The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is a continuing set of novels comprised as follows

Outlander  (or Cross Stitch to the UK market)
Dragonfly in Amber
Voyager
Drums of Autumn
The Fiery Cross

There are a further books to be released in this brilliant series.  If you are impatient like me you can read extracts from these at Diana Gabaldon's Web Site

I would like to make a point at this early stage that reading all of my reviews for this series will almost certainly give away some of the continuing story lines from earlier ones.  Even I can't ruin the plot for the whole series.  I am as much in the dark as any of the public at this time.  However this warning is intended for those who have not read any of the series.  If you are the type of person who reads the last page after completing the first chapter this should not bother you.  If you have not read any of this series and don't like spoilers then I suggest reading only the following review of Cross Stitch (or Outlander) at this time.

Cross Stitch is the first novel in the continuing Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.  This is the story of Claire Randell, a nurse during world war two and a time traveller.

Claire Randell was on a second honeymoon in Scotland with her husband Frank who had just returned from the war.  Strangers to each other they were attempting to rekindle the romance of yesteryear.

But the small problems in her marriage are nothing compared to the problems she faces as she steps through a cleft in a stone circle and finds herself in the middle of a violent skirmish in the year of 1743.

Rescued from the clutches of her husband's ancestor she is held by the Scottish Laird Callum MacKenzie on the suspicion of spying.

An English woman in Scotland in the 1740's she applies her nursing skills to the inhabitants of the castle and in doing so gains the trust and friendship of Mrs FitzGibbons and the secretive Jamie MacTavish.

Less wanted is the attention of the MacKenzie brothers Dougal and Callum.

She also gains the friendship of the witchcraft dabbling Geillie Duncan, wife of the procurator fiscal of the nearby village and a dangerous ally.

Trapped in the past she searches for a way to escape back to the standing stones of Craigh na Dun and hopefully into the future.

But things are not quite so simple as she finds herself alone in the Scottish highlands on the run from both the Scottish and the English.  Captured by the English and then taken back by the Scots she is given a choice.  Torture at the hands of the English or marriage to Jamie Fraser (MacTavish).

A brilliant novel filled with twists in the plot Diana Gabaldon takes us into the highlands during the years before the second Jacobite uprising.  A time when someone with knowledge of the future would be seen as a witch and anyone English would be seen as a spy.

Although it can take a little time to get into this novel I thoroughly suggest sticking it out until Claire travels back in time.  From this point on I am one of the many who could not put this book down.

Filled with romance and passion this story is told with a unique humour that makes you laugh at even the oldest of jokes.  As we follow Claire on her journey and her goals change as do ours.  Few writers can switch goals so dramatically and still have you rooting for the heroinne of the novel.  Diana Gabaldon manages this with easy expertise.  If you have never read a time travel romance then break with tradition and pick up a copy of this fantastic novel now.

RATING : 
(if you need an explanation of the hearts ratings see my homepage)

If the first in the series leaves you wanting more then don't despair as it comes in the form of the first sequel Dragonfly in Amber.

More details of Outlander/Cross Stitch are available at the  Diana Gabaldon Website

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