Meikle continues to wring a surprisingly amount of variety from the simple concept of a Scottish Special Forces squad encountering weirdness on their military mission.

This time operations are in the Scottish Highlands around Loch Ness. The S-Squad, because they’re close and are the nearest things to experts on the weird their CO has, is sent to investigate a massive killing and mutilation of animals at a local zoo.

It appears some kind of large animal is loose and has possibly taken a child off. The next thing you know, the squad is on another monster hunt.

The pacing is slower on this adventure; there’s a lot of walking the Highlands. (Which is fine, descriptions of Scotland is one reason I read the book.) The monster reveal takes longer.

Don’t worry, once things get going, the bodies will pile up.

But this installment of the series has its own special charms and ties into other Meikle works. I’ll just mention three names: Alexander Seton, Boleskine House, and Aleister Crowley.

And I liked the way Meikle treats the conflict between preserving Nessie and it becoming a lethal menace. Meikle’s interest in cryptozoology and studies in biology lends a nice of credibility to the whole thing. ( )