Newlyweds Hayley Snow and Nathan Bransford have decided to leave their beloved Key West home for a honeymoon in Scotland. But their romantic getaway gets crowded when they agree to bring their octogenarian friend Miss Gloria and Nathan's mother Helen for the trip. While Nathan is harangued into a golf tournament with his brother-in-law William, his sister Vera shows Hayley, Miss Gloria and Helen some of Scotland's iconic mystic places.

Vera is working on a book project highlighting Scotland's thin places, but there is plenty of tension amongst the team members. Shortly upon their arrival, a dinner party guest becomes seriously ill. Then a man on their boat falls to his death while they are on the famous Falkirk Wheel. Although
Vera and her friends deny knowing the dead man, Hayley decides to do her own investigation while onsite.

The Scottish setting, history and food were enjoyable but it did seem odd for newlyweds Nathan and Hayley to be separated for the bulk of the story. I am looking forward to reading future adventures with Hayley and her cast of characters in the more familiar setting of Key West, Florida.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this revi

I loved A Scone of Contention. I loved the Scottish setting and the interesting characters. I loved the cozy mystery theme - a story I enjoy but isn't to heavy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my ARC.

I really enjoy this series! The theme is fantastic, and the author does a great job of fleshing out the characters and the setting. The story was well-paced, and I had so much fun trying to solve the mystery.

Clever story, good characters, another great entry in series. Thanks to #NetGalley and #ASconeOfContention for advanced digital copy.

Scotland was the perfect chance for a foodie and food writer like Hayley to eat her way through a few towns and still do her job while on her supposed-honeymoon. That part was sort of a laugh, and they all joked about it since Miss Gloria was along, and Nathan's mom informed that she was coming. I did actually start to like Nathan's mom Helen a little better from reading the last book when she and Hayley had their grand adventure.

From a poisoning to a guy falling from the Falkirk Wheel, this mystery unfolded and seemed like it didn't make a lot of sense at first. Eventually, Hayley and Miss G put the clues together. Miss G always loved armchair sleuthing with Hayley and had her chance to do this firsthand now as well as see some of the places her ancestors would have fought at or been buried in, some of which were pretty troubling to her.

At first, I wasn't sure if I'd like Vera and William, but they grew on me especially toward the end when William was so kind to Miss Gloria. I had to giggle at Nathan's last line in the book, but it's so true!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

This trip to Scotland was not the usual honeymoon. First, Nathan and Hayley take along Haley's eightyish friend and then they are staying with Nathan's sister, Vera, and brother-in- law, William. Now throw in the fact that William has scheduled the men in a golf tournament while the women travel with Vera who needs to work on her new book. Plus, Nathan's mother has also joined the group. Throw in a poisoning and possible murder and that is Hayley and Nathan's belated honeymoon.

The author did a great job of painting the beautiful Scottish setting and describing the local food. I also found the subject of Thin Places intriguing. Thanks to Crooked Lane books and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

A favorite cozy series addition with this new release set in Scotland while Haley and Nathan are on their Honeymoon with Miss Gloria and his Mother. While Nathan is golfing circumstances occur that are mysterious and Haley and group are drawn into solving the mystery., The author must have had a fabulous trip to Scotland because she did a great job of writing Scotland alive for her readers. A pleasant cozy series that is always fun to read with endearing charcters. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity.

A honeymoon in the UK is finally happening for Haley and Nathan. Alone in wedded bliss, not. Ms Gloria, plus Nathan's family decide that swirling bagpipes and misty highlands are just the thing for all. In Scotland Haley's wishes are coming true, until "accidental' deaths' happen. Her beloved Ms. Gloria goes missing? The tension and highland thrills come often in this eleventh book in the Key West Mystery Series. I enjoyed the change of scenery, the cover art says it all.

Highly recommended

Always love reading about Hayley and the gang, and this was a fun excursion out of Key West. Not exactly the romantic honeymoon I would have liked but it sounded beautiful. Great story, loved the ending. Can't wait to meet Nathan's dad down the road. Looking forward to the further adventures of this group!

took me a few pages to get into since I've never read this author or any books of this series , but it still a good one to read, just start with the first book if and when you decide to give it a go .

Hayley and Nathan are on their honeymoon in Scotland. Miss Gloria and his mother are along as they visit his sister and her husband. Vera is working on a book about to be published, along with friends from college. Things between the friends are not comfortable and when one of them is poisoned at a dinner party, Hayley begins to ask questions. With Nathan on the golf course, Hayley and the rest go looking at places allover Scotland. A death occurs, many suspects and continuing uncomfortable travels. A great read with these wonderful characters and yummy recipes complete the book.

Scone of Contention (Key West Food Critic 11) by Lucy Burdette

I am a relatively new fan of Ms. Burdette’s Key West series. I have quickly devoured all 10 previous offerings. Some I have loved, some were okay but this one is in a rather unique category of undecided. I know that this sounds weird but we have what feels like two separate books taking place simultaneously, leaving a lot of background seemingly either missing or only glancing-ly alluded too. We are treated too two mysteries one taking place in Key West before Haley & the gang leave for the much anticipated but long delayed honeymoon and sister meeting! My favorite chapter quote is “It wasn’t very nice of me, but I hoped the pickles gave him heartburn. Jenn McKinley” I also enjoy that by putting these snippets of other books in it can encourage readers to find a new author they might enjoy. Miss Gloria, always a favorite of mine has some great one liners. When the gang arrives in Scotland we are treated to a nice and not so nice view of Vera’s personality when Haley overhears a conversation between husband and wife. Then we have a dinner with “friends” of Vera’s that ends with the police being called! From there it’s of on a quick tour of Scotland so that Vera and friends can complete a previously contracted book. I really enjoyed the conversation of thin places and tourism as well as the Scottish mystery playing out in the background. The background Key West mystery that is not nearly so enjoyable for me. There are 10 recipes at the end of the book. I was able to try a few of them Cinnamon scones, cheese shortbread & Cranachan. All three were delicious! I plan to try the Coronation Chicken, Banana Date Scone, and the Cock-a- Leekie soup next.

Recipes: 5* Easy to follow and most do not require a trip to the grocery store!
Scottish mystery: 5* Engaging and very enjoyable.
KeyWest mystery: 2* I simply didn’t feel I “saw” enough to make it real or even enjoyable.
Rating: 4* I would recommend this book but more for established readers of this series.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for the ARC.

Hayley and Nathan got married during a hurricane, so why should their honeymoon be 'normal'?! As they take off for Scotland, Miss Gloria in tow, you have to expect that some shenanigans will be right around the corner. First weird thing, Nathan's sister isn't very welcoming and then her husband basically absconds with Nathan for a golf tournament that will take most of the trip. Okay... not exactly the honeymoon I would want, but nothing with Hayley and Nathan has been traditional.!
Nathan’s sister, Vera, is working on a book she is publishing with college friends. about places in Scotland where the veil between real and supernatural is weak. Despite not seeming to warm to her houseguests, she does drag Hayley, Miss Gloria and her and Nathan's mother to a dinner party where someone was likely poisoned - you know Hayley and Miss Gloria can't let that go un-investigated!
The book gets a little stranger, as far as 'honeymoons' go, when most of the folks from the dinner party take off for a tour in the country, including a boat tour where a man is found dead. And of course, Hayley is in search of the perfect scone, in addition to to the murderer!
For new readers to the series, I can see where this book would be confusing. For those of us who have been following along with Hayley's adventures for years, it fits perfectly. 3.5 stars!

Possibly the worst honeymoon ever. Hayley, the food critic, and her new husband Nathan, a detective, rather inexplicably not only take their octogenarian friend Gloria along with them to Scotland, they're staying with his sister Vera and then his mother comes along too. Yikes. Then while out doing touristy things, Hayley sees what turns out to be a murder and of course she must investigate. She's in Scotland, not Key West, an important detail that doesn't seem to bother her. Nathan, btw, is playing golf. I'm torn about this add-on to a long running series- I liked the Scottish setting (and the descriptions of the food) but it's a bit over the top in spots and somewhat implausible. I like Hayley and Vera was a nice addition. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I loved the trip to Scotland. The recipes are a nice bonus. I really had a hard time keeping track and interest in the book. The book is good but not for me.

I love this series and I was really excited to travel to Scotland for Hayley and Nathan’s honeymoon. I thought a little sightseeing, a murder of a fellow tourist, some time to get to know them more as a couple. But then Miss Gloria goes on their honeymoon, too. Weird but understandable. Then Nathan’s mom comes. And they’re spending all their time apart. None of it makes sense. <spoiler> Sure, you’re staying with his sister. Doesn’t mean you have to follow her around as she works on her book. And get caught up in her super tense relationship with her friends. </spoiler>. This was not my favorite in the series. It could have been so good. I struggled to finish it. I’ll still read the series but I’m not reaching for it first.

3.5 stars, actually.

Newly married to Nathan Bransford, a detective with the Key West, Florida, Police Department, Hayley Snow writes food-related articles for the island's Key Zest publication. When the couple gets a chance for a real honeymoon in Scotland to visit Nathan's sister Vera and her husband, William, she sees an opportunity to bring stories of Scottish fare back to tempt Key Westians. Then, because of their elderly but spunky houseboat neighbor Miss Gloria's family ties to the country - and that it might be her only chance to see it - they offer to take her along. Just before they leave, one of their local friends ends up in hot water with the police, making Hayley a little reluctant to leave.

Although Scotland is welcoming, Nathan's sister is far less so; to make matters worse, Hayley's brother-in-law insists on entering a golf tournament with Nathan as his partner - taking him away from her most of the days of their visit, sadly for her (and for readers, who see way too little of him as well). Vera, who's immersed in pulling together a soon-to-be-published book about the "thin places" of Scotland ("where the veil between heaven and earth is lifted"), spends a good bit of her time disagreeing with the production team about the direction the book is taking - a turn for the worse, in her opinion. When Nathan's rather standoffish mother, who has gained tentative acceptance by Hayley but isn't on the best of terms with Vera, shows up as well, she brings the potential for uncomfortable encounters. If I'm honest, I'll say that potential quickly turned into an unpleasant reality; the disagreements and sniping at each other - especially among the book production team - started to get annoying fairly early on.

At an early-on dinner party for all of the above, one of the guests experiences severe stomach distress - a suspected poisoning. Later, as the group hops on the Falkirk Wheel on their way to their destination of the day, tragedy strikes: A man falls overboard and is killed. When he's identified by police, no one in Hayley's group acknowledges knowing him, but their furtive denials make her think there's more to that story - and the possibility that it was no accident rears its ugly head. Much of the book from this point on centers on descriptions of the group's destinations, detailed bickering among group members and, more pleasantly, Hayley's encounters with the traditional foods of Scotland (recipes for such treats as Shepherd's Pie and several varieties of scones are included at the end of the book).

The only near-edge-of-seat drama happens near the end, when one of member of the group faces a life-threatening situation; that's followed by the tying up of loose ends surrounding the death at Falkirk and publication of the book. Once Hayley and Nathan are back home, her friend's pre-trip tussle with police is sorted as well - but that situation had so little relevance to the rest of the plot that I had to wonder why it was included at all. Oh wait: Maybe it will be fodder for the next book in the series (for the record, this is the eleventh). While I wait for that one, I'll thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy of this one.

Hayley and Nathan were on a belated honeymoon, back to his native home Scotland, and of course, they couldn’t leave their elderly friend Miss Gloria behind. Their so-called honeymoon was more of a mystery tour, accompanied by murder. That wasn’t the excitement Hayley was expecting I’m sure.

"A Scone of Contention" is the 11th instalment in the "A Key West Food Critic" Mystery series by Lucy Burdette. This is becoming one of my favourite foodie cozy mystery series.

A murderer's out to spoil Hayley's honeymoon in national bestselling author Lucy Burdette's eleventh Key West Food Critic Mystery.

I really enjoyed this story which was set in St. Andrews, Scotland this time. Miss Gloria and Haley’s mother in law join her and Nathan on their honeymoon to Scotland! I must say I really love octogenarian Miss Gloria and can only hope to have as much spunk as her when I’m that old.

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and I liked trying to figure out what was behind her sister-in-law Vera’s jumpiness and what happened with her friends when they were at Uni. I found Nathan’s sister Vera to be interesting and I hope she appears again in the series. The descriptions of the Scottish food was mouth watering especially the scones!

I kept second-guessing myself on whodunnit right to the very end. I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Haley (a food critic) and Nathan ( a police detective) are back for a new cozy mystery that has them leaving Key West for a honeymoon in Scotland. It’s not just any honeymoon though as a family friend and Nathan’s mother are joining and they are staying with his sister and brother in law. His sister Vera is finishing a book about Scotland and there is alot of contention between all those involved, a botched poisoning and murder. There was SO much going on in this book and so many characters and mayhem to unravel. Mixed in were amazing descriptions of Scotland that felt like you were there. I would highly recommend for readers of this series but would suggest new readers start with earlier books first to really know these characters and see them at their best.