No Other Highlander

Good-hearted and perfidious men are at the center of Basso’s enjoyable second romance featuring the Armstrongs and McKennas (after The Highlander Who Loved Me). Building a lively, convincing world of 14th-century Scottish Highland culture, Basso ratchets up the dramatic tension with friction between different clans. Strong-willed, sharp-tongued Lady Joan Armstrong has escaped an abusive marriage with her young son, only to find herself unwanted in the house of her father, Laird Armstrong. The laird is asked to be an impartial arbiter of justice after the McPhersons accuse Sir Malcolm McKenna of seducing, impregnating, and abandoning Brienne McPherson; meanwhile, he allows Joan’s former husband, Archibald Fraser, to return and torment her. Malcolm, seeking to prove his innocence, unexpectedly finds himself falling for Joan, whom he has long considered “prickly and often disagreeable” and who is understandably skittish about men. As Malcolm and Joan gradually come to see each other as compassionate allies and trusted friends, the growing passion between them heals old wounds. This heartwarming, satisfying historical lays intriguing groundwork for the series’ next installment. (Mar.)