This was a sequel to Gerald and Elizabeth. Characters still interesting and likeable, but the story was all over the place. Gerald is persuaded to take a vacation and stay with some friends of his brother-in-law. It's an estate in rural Scotland where the landowners are ready to cull the too-populous deer herd, so they have people come stay and hunt. In the beginning and middle of the book there is a bit too much animal death for me, which is what affected my rating. Other than that some things are predictable, like Gerald falling in love with the daughter of the house. The weird plot had to do with a gang of criminals headed by a mastermind, breaking into various secure businesses. Gerald and his brother-in-law have taken extraordinary measures to protect their shipping yard, but they are concerned about the lengths the men will go to to obtain inside information.
The thing I liked best was the appearance of and happy ending for Donny Eastwood, who last appeared as a young girl in "Charlotte Fairlie". She's a fairly minor character here though. ( )

The House of the Deer is the sequel to Gerald and Elizabeth. Gerald is hanging around in Scotland shooting deer, an interlude that has little to do with the plot, (something to do with robberies organised by The Planner) but which introduces him to the woman he falls in love with and to crowds of endearing Scottish people. I was much taken aback by a contemptuous remark about Black people and the use of word n.... ( )