PHOEBE AND THE MACFAIRLIE MYSTERY

The mist of northern highlands in Scotland during the early 20th century shrouded people who lived apart from the world. This setting, plus a haunted, dank castle tossed in for full measure, fails to add to a sense of the mysterious. It's a familiar, but in this case inadequate, framework upon which to build a tale. The heathered hills are marred by the presence of the young sleuths who speak in clipped words and walk on ""wooden"" legs. A dead man's name is cleared; a fortune is recovered; but the bagpipes sound a bit tinny.