The Strawberry Season

Isle of Mull Trilogy #3

by Jessica Stirling

Since the dawn of time, the Isle of Mull, off the Scottish coast, has had to fend off ferocious winds and a ravenous ocean intent on swallowing the island whole. Roughened by ceaseless storms and chill, Mull remained a quiet community, set in its ways, with almost no fodder for town gossip, as the nineteenth century drew to a close. Until, that is, new blood moved in, setting the local Campbell sisters, Innis and Biddy, against each other in all-out war for the love of the same newcomer, Michael Tarrant.

But just as the passage of time changes slightly the cragged hills of Mull, so does it soften hearts to the two sisters realize their bond is too thick for a man to sever. For Innis, marriage to Michael Tarrant turned out far from he fled to seek life outside Mull, leaving Innis to raise their children. Biddy, too, has married, but still yearns for the happiness that has always slipped through her fingers. Although it has taken sixteen years for life to return to a semblance of what it was before the Tarrants arrived, something is still amiss.

Then a pregnant woman's arrival on the island turns any countryside serenity on its head. Loathed by some, loved by others, and feared as an ill omen by still others, this Fay Ludlow embodies the changes due to fall upon Mull. The winds of change at her back will bring with them ghosts of a past buried too soon.

480 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2000

About the author

A pseudonym used by Hugh C. Rae, initially in collaboration with Peggie Coghlan and later alone.

Hugh Crauford Rae was born on November 22, 1935 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, son of Isobel and Robert Rae. He published his first stories aged 11 in the Robin comic, winning a cricket bat the same year in a children’s writing competition. After graduating from secondary school, he worked as an assistant in the antiquarian department of John Smith's bookshop. At work, he met her future wife, Elizabeth. Published since 1963, he started to wrote suspense novels as Hugh C. Rae, but he also used the pseudonyms of Robert Crawford, R.B. Houston, Stuart Stern (with S. Ungar) and James Albany. On 1973, his novel "The Shooting Gallery" was nominee by the Edgar Award. On 1974, he wrote the first few romance novels with Peggie Coghlan, using the popular pseudonym Jessica Stirling. However, when she retired 7 years after the first book was published, he continued writing more than 30 on his own, and also as Caroline Crosby. His female pseudonyms first became widely known in 1999, when "The Wind from the Hills" was shortlisted for Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Widowed nine years ago, Hugh died on September 24, 2014 at the age of 78.

Reviews

[Tracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Isle of Mull Series consists of The Island Wife, The Wind in The Hills and The Strawberry Season 🍓
I found myself willingly caught up in this tale of really interesting characters who lived on the Island of Mull Scotland.
Everything that happens and everyone is believable and could have been the story of any community. This series is hard to place in one category. I wouldn't say it is a romance but there are stories of people in love, often unknowingly with the wrong person and sometimes a good match is made. It is full of rivalry, intrigue, danger, adventure, adultery, mystery, revenge, goodness, peace, love and contentment. If you would enjoy being swept away to a romantic Scottish Island and read historical fiction novels you should read The Island of Mull series.

I often have a hard time deciding if a book should receive 4 or 5 stars and I believe if read alone this book would be 3& 1/2 to 4 but reading the entire series I believe it deserves 4& 1/2 stars so I rounded it up to 5.
I think a 10 point system would make star rating books easier for me.

[Lauren Burrows · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t realize this was the end of a trilogy and read it as a stand-alone. I enjoyed the story and found myself invested, though I was confused about who was who until about halfway through. I found myself wanting to pick it up often all the way to the end. Loved the world building.

I was confused why Gavin didn’t have a bullet wound when they found his body, and there’s something creepy about Fay and Quig ending up together since they’re so far apart in age, but that’s looking at it from a modern lens so I have grace for it.

Overall I really enjoyed it and would read more from this author.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had no idea what to expect from this book. I chose it spontaneously while walking past the library's "beach/summer" display. I thought it was very well executed and I didn't even know it was the 3rd installment in a 3-part series. It was very well-contained. The plot was very confusing at with with having to learn people's given names and their nicknames all at once... and then all of their official and unofficial relationships. I ended up drawing a diagram to refer to when I spoke about it with my husband. This book contained some lesbian references, lots of taking the Lord's name in vain, and some swearing. There is also a sex scene that I skipped over in the last 1/3 of the book. I couldn't recommend on the book on its moral principles but I think it's a well-written book.

[Victoria Hess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended by my library because I like (love) Outlander. The only thing these two books have in common is that both are set in Scotland. This is a romance, pretty obviously part of a series. It is pleasant enough, but not really great. A bit slow, actually. And predictable. Perhaps if I had been invested in the earlier volumes, I would have enjoyed this more.