Face Down O'er the Border by Kathy Lynn Emerson

Catherine Glenelg is a friend of Susannah Appleby's who lives in Scotland. Her son, only child of her husband Lord Glenelg was taken from her to be raised by a Scottish Nobleman in Scotland, instead of England where she prefers to live. To be near him, she moved to Scotland, and lives with her deceased husband's mother.

But one day she awakens in pain at the foot of the stairs, not knowing how she got there. And nearby is her mother-in-law, dead. Luckily, her friend Annabel MacReynolds discovers her, and the two of them attempt to keep Catherine alive and free when the rest of the household, who wasn't there at the time of the accident, comes in and discovers the death.

Unfortunately for Catherine, her innocent words regarding her mother-in-law are misconstrued, and she is accused of killing her mother-in-law, forcing her to flee. She also moves to protect her daughter, sending her and her nurse to Susannah's manor, and sending a message to Susannah asking her not to come.

But Susannah has discovered about the death through different means and is hurrying to help her friend along with her lover and neighbor Nick Baldwin. They discover that Catherine was trying to discover information about her son's treatment that she hoped could have the boy released back to her care. He's definitely not happy about being the smallest boy among the children being tutored with him, and the mistreatment his schoolmates bring down on his head for it.

So why was Lady Russell killed and her daughter-in-Law framed for the crime? Everyone seems to assume that Catherine is guilty, even Sir Lachlan Dunbar, Gavin Glenelg's guardian, who claims that he came to love Catherine and was going to ask her to marry him. But can Susannah discover the true identity of the murderer, and what really caused the death of Lady Russell before the authorities pin the blame on Catherine Glenelg and sentence her to death? And can she free Catherine's son and daughter to join her in the exile from Scotland that she wants, with a man she has come to love?

Reading historical mysteries is always fun, and Kathy Lynn Emerson writes mysteries that are plenty of fun to read, almost educating as much as they entertain. This one is a little different, in that it doesn't have any ties to Lady Susannah's being author of an Herbal, or with poisons. Instead, its all about murder and detection, showing that while Susannah may be good at detecting poisons, her ability as a detective goes much further than that.

This one also takes place in Scotland, quite far afield from the usual settings of rural England, and it points up the difference between the lowland Scots and the Highland Scots and the languages each spoke- the Highland tongue is impossible for Susannah to understand, even Lowland Scots is fraught with errors.

This was an entertaining mystery with a compelling story, interesting characters, and a great background on the political and social conflicts and tensions of Scotland at the time. It was interesting to see the villain revealed and wonder how Susannah could bring him or her to justice. Recommended.