This book was a 'cozy mystery' in every way and I loved it! From the yarn shop at the center of the story to the relatable characters trying to make the most of the cards they've been dealt to the quaint small-town vibes of Nairn, this book was the fun and light read I needed right now. It paired perfectly with my afternoon tea and has me excited for more books in this series!

My biggest issue with the book was that the dialogue was hard to follow. It is written as it might sound in a thick Scottish accent, and at times made no sense to me.

Murder in a Scottish Shire by Traci Hall is an excellent start to what is sure to be an amazing cozy mystery series.

This book introduces us to Paislee Shaw and her family that live in present-day Nairn, Scotland.

I loved everything about this book. I LOVED the location, the descriptions of the buildings, landscapes, culture, and the Scottish language the popped on the page. I love Paislee. So strong, independent, caring, and intelligent. She has accomplished so much : her own business, taking care of her son Brody and their house that was gifted to her by her late and beloved Grandmother. Of course, being modest, she thinks she is barely keeping it together.

I enjoyed the full town and cast of characters. I enjoyed the addition of Grandpa Angus, and I hope he sticks around.

I loved the murder/mystery plot, and I really think there is so much material here for further books. I can’t wait!

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

Being a single mother raising a son on her own, Paislee Shaw does her best to balance work and home. When her long lost grandfather shows up on her doorstep one morning, it’s almost too much for Paislee to process, but family is family and she agrees to provide him shelter until they can figure out where her missing uncle he lived with has disappeared to.

But life is a balancing act and it always manages to throw more into the mix and Paislee finds a former employee and friend who was supposed to meet with her that morning dead in her flat. While it looks like suicide, Paislee doesn’t believe it for a minute and decides to do her own sleuthing when the new DI in town doesn’t seem to be taking any of Paislee’s insight to heart.As Paislee’s search goes on, she finds that the young woman isn’t quite who Paislee thought she was, nor are some others, and that can cost Paislee her life.

Set in Nairn Scotland this is the coziest of cozies. With a 10 year old son, a Scottish terrier, and a crusty but sincere grandfather, you can’t help but root for Paislee. I’m looking forward to the next visit to the shire.

Scotland, cosy-mystery, murder-investigation, family-dynamics, friendship

Interesting cosy set in Scotland. I was pulled in by the yarn and the sheep who provided it and held to the end by the mystery. Paislee had a REALLY bad day. There was the cantankerous constable bringing her the reprobate grandfather she had never met from sleeping in the park, the notice of eviction from the landlord who had sold all the buildings on the block, the yarn that was late, and the former employee who didn't answer her mobile because she was dead. And then things got really messy! All told in a clear Scottish brogue and filled with characters who most certainly are.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley.

What a great first book in the new series! Situated in a small town in Scotland, our protagonist Paislee is the main character. She's a single mom of a young boy who struggles daily to make ends meet for herself and her young son. Throw in a long-lost grandfather and things get interesting. There is a death in the village and she's quick on the uptake to discover who it is. It is such a fun cozy. The author holds true to the Scottish brogue, that you can hear it in your head as you're reading and the dialects and interplay between characters is excellent. I am thrilled with this book and can't wait to read the next one.

I would like to thank Traci Hall, Kensington Publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is a good start to a new cozy series. I really enjoyed the premise of the book. The author does a great job of describing life in a small Scottish village. I did struggle at times with the Scottish dialect, but I slowed down and read it again and figured it out. There were a couple of loose ends I thought needed to be tied up. All in all I think this book is the start of a really fun series.

A good start to a new cozy mystery series. Paislee, her 10 year old son Brody, and her grandfather Angus work and live in a small Scottish town. She owns a yarn/knitting store, and when the girl she was going to rehire didn't show up for the interview, she went looking for her. Lo and behold, she was dead. Clues abound and she starts asking questions of different people. A few red herrings of course, and two men with the possibility of romance add a nice touch. Loose ends here and there, that I am guessing will be brought up in later books. Her lease, for example, and her missing uncle. Also felt a bit more on the killer would have helped too, but still, would highly recommend this book and author. Look forward to reading more, as it was hard to put down.

I am grateful to net galley.com and Kensington Books for a free review copy of this book which has in no way influenced the review. I really enjoyed this book, it is good easy read, the characters are relatable and it was nice to get to know Paislee and her son Brody.

The author deserves a huge amount of credit for the research that they put into Scottish life and especially rural Scottish town life. Living in a town in Scotland I could easily imagine a lot of the things they talked about being true of my town and the relationships within the town.

The book focuses on Paislee who owns and runs a bespoke wool shop in Nairn who finds one of her ex employees dead seemingly by suicide. Paislee however knowing the girl and seeing perhaps some of herself in the girl cant accept that this has happened and sets out to find the truth. What she discovers about her ex employee will shock her, what she discovers about her friends will shock her and what she discovers about the people of the community will shock her.

This isn't your average run of the mill police procedural as the main detective isn't a a policewoman at all, so if thats what you are looking for then its best to avoid this book. But it is warm, it is eminently readable and is a good story to get yourself lost in.

I did find it hard to believe that a person could have such a bad day as Paislee had on this day but then again thats why we read fiction isn't it? To escape, to break down our barriers of unbelief and to be honest that didn't distract me too much from the main story.

I am not sure if there is another book planned in this series or not but I did feel that some loose ends had been left hanging, some things that I would enjoy knowing the answers to but I guess that may come in subsequent books. Another slightly annoying thing for me was the language used, there was a great effort made to put most of the dialect into localised Scots but for me this was then ruined by having words that no Scot would ever use interspersed in the narrative. The one that sticks in my mind was using the term recess instead of break, talking about college instead of university. However given that the audience for this book may be American it obviously makes sense in that context but it did jar a little with me.

Overall an excellent book, a good story and hopefully more to come.