Scottish Book of the Week: Libby and the Highland Heist

For this week’s instalment of reading my way around Scotland through children’s books, we visit the Scottish Highlands and Edinburgh, with Libby and the Highland Heist by Jo Clarke.

Book Details

Title: Libby and the Highland Heist
Author: Robert Jo Clarke
Genre: Mystery
Recommended reading age: 8+

Scottish Setting

The story starts off in the Highlands, were the mystery takes shape, then half way through the action shifts to Edinburgh, before concluding back in the Highlands. The exact Highland location is never specified – their train pulls into “the station” and Connie’s home is a generic, slightly crumbling Highland mansion – but Edinburgh gets a few shout outs to real life locations, including the Grassmarket, the Castle, the Royal Mile and the National Museum of Scotland.

“Libby immediately felt there was something magical about Edinburgh. She looked around the tall, imposing stone buildings surrounding them: it was like stepping back in time.” (Chapter 9)

Plot Summary

Libby and the Highland Heist is the second book in Jo Clarke’s Travelling School Mysteries series. Libby is spending time with her friend Connie in the Scottish Highlands, where what should be a peaceful Christmas holiday soon turns into another mystery to solve. When trouble starts at the family home, the friends find themselves investigating missing paintings, suspicious goings-on and secrets from the past. Their investigations continue in Edinburgh, where the travelling school has settled for the new term, before the mystery concludes at a grand ball back at Connie’s Highland home. There are plenty of twists along the way, and the mystery keeps you guessing without making the answer too obvious.

Conclusion

This was an enjoyable mystery adventure, with enough clues and red herrings to keep you wondering what is really going on, and I liked that the conclusion wasn’t immediately obvious. My only slight niggle was that, as the second book in the series, it does assume a little familiarity with the first. There are references to characters from the previous mystery, and I found myself having to piece together how and why the travelling school works rather than having that explained again. The mystery itself does stand alone, but if you’re coming to the series for the story rather than, like me, primarily for the Scottish settings, I’d recommend starting with the first book. Overall, I’d recommend it to younger readers who enjoy a good mystery adventure with plenty to keep them guessing.

Libby and the Highland Heist is available from uk.bookshop.org (Affiliate Link) or you can order it from your favourite indie bookshop.