THE SHIELING

In Collins’ thriller set in the late 1990s and early 2000s,a desperate but resourceful physician goes on the run in the Scottish Highlands after crossing a bloodthirsty gang of international mobsters.

A shieling, according to Scottish tradition, is a “primitive hut erected in a remote area to facilitate the process of transhumance.” It’s also the kind of place that Dr. David Carroll of Oak Brook, Illinois, figures will be the perfect place to hide after he refuses to bow to the whims of gangster Dimitri Barkov and his murderous clan. The Barkovs want to buy David’s medical practice and use it for their own ends. Unbeknownst to the gangsters, David is far from the pampered, privileged American they make him and his partners out to be. The doc once knocked out a 260-pound football player with one punch, and at another point, he completed a marathon in under three hours—with a broken foot. However, when University of Aberdeen doctoral student Catriona Gordon discovers him residing inside the shieling she’s staked out as part of her dissertation, she immediately dislikes him. It turns out that this shieling, located on a remote island in the Outer Hebrides, dates to the 1400s—and in Catriona’s eyes, this wayward weirdo’s attempts to clean it up has ruined it. Readers may find the ensuing relationship between David and Catriona to be somewhat predictable. However, it doesn’t detract from the rising tension in the rest of this high-stakes narrative, as the furiously violent Barkovs move in for the kill. Overall, Collins offers a taut cat-and-mouse thriller in which David gamely tries to evade death and prison. When he finally decides to go toe-to-toe with the Barkovs, the results prove to be horrific and life-changing for everyone involved. Fortunately for the fugitive physician, he gets help from friends and supporters along the way.

A superbly rendered actioner with an intriguing setting.