Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The recipe review and food pairing found on my Instagram feed are of my own doing.
Death at a Scottish Christmas
A Scottish Isle Mystery
Lucy Connelly
Crooked Lane Books
It is Christmas time on the Sea Isle, one of the Scottish Islands and doctor Emilia McRoy is off for the entire month. Em hasn’t had Christmas off in years much less an entire month. What is she going to do to keep busy? Thank goodness Mara, best friend and manager of the Pig & Whistle, has plenty for Em to do in the way of festivities. Jasper, friend and owner of a local bakery, says that December is an entire month of cultural events and after all, Scots love a party. The last thing that Em figured she would be doing is an autopsy and helping to solve a murder. Big time band Bram and the Stokers have agreed to play at the Pig & Whistle. It turns out that lead singer Bram and band member Render (also known as Hamish) are local boys who have made it good. Bram is a charismatic lead singer who sang beautifully, was easy on the eyes, and such the charmer. It is a pity that someone ended his life earlier than necessary; in fact he did not have much time left.
This cozy is sweet and a tiny bit tart, just like Cathan, the multi layered Scottish dessert that Em enjoys at the pub the night that the band played their last, and most amazing set. The entire band and the band’s manager Davy, agreed that the last set was magical and the all agree that they have no idea who could have killed Bram. So of course that means that the each band member is a suspect, especially Destinee, the only woman in the band who may have had feelings for Bram, feelings that weren’t taken seriously. The band manager, Davy, seems a bit cold and even Machiavellian with his ideas of how the band can continue to tour with Bram’s voice dubbed in for performances. Lastly, it seems that the Laird, Mayor, and constable, Ewan Campbell had history with Bram that included some infidelity on the part of Ewan’s then fiancée. No one believes that Ewan has anything to do with the murder, especially not the Doc, ask Ewan likes to call her, but with such a high profile case, the higher ups send Detective Inspector Bethany Thompson, to make sure the investigation is 100% by the book.
This is another well written Scottish Isle Mystery that does a great job as a stand-alone. There is plenty of backstory to explain, for the most part, why Doc Em has left Seattle and taken up as the resident doctor on Sea Isle, Scotland. Em needed to start over and she has found a new place that feels like home. Em has friends who are there for her. They are there to help investigate, although Em repeatedly states that she is only investigating the medical side of things …right (said in a drawn out way). In addition to great friends, there is the back and forth between Em and Ewan that has all the makings of a slow burn. This cozy series has all the cozy feels and an accent that is really fun to try and replicate in my mind while reading. The one thing that I was successful in creating is the Cathan recipe which was as enjoyable as this story.
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