Title: Lady Catherine Macalister’s Hard Struggles: A Short Story About Catherine’s Struggles
Author: Graham Lomas
Publisher: Balboa Press AU
ISBN: B07fb8k77l
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 214
Reviewed by: Dan MacIntosh

Read Book Review

This story about Lady Catherine Macalister’s romantic life is, yes, romantic, but it’s also more than merely a romantic tale. Catherine finds her true love in Edward, whom she meets when he is invited to visit her father, the earl of MacAlister, at the castle where she resides along with her epileptic half-brother, Matthew. In addition to romance, it’s also a saga incorporating mystery, madness and complex human relationships.

Much of the narrative’s mystery and madness is wrapped into the character David MacRae, one of Lady Catherine’s childhood friends and – as she eventually learns – her husband Edward’s rival. MacRae is a man of questionable character, with a reputation for dishonesty. Catherine’s relationship with MacRae is complicated because she doesn’t find out about MacRae’s misdeeds until she marries Edward. However, a criminal past is not MacRae’s only worry. He is also jealous of Edward – insanely so, one surmises – which ultimately leads to his most heinous crime. MacRae’s jealousy brings on a drinking problem that also plays into his evil behavior.

Some of the novel’s intrigue derives from Lady Catherine (as well as other characters) trying to decipher how MacRae will behave, and to what extremes he’ll go to. There’s an American post-9/11 saying we still hear these days, ‘If you see something, say something.’ It’s a wise saying, in that if you witness someone or some people acting unusually, you should notify an authority. However, the downside to this advice is that we don’t always know if seen strange behavior will ultimately lead to criminal behavior. Such is the case of MacRae. Everybody seems to know about his past mistakes, his struggle with drinking and his odd activities. However, is he just an oddball, or an oddball that will eventually turn violent? It’s a wide distinction. Graham Lomas’s story eventually answers that troubling question with the story’s exciting conclusion. What keeps the reader hanging on, though, is wondering what – if anything – MacRae (with unsound mind) might do to other characters.

Another ‘character’ in this book – if you will — is not a person at all, but a natural element. The MacAlister castle is located near the ocean. Time and time again, the reader experiences Lady Catherine’s perspective on that nearby ocean. Tis mighty body of water frightens her because it is such a grave danger to sailors whenever the weather is rough. She oftentimes muses about the damage this ocean does or might do. In fact, over multiple instances the ocean does harm to Lady Macalister’s contemporaries. One can also conclude that Lomas intended to use the ocean as his symbol for evil.

As romance stories go, this one is a clean one. It is not a steamy, sexualized work, with lustful narratives of extended lovemaking. It’s also clean in its language. There’s no cussing, either. Therefore, it’s a book safe for all ages. Somehow I had the feeling of déjà vu, having read something very much the same somewhere else in my past.

Another theme Lomas explores with his work his hope. The hope that there is love for everyone, even Lady Catherine, and hope that lovers can enjoy a long life together. Yes, there are bumps along the way; no extended journey is without a few rough patches in the road. It’s hope that makes us believe there is someone out there for us, and hope that keeps us true to our loved ones, even when the seas become story.

Whether set in Scotland in a bygone era, or a tale that takes place during modern times, everybody loves a good love story. This is, most certainly, a timeless love story.