From USA Today bestselling author May McGoldrick, Sleepless in Scotland is a charming tale of loss, justice, and passion. Captain Ian Bell is a tortured man fighting through grief and guilt over the loss of his sister. When she went missing, he searched for months until he found her remains. Now, three years later as the Deputy Lieutenant of Fife, Ian still hunts for her murderer in the dangerous … still hunts for her murderer in the dangerous criminal underworld of Edinburgh. He is the ‘Night Watch’ bent on revenge even as he saves others from the same violent fate that claimed his sister. Then one night, a young woman narrowly escapes death and lands at his feet…his late sister’s best friend, Phoebe Pennington.
Lady Phoebe Pennington–dreamer and storyteller to her family–is a committed reformer writing articles anonymously for an Edinburgh newspaper. One night, in an effort to acquire documents embarrassing to the city’s political leaders, Phoebe descends into the corrupt and seething netherworld known as the Vaults. When she tries to save a street urchin from an assailant, she becomes the target of a violent attack, only to be saved by the one man she has desired for years.
Ian’s attraction to Phoebe is as undeniable as it is unexpected, and she awakens in him passions he thought long dead. Fearful that she doesn’t understand the dangers of this criminal world, he is determined to save her from the risks she takes. Phoebe’s blood burns for Ian, but when she learns that he may be implicated in the scandal she is set on exposing, she finds herself torn between love and truth. But even as they strive to find the meaning of trust, fate is taking a hand. For Phoebe is the only one who has seen the face of the killer, and the sinister shadows of evil are closer than they imagine.
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Yes, she should never have agreed to meet her informant in the Vaults beneath South Bridge, one of the seediest and most dangerous areas in Edinburgh, but she needs the documents the clerk promised her to help her expose corrupt officials. How was she to ever guess she would become separated from her bodyguard and almost get killed as she tried to protect a young boy being threatened. Lady Phoebe Pennington is an ardent reformer who anonymously writes articles for an Edinburgh newspaper in an effort to expose fraud and corruption. Fortunately for her Captain Ian Bell is in the area and rescues her. Ian Bell is in the Vaults hunting for the murderer of his sister. Her body was found three years ago and sold off for medical cadaver research but Ian’s inquiries lead to the information that she was killed in the Vault. Ian will not be able to rest until his sister’s murderer is brought to justice. What a coincidence that he happened to be in the right place at the right time to save Phoebe, especially since he knows her, as Phoebe and his sister, Sarah were such close friends. What an exciting beginning to this story!
Author May McGoldrick continues the saga of the Pennington family in Sleepless in Scotland. I’ve become quite attached to this family from the first meeting of Earl and Countess Aytoun to the stories of their children. Phoebe is the fourth of their five children. She is a very independent, fairly outspoken young lady who, along with the rest of the family is determined to help the poor and unfortunate. I was happy to see Phoebe meet her match in Captain Ian Bell. The Captain is a strong, very protective hero who is just right for our heroine, Lady Phoebe. I found the action, intrigue and plot of this story to be quite entertaining. I look forward to the youngest Pennington, Lady Millie’s story. I highly recommend this book as well as the earlier stories about the Penningtons to all readers who enjoy well-written, well-plotted, entertaining stories!
OMG! What a fantastic read. Sleepless In Scotland by May McGoldrick is an amazing historical romance. Ms. McGoldrick has supplied us with a well-written book and loaded it with phenomenal characters. Phoebe is writing an article under a pen name and puts herself in danger by looking for information. Ian’s sister was murdered and years later he’s still looking for the killer. Phoebe and Ian’s story is loaded with drama, humor, sizzle, action and suspense. This book held me captive from cover to cover. I enjoyed reading Sleepless In Scotland and look forward to reading more from May McGoldrick soon. Sleepless In Scotland is book 3 of The Pennington Family Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Under an alias, Phoebe Pennington is writing articles on corruption of the poor. She was in the Vaults to meet a source and was injured trying to help a boy get away from the man attacking him. Ian Bell still searches for the killer of his sister Sarah, Phoebe’s best friend, and is angry with Phoebe for putting herself in danger. They both care about helping children and he shows her the better facilities to care for them.
He must go to his estate and invites Phoebe and her sister, Millie, to go with him. He hopes their visit will cheer his mother who hasn’t quite gotten over the loss of Sarah. Phoebe is attacked and thrown down an old well. Ian rescues her in time but worries if it’s the same man that attacked her in Edinburgh. Maybe the same man that killed Sarah.
This is a very good book and I’ve tried not to spoil any of it. I will not say more and ruin the suspense. I’m hoping the youngest Pennington, Millie, will get a story also.
The story of Ian and Phoebe had a different story line than what I’ve read in other books. I loved that Phoebe was passionate about her beliefs, always thinking of others. Ian was committed to finding his sisters killer and bringing him/her to justice. The writing was great in that I wasn’t sure exactly who the villain was until near the end of the book. Great writing and a great story!
Captain Ian Bell saves Lady Phoebe Pennington from a violent attack and both fight against their feelings. Hers due to her reform and exposing crime and his to protect her from the underworld of crime. Another good tale from this author with characters that the reader can enjoy and hope for happy endings.
Ebook from netgalley and publishers with thanks. Opinions are entirely my own.
4.5 stars
Lady Phoebe Pennington is keeping a big secret, she is investigating corruption in the government and writing about her findings under an assumed name for the newspaper. Her current investigation has lead her to the infamous “Vaults” under Edinburgh’s streets. But her quest for information quickly turns into a nightmare when she tries to stop a young man from being attacked and barely escapes with her own life.
Captain Ian Bell is a on a quest of his own, he has spent the last three years trying to find out what lead to his sister, Sarah’s murder. Sarah disappeared without a trace while shopping with a friend, it took Ian 3 months to find her remains. Her body had been found in the Vaults and sold to a medical school. He returns to the Vaults night after night, hoping to find answers. On this visit a young man falls at his feet, he quickly realizes that it is actually a woman and takes her to his carriage, once in the light, he recognizes Phoebe, his sister’s dearest friend. When she regains consciousness, he demands answers. Answers Phoebe is not willing to give. The interchange doesn’t give Ian the answers he wants, but it does give the killer enough information to learn who Phoebe is and where she can be found.
Phoebe is frantic that Ian will reveal her doings to her parents, she tells him that she was going to meet her lover, but has learned that he is not the man she thought and promises that it is over and she will never return to the Vaults. This does not pacify Ian and he tells her he will see her at her families summer ball. Phoebe has long carried a torch for Ian, as her friend’s older brother, they have known each other for years, but to her dismay, he never seemed to notice her. But he notices her now and could potentially ruin everything she has been working for!
At the ball, she tries to keep him from talking to her father and asks him to meet her in the garden. She gives him a bit of truth and hopes he will keep her secret. Their interlude turns heated and Ian kisses her and leaves without promising to keep her secret. They meet again in Edinburgh, when once again she is trying to collect information, she tries to get him to leave before her guard returns, but she doesn’t want to push him away. She invites him to call on her and her sister and he agrees. When they meet again, Phoebe comes clean and tells him the entire truth, he is accepting and supportive and again proves his character to her. They talk about Sarah and she asks if she might visit his mother. Turns out Phoebe is not the only one keeping secrets from their parents.
They visit his mother and Phoebe promises to keep Ian’s secret. Being at his home brings up many memories of time spent there with Sarah and she revisits many places they used to explore. Alone and pondering her feelings for Ian and missing Sarah, she doesn’t realize she was followed and the killer has left her for dead.
This book is a well written, fast paced romance with a thrilling mystery and a smidge of paranormal. The mystery is an intricate part of the novel and features a truly evil villain, but I was able to discern his identity relatively early in the book and the mystery never overshadowed the romance between Phoebe and Ian, if anything, it enhanced it. Be prepared for some chills, nail-biting moments, some heartache, some laughs and a couple of warmish love scenes before the killer is exposed and our lovers get the HEA they almost lost.
This is book is part of the Pennington Family series, but it could easily be read as a stand alone title. I am happy to recommend this book and am looking forward to the final installment!
*I am voluntarily leaving a review of an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the Publisher*
Sleepless in Scotland by May McGoldrick
The Pennington Family #3
You know that author that never lets you down? Well, May McGoldrick (the husband wife team) is now one that fills the bill for me! Once again the book was a delight from beginning to end…well…perhaps not a DELIGHT but a compelling story that had it all!
Phoebe Pennington is a spinster at twenty-seven – so says society anyway. Her focus in life is writing and though she has always had one man in mind that might sweep her away it has not happened before this book begins. Well, in the first few pages Phoebe is saved from death, literally, by Captain Ian Bell and thus sets in motion the romance for this story. And, what a romance it is! The two are definitely meant for one another. Their mating dance is a delight to read. Their characters are both strong. They know what they want. They listen and learn. Their families are important. And, together they are “more” than just a couple.
I thoroughly enjoyed sussing out the serial murderer and was happy he met his demise. I was thrilled that everything worked out just as it should and now wonder if Millie or someone else will have their story told in book four. And, I can’t wait!!!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
Captain Ian Bell is a tortured man. His sister was murdered, he discovered her in the medical records of the Edinburgh School of Medicine after years of searching for answers to where she disappeared to. He’s racked with guilt over not keeping her safe, his Momma has a tenuous hold on her sanity and health is frail. While scouring the “Vaults” under the city he stumbles on the crumpled body of Phoebe Pennington there to track down information for an article she’s writing for the local paper anonymously. He takes her home after she gives him a sketchy excuse for her being in such a dangerous place. It seems she leads a secret life as an author of articles exposing corruption and shameful treatment of poor and sick in Edinburgh. He won’t take her excuse and continues to protect her even when she doesn’t know he is guarding her steps. As their worlds collide they learn to respect each other, he her intelligence and bravery, she his hurting soul and need to protect the helpless. They discover someone is trying to kill her.
This duo have such a wonderful author’s voice and a way to make history blossom. After just three of their stories they have gained a faithful fan. There is a scene between Phoebe and Mrs Bell that is just so tender and artfully written it made me sit back and savor. 5 Stars aren’t enough. Thank you St. Martin’s Press and May McGoldrick for the opportunity to review this story.
May McGoldrick excels in weaving suspense, drama and romance together for a nonstop ride to the last page of this wonderful story. Captain Ian Bell is a tortured soul from the grief and guilt over the loss of his sister Sarah who was murdered. He is determined to hunt for her killer as he becomes the Deputy Lieutenant and scours the underworld of Edinburgh as part of the “Night Watch”. In his rounds,he saves others as he continues his search and one night comes upon Lady Phoebe Pennington, once best friend to his sister and saves her from a violent attack. Phoebe is on a mission to find documents that may involve the city’s higher ups to report in her newspaper articles.
Phoebe brings Ian back to life as they spend time together and begin to build a wonderful romance. The atmosphere and surroundings come to life in the descriptions as do the characters of Ian and Phoebe who seem meant for each other. The story is full of emotions throughout and I could not wait to see what happened at the end.
Captain Ian Bell is a tortured man fighting through grief and guilt over the loss of his sister Sarah. When she went missing, he searched for months until he found her remains. Now, three years later as the Deputy Lieutenant of Fife, Ian still hunts for her murderer in the dangerous criminal underworld of Edinburgh. He is the ‘Night Watch’ bent on revenge even as he saves others from the same violent fate that claimed his sister. Lady Phoebe Pennington dreamer and storyteller to her family is a committed reformer writing articles anonymously for an Edinburgh newspaper. One night, in an effort to acquire documents embarrassing to the city’s political leaders, Phoebe descends into the corrupt and seething netherworld known as the Vaults. When she tries to save a street urchin from an assailant, she becomes the target of a violent attack, only to be saved by the one man she has desired for years.
This book drew me in from the first page & I was gripped until the last. The descriptions were so vivid I felt as though I was actually in the Vaults. Phoebe has been attracted to Ian for years but he only saw her as his younger sister’s friend but the more time they spend together the more he comes to admire, respect & love her. Ian is still grieving for Sarah & trying to care for his frail mother. The story flowed so well, I was taken on a roller coaster of emotions throughout the book. The characters were very well portrayed & Ian & Phoebe absolutely perfect for each other. This book has murder, mystery & of course romance. This is the third book in the series whilst it could be read on its own I’d recommend reading the earlier books as the Penningtons are so delightful. I look forward to Millie’s story
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
Unfortunately, I decided to begin this wonderful book about an hour before bedtime. From the first word on the first page it pulled me into another time and another place and didn’t let me go until quite some time after I had finished the last word early this morning. It is beautifully written and filled with characters you want to get to know as friends. And the ending – Oh! My Goodness! It is perfect. I am almost always dissatisfied when a book doesn’t have an epilogue – I feel as if I’m not done with it yet. Without an epilogue, this book closed up all of the loose ends and provided a lovely, poignant HEA. There was even a wonderful solution for a street urchin I was hoping would have his own HEA.
This is absolutely my favorite kind of book, historical with a mystery AND a romance. Absolutely perfect. The villain is a mad fiend – sort of a Jack the Ripper type. He’s been stalking the underground of Edinburgh for decades and three years ago he murdered the sister of Captain Ian Kerr Bell of Bellhorne, Fife. Now, Ian haunts the Vaults (huge underground area) of Edinburgh in search of his sister’s murderer. Ian is riddled with guilt – he should have done more to protect her. How did she even get to such a place? She wasn’t a flighty girl – she was intelligent and careful.
Now, imagine Ian’s shock and dismay when he is in the Vaults and hears the sounds of a fight and runs to the location. He finds a crumpled form lying at bottom of a staircase – and a man, dressed in black, at the top of the stairs. As Ian picks up the unconscious man at the foot of the stairs, he quickly realizes that it isn’t a man at all – it is a woman – and a woman of means. Finally, when Ian gets her to his carriage he realizes that it is Lady Phoebe Pennington, daughter of the Earl of Aytoun – his deceased sister’s best friend.
Phoebe is a crusader – a reformer. She’s writing newspaper articles under a pseudonym and she is hot on the trail of a story showing that the charity hospitals, poorhouses, etc. are turning out the sick and infirm in order to make themselves look better for a fact-finding group that is coming up from London. She just needs absolute proof and she has an informant who has agreed to sell her the proof she needs – but she must meet him in the Vaults or he won’t provide the documents. Since she must have the proof, she agrees. However she isn’t an idiot, so she hires Duncan Turner, a surly Highlander, as her bodyguard. As she and Duncan find the place, they get separated and Phoebe sees a man chasing a half-grown boy with the intent of killing him. Phoebe doesn’t even think – she just acts and chases after the two. As she attacks the villain, the boy escapes and the villain comes after Phoebe. When she awakes from her tumble down the steps, she finds she is in a carriage with a furious Ian Bell – her deceased friend’s brothere and a man she was infatuated with in her youth.
Over the course of the next few weeks, Ian and Phoebe have several encounters and some of them open her eyes to what being a good reporter really is. Then, when Phoebe is really in danger – can Ian save her – more than once?
This is a fast-paced book that will hold your interest from beginning to end. The descriptions of the time and place are so vivid that you can smell the fetid bogs, feel the warm sunshine and see the blue skies over Edinburgh and Bellhorne.
This is part of a series, but can easily be read as a stand-alone. I have read all of the other books in the series and highly recommend those as well as this one.
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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”
As with most of May McGoldrick’s books, Sleepless in Scotland is full of rich characters, intrigue, danger, dastardly villians, and of course romance. This one starts immediately with the heroine being put in life threatening danger, and rescued by the hero, of course. I love the way this couple presents several potential villains, keeping the reader guessing as which is the guilty one. Phoebe Pennington is her own woman, strong and independent. She secretly writes under a pseudonym, exposing the deficiencies of society especially with their treatment of the poor. Captain Ian Bell is the brother of her best friend who was murdered several years prior to their meeting again. Who murdered his sister and why? Will they be able to figure it out before Phoebe is also in danger. Very good read, love this family and their stories.
Publisher’s Description:
From USA Today bestselling author May McGoldrick, Sleepless in Scotland is a charming tale of loss, justice, and passion.
Captain Ian Bell is a tortured man fighting through grief and guilt over the loss of his sister. When she went missing, he searched for months until he found her remains. Now, three years later as the Deputy Lieutenant of Fife, Ian still hunts for her murderer in the dangerous criminal underworld of Edinburgh. He is the ‘Night Watch’ bent on revenge even as he saves others from the same violent fate that claimed his sister. Then one night, a young woman narrowly escapes death and lands at his feet…his late sister’s best friend, Phoebe Pennington.
Lady Phoebe Pennington—dreamer and storyteller to her family—is a committed reformer writing articles anonymously for an Edinburgh newspaper. One night, in an effort to acquire documents embarrassing to the city’s political leaders, Phoebe descends into the corrupt and seething netherworld known as the Vaults. When she tries to save a street urchin from an assailant, she becomes the target of a violent attack, only to be saved by the one man she has desired for years.
Ian’s attraction to Phoebe is as undeniable as it is unexpected, and she awakens in him passions he thought long dead. Fearful that she doesn’t understand the dangers of this criminal world, he is determined to save her from the risks she takes. Phoebe’s blood burns for Ian, but when she learns that he may be implicated in the scandal she is set on exposing, she finds herself torn between love and truth. But even as they strive to find the meaning of trust, fate is taking a hand. For Phoebe is the only one who has seen the face of the killer, and the sinister shadows of evil are closer than they imagine.
My Thoughts:
I absolutely love this series, but that being said you do not have to read the whole series to love this book. The McGoldrick husband and wife writing team have once again written a seamless story without a doubt.
Sometimes you read a book co-authored by more than one person and feel it is lacking in some way. This is not so with any book I have read by this duo.
I recommend reading this whole series from book #1 but if you don’t have the time you can easily start with this one and not be lost or disappointed.
Sleepless in Scotland will draw you in and if you start reading late in the day it will most assuredly leave you sleepless. With love and mystery, a villainous character and heroes there is never a dull moment and reading deep into the night will be the ultimate result.
I gave this book 4.95 of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization and a sensual rating of 3 of 5 flames. There is no need for overt intimacy for this book to be a winner. There is though a bit of intimacy that can not be denied.
I received a complimentary digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley to read and review. This in no way affected my opinion of this title which I read and reviewed voluntarily.
Sleepless in Scotland by May McGoldrick is book Three in The Pennington Family series. This is the story of Captain Ian Bell and Phoebe Pennington.
Phoebe is working for the Edinburgh newspaper under a false identity to help her get information and acquire documents towards the city’s political leaders to expose their bad dealings. Which for this assignment has put in life in danger when entering the ‘Vaults’ in the underground world.
Ian has been dealing with the quilt of his sister death that happened a few years ago, now working as a Deputy Lieutenant of Fife he is moving forward with saving others and finding his sister’s killer. But what he didn’t expect was to find his sister’s best friend Phoebe in the middle of dangerous situations.
I love the writing of this author…and try to read all of her books! Enjoying this series so much!