From Publishers Weekly Irascible， opinionated gunsmith Keith Calder ( The Worried Widow ; The Executor ) continues his feud with local police in this delightful mystery that introduces a bemused Englishman to the colorful residents of the Scottish countryside. Mystery writer Simon Parbitter inherits a house near Newton Lauder (near the English border) when his uncle， George Hatton， is killed in a hunting accident. When Parbitter flees a London heat wave to inspect his new property， he finds that while the police and the sheriff write off the death as an accident， Calder， a friend of Hatton's， maintains he was murdered. After Calder is injured in a suspicious road accident， he inveigles Parbitter into taking over the investigation. Parbitter meets the locals， learns a lot about guns (to his dismay， he discovers that he's been writing about them incorrectly)， acquires a hunting dog and a girlfriend and finds himself in the middle of another wrongful-death case， involving a young policeman and a jewel robbery. By novel's end， Calder is vindicated， the murderer is caught and Parbitter is ready to shift his life from London to Scotland. Hammond deftly builds his characters using a light touch; his firm sense of place and time unveil Scotland through the eyes of a newcomer. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information， Inc.