FIDDLER ON THE MAKE
(Accent Press )
- Peter Kerr
-
Publication date: 17 September 2007
ISBN (10): 1-905170-69-6 / ISBN (13): 978-1-90517-069-2
£6.99 Paperback
When the sleepy Scottish village of Cuddyford is colonised by well-heeled retirees and big-city commuters, Jigger McCloud, a waggish local farmer with a talent for playing
the fiddle, an eye for the ladies and the main chance, isn’t slow to make a quick buck
at their expense.
Jigger’s oddball-but-loveable family consists of his beautiful tomboy of a wife Nessie (who sidelines in speedway racing and motocross!), his moped-mounted delinquent Granny, his stunning keep-it-all-under-wraps-until-you-bag-a-rich-guy daughter Maggie, his less promiscuously-fussy son Davie, and Bert, a randy little hamburger-craving dog.
Life seems rosy for the McClouds until Jigger tries his scams on a mysterious foreign multi-millionaire, who arrives on the scene with plans to develop the area in ways that appeal neither to Jigger nor his milch cow incomers. The folk of Cuddyford, native and otherwise, promptly close ranks.
Jigger’s fatal attraction to the millionaire’s seductive and sophisticated wife complicates matters, however, and contributes to the likely end of his lucrative position as de facto ‘factor’ to the permanently-skint local laird, the ineffectual old Duke of Gormley. But the Duke’s feckless son and heir, Lord ‘Ludo’ Gormley-Crichton, figures prominently in one of Jigger’s dodgy plans for self-advancement, so distinctly bent political jiggery pokeries become the order of the day, with who else but Jigger wielding the poker?
Comic shenanigans, quirky characters and sinister ploys abound, and it’s Bert, Jigger’s scruffy little dog, who turns out to be the hero of the piece as the McClouds and their beloved Cuddyford teeter on the brink of disaster.
Dyed-in-the-wool country folk and nouveau rustiques alike should be prepared to have their legs mercilessly pulled as they read this quirky country tale.
AUDIO
FIDDLER ON THE MAKE
(Soundings - a division of Isis Publishing Ltd
ISBN 978-1-4079-0536-5 (8 CDs)
Tel: Freephone 0800 731 563
Read by James Bryce - jamesbryce.org.uk
REVIEWS
"All very tongue-in-cheek ... with ruthless millionaires, chinless-wonder aristocrats and bent politicians all contributing to a not-everyday story of country folk."
Writers' Forum Magazine
"A rollicking good tale ... it won't disappoint."
Majorca Daily Bulletin
"An offbeat country caper ... You'd need to have a very dull funny bone indeed not to be tickled by this quirky yarn."
Amazon UK
"Topical ... tongue-in-cheek ... a countryside community at odds with an influx
of 'townies' "
Edinburgh Evening News
"A fun tale of countryside confusion and some sly collusion."
Bookworld Espana
"Peter combines dry humour and quirky character with sinister ploys, giving the book wide appeal (and) engaging the reader from the outset."
'East Lothian Life' Magazine
"Touches of (his) 'Thistle Soup' ... a simple tale, neatly told with lots of humour ...
the climax is both dramatic and satisfying."
'Coastrider' Newspaper (Spain)
"Another fun Scottish ribtickler from the maestro!
A thoroughly entertaining and cheering read!"
Amazon UK
"Sure to be yet another hit ... will keep you smiling all the way through. Kerr's larger than life characters enjoy a broad stage with which the author is completely familiar
and comfortable."
Lothian Life Online lothianlife
"Comical incidents abound in this lively, fast-paced tale."
The Scots Magazine
"A delicious, delightful and devilishly funny gem of a novel."
The Stornoway Gazette
"An entertaining and lighthearted read, and I recommend it to all of Peter's fans."
Amazon UK