Item - The Mystery of the Highland Crest

This book has great atmosphere and is fairly well-written, but it doesn't quite work. The continuity is a little bit off, many of the choices are too obvious, and some endings come far too abruptly. I enjoyed reading the book, but its gameplay doesn't quite live up to its premise.

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A year after her debut Choose Your Own Adventure, The Lost Tribe, Louise Munro Foley brought us The Mystery of the Highland Crest, which surpasses that first effort in every regard. You are descended from a wealthy clan across the Atlantic in Scotland, and one day receive a letter from Lady Sara, your great-aunt, asking you to the family castle on an urgent matter. You travel there, and meet Lady Sara in her elegant sitting room. She gets to the point: the family crest has been stolen by a rogue member named Gowrie. An old curse dictates that anytime the crest gets lost, a family member will die. Gowrie wants Lady Sara to perish so he can claim the family fortune. You have less than a week to find the crest before the curse is carried out; do you want to have tea and think it over, or retire to your room and rest?

"We can all be led into temptation. But only the wise and the strong can change course if the wrong choice has been made."

—Lady Sara, P. 112

Stay for tea, and after Lady Sara takes her leave, you discover a photo of a woman in green you glimpsed earlier. Her name is Margaret, but the photo inscription says she died in 1645. Janet, the housekeeper, becomes upset when you inquire further, and admits Margaret was murdered by her twin sister Emily. If you saw either of them, it was a ghost. Shortly after, you meet the woman in green...but do you believe in haints? Survival hinges on your reaction. If Margaret or Emily confronts you in a parallel story route, you can grab her arm to prove she's flesh and blood, but your fingers pass through. Perhaps you and Lady Sara can rig a trap to catch Gowrie and regain the crest; ignore all distractions and it happens faster than you'd believe. Otherwise, you meet Gowrie face to face, and he tells you Lady Sara is insane and should be institutionalized. You may nearly find yourself an accessory to her murder. Had you chosen differently earlier, you join forces with Lady Sara's hired hand, Alex, to stop Gowrie. During a lightning storm you cross a rickety wood bridge to Black Rock, where you might recover the crest and save Lady Sara from the curse. You won't likely complete your mission without some loss of life.

Go to your room after first meeting Lady Sara, and the woman in green appears, telling you the crest is in Ireland. Lady Sara gives you permission to go, but as the train departs, a gypsy begs to be allowed on despite having no money. Pay her fare yourself, and eventually recognition hits: this woman’s visage was on the ceiling of your room at Lady Sara's castle. You attempt to follow her at your destination, but a nearby stranger gets robbed and beaten. Only you can keep him from death. A bangle is found in his possession, similar to one the gypsy owned. Should you wait until he regains consciousness and interrogate him? Time is ticking before the curse is enacted. If you wait, the man gifts you the bangle, and you still have a narrow window of opportunity to retake the crest. The countryside is enormous, though; what are your chances? You could tumble into a pit in an isolated area. When a magic fairy addresses you there, be careful how you word your request. More than a smidgen of faith is required to get the result you and Lady Sara desire.

"We must move ahead in faith...The forces of good are always stronger than the forces of evil. But to make it so, we must believe it."

—Lady Sara, P. 27

The Mystery of the Highland Crest barely misses being a gamebook classic. I love the atmosphere, intrigue, and wisdom of virtually every narrative path at the castle, enhanced by some of the finest illustrations in Paul Granger's career. Several endings are flawless pieces of human experience I won't forget. My problem with the book is the half set in Ireland. It isn’t gripping like what happens at the castle, and consistency from one story branch to the next is lacking. The Mystery of the Highland Crest isn't complete enough to be on Choose Your Own Adventure’s top tier with classics like The Cave of Time and The Forbidden Castle.

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