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The hot potato in question is Scott McKenzie, survivor of a car
crash witnessed by Tam Buchanan and his colleague Fizz Fitzgerald, on
a hill-walking weekend in the Highlands. Buchanan's promise to the
dying driver to take care of Scott is one which soon gives both he and
Fizz cause for regret. Not only does their new friend have some very
determined people trying to kill him, he is equally determined in
seeking out opportunities to indulge in a medicinal dram. |
| Fizz and Buchanan have their work cut out in evading their
pursuers, keeping Scott reasonably sober and piecing together events
from his extremely fragmented memory. An amiable, innocent looking old
man, more concerned about his next drink than solving the mystery, Scott
manages to try the patience of both. One particularly memorable scene
has Fizz running herself ragged to protect him from police attention on
a train journey through which he peacefully sleeps. |
| Events rattle along at a cracking pace, keeping the tension going
to the end with an imaginative, well constructed plot. The humour comes
in steady measure, dependably found in the exasperation of Fizz and
Buchanan's friendship as much as in the behaviour of the obliviously
vacant Scott. The reader may be as dumbfounded as Buchanan to see Fizz
munching a sandwich while trying to keep out of sight of the bad guys
but her pragmatism is admirable. |
| I'm almost ashamed to admit that this is my first encounter with
Fizz and Buchanan, now in their seventh adventure. While it left me
anxious to read the other six, it was no liability. Joyce Holms does an
excellent job of establishing their personalities without labouring over
background information. Buchanan's caution, balanced against the "go
for it" approach of Fizz, complement each other perfectly. |
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