Early Book Review: Night of the Highland Dragon by Isabel Cooper

Night of the Highland Dragon is the third book in the Highland Dragon series by Isabel Cooper. it is currently scheduled for release on June 2 2015. while this is a series, each book can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone. William Arundell is a detective working for a secret branch of the English government. When a young man is found dead, William’s investigation leads him to a remote Highland village and the lady who rules MacAlasdair Castle, which has rumors of being unusual. Judith MacAlasdair is not what William expected. She is the only daughter in a long line of shape-changing dragons, Judith is wary of William and his unrelenting questions. However, when William’s investigation takes an interesting turn, they must put aside years of bad blood and a mutual distrust of outsiders to band together to save the British Islands from an unexpected evil.

Night of the Highland Dragon might be the third in a series, but I did not really feel the connection to the previous books as I was reading.  This is not always a bad thing, but if you are looking for a feeling of a larger picture it will not come together for you here until the very end. I found the story and the characters reasonably well done and the story entertaining. William and Judith were complex characters with plenty of trouble to add conflict and interest to the story. I did predict who the troublemaker was, but it was still a well told story. I think the only issue I had was that I expected more, but I cannot tell you just what I was looking for. The characters and the complexity of their backstories and coming together were not lacking anything specific, but it just did not stand out as a must read.

Night of the Highland Dragon is a well done and entertaining book. Their was intrigue and paranormal on both sides of the battle, and a good deal of promise for further stories in the same larger world. I did not find the story to be exceptional, but still worth a read if you enjoy Coopers work and/or see the book in your local library.