue ("Knowing Gran, I doubt she ever told anyone. She entrusted us with a secret. I never felt this way about her before") that saps the plot of momentum and stymies character development. A few charming moments aside, this fails to take flight.
