I love cozy mysteries and I am in a phase where I am reading a ton of "the American chucks it all and moves abroad" so this book hit the spot for me this month.

Dr. Emilia McRoy needs to leave the memories that surround her in Seattle. Her home and the hospital where she works have become too much. She takes a post as the town doctor in Sea Isle, Scotland, that comes with some amazing perks. Free housing and a dream hospital setting with all the machines she needs and an amazing assistant to run them all. The trouble is, it also comes with a bossy laird, the job of coroner, and someone who tries to kill her when her investigation gets too close to the truth.

Truth be told, the author had me at the bossy laird, but she didn't stop there. Emilia not only solves the mystery, but she begins to build a found family that I cannot wait to read more about. She manages to capture the spirit of the people and the look and feel of the location without letting these rich details bog down the story.

This is a strong first book and I am looking forward to more!

Book 1, A Scottish Isle Mystery

I am thankful for the electronic copy of the book that I received from @Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and I purchased the audio version from @librofm on my own.

An American in Scotland
Lucy Connelly



Potential Agatha Christie award finalist. This book was a wonderful mystery, filled with engaging characters, witty dialogue, and deftly handled sensitive issues.

This is the first book in the new Scottish Highlands mystery series. We began with Emilia McRoy’s, arrival from Seattle to Sea Isle, a small highlands tourist town in the summer. The town is inaccessible during winter. She gets her first look at her new home, a former church, then goes to the town pub for dinner. While waiting a man comes in and when introduced to the new doctor is terribly rude and told to leave. Dr. Emilia later finds him dead in the bothy. This begins Dr. Em’s Highland experience. I loved the supportiveness of the characters. I would not really characterize this as a cozy, but a solid non romantic mystery fit for male/ female readers of any age. Sure, there is violence it’s a murder mystery! But it’s not gratuitous and mostly happens at the villain reveal. While the doc is the main character, the supporting characters were just as interesting and I find myself wanting to know how Angie’s wedding goes!
I want to return to Sea Isle! 5*****

Character List

Dr. Emilia McRoy – Seattle transplanted doctor.
Ewan – Constable, Laird, & Mayor
Jasper – Baker, new friend
Angie – New friend & shop owner
Mara – New friend, tavern worker, & former advertiser
Abigail – Assistant & new friend


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

I gobbled up this yummy first in a series book from Lucy Connelly. As the title indicates, American doctor Emilia (“Em”) McRoy is fleeing a busy ER back in San Francisco as well as a relationship gone wrong and headed to tiny Sea Isle, Scotland. She discovers, as does the heroine in all fairytales, that she’s to live for free in a converted castle (I mean, church) and perks include free food everywhere in town as well as a free car. The job also comes with a working brother and sister – Tommy does the gardening and the capable Abigail, who runs the office as well as the new MRI machine that the “Laird” of the town has thought to provide.

Taking this as a fairy tale with some elements of reality mixed in, it’s completely delightful. Em does get off to a rocky start when she discovers a dead body her first night in town, and the discovery seems to lead to someone trying to kill her. She’s also the town coroner and has chosen to investigate on her own, much to the “Laird” Ewan’s displeasure. While this is typical of an amateur sleuth, at least she has some reason to investigate, as she’s actually the coroner.

The dead man was much detested in town for his cranky nature, and it turns out he was the uncle of Abigail and Tommy, taking them in when they were orphaned. He was apparently a problematic caregiver, but Abigail seems to have made her peace with him.

The details of Em running her new practice grounds the book in reality, as the small town has long needed a doctor, and her presence is greatly appreciated, resulting in a long line of patients. Of course her practice also allows her to meet fellow citizens, as do her shopping proclivities – baked goods and tartan plaids fill her shopping bags to the brim, and she makes a circle of girlfriends along the way.

The plot moves right along, and as in all good fairy tales, Em is even presented with two possible suitors. While nothing in this novel was particularly original or unexpected, I enjoyed the mix of tropes and characters as well as the Scottish setting. Connelly has a narrative gift that makes the whole story flow through your reading fingers faster than you might think possible, and that’s welcome magic of a different variety. A solid start to what I hope will be a lengthy series.

Reader beware: not the best treatment of suicide (spoilers in the body of the review)

This is the first novel in the Scottish Isle cozy mystery series and my introduction to this author’s work (see footnote 1). The writing voice is so engaging that I forgot, more than once, that the novel is narrated in first person, past tense. Equally, while a fair number of characters are introduced and there are plenty of descriptions of the town and its mores, history, traditions, etc, setting the stage for the series to follow, they mostly work for the plot of this story.

The one exception would be the emphasis on the main character’s ancestry and family history, which is mentioned in ways that imply some mystery; this is likely the hook for at least the next installment, if not the whole series.

Sea Isle is a small town perched on the hilly coast of Scotland, not far from Edinburgh. While not on the Highlands proper, the geography and climate of the village means that, during bad weather and a lot of the winter, the inhabitants can be cut off from any outside help for hours, days, or even weeks at a go.

Given this, the local laird has invested quite a bit of ready cash to make sure the local clinic is equipped to act, basically, like a small state-of-the-art hospital: from setting broken bones to MRIs, all emergencies can be dealt with on-site. The only thing missing, now that the old doctor retired, is someone to see to the health of the population. Enter Em, lately head of emergency medicine at a large Seattle hospital.

I quite liked Em; her internal dialogue is quite entertaining and, on the whole, sensible. Given the stress in her life as her contract with the town was negotiated, I could mostly believe that she was surprised to find she’s not just the general practitioner, but also the town’s medical examiner. I found her fondness for British detective shows endearing and relatable. Vera! Sherlock! and so on–although I noticed Midsumer Murders is not brought up.

All the same, I was a bit put off that both Em and Ewan kept using the word ‘coroner’, which has a different meaning in the U.K. that it does in the U.S., and also, hey, is not a thing in Scotland at all.

(I must note here that while I am not familiar enough with Scottish criminal procedure to argue the minutia of that aspect of the narrative, I have a feeling those who are would object to several details in the novel. For example, a cursory search reveals that in case of suspicious or unexplained death, the town constable should have called for the major investigative team for the area to come in–something Ewan never even mentions, let alone does.)

At any rate, this is the kind of mystery I prefer: the main character is not a passive observer, or someone to whom things happen as they amble about helplessly. Once Em has decided that it’s her job to investigate the death of local shady character Smithy, she’s fairly sensible about it, even as she keeps crossing swords, so to speak, with Ewan.

This being Em’s first murder investigation, she occasionally fumbles; fortunately for her, Ewan is generally on the ball, and, as the stakes grow higher, she raises to the challenge, becoming more careful and methodical as the story moves on. Of course, some of her caution is a bit late in coming.

Aside: if a character in a mystery ever says, “I’m going to (blank) if it kills me”, the very least one can expect is attempted murder.

There is also, for the genre romance readers among us, the beginning stages of a relationship between Em and Ewan; the latter is written as a very decent guy who’s protective without being overbearing about it (despite Em’s complaints to the contrary). My main issue with Ewan is that no billionaire is actually that generous or decent, or would actually put in the hours of work he does.

The town is, natch, full of colorful personalities, and it’s at once very small and isolated, and full of thriving businesses and shops. It’s all very much the perfect “Scottish small town” fantasy, and yet accessible once the reader buys into the basic premise of the setting.

As Em gets to know her neighbors, she creates her own circle of community with a core group of people, mostly women, in a way that feels organic. I particularly enjoyed Abigail and Tommy; the latter is autistic, and while I liked how he’s written, I am not autistic myself and can’t therefore vouch for the quality of the representation.

Now, it could be that I’ve read far too much detective fiction, but I knew who the killer was at about two thirds of the way in, even with a red-herring that, weirdly, leads nowhere. (See footnote 2)

Despite that, I enjoyed how the mystery is solved, and will likely read the next one in the series when it comes out, as there are a few threads that are left open-ended in this novel, that I would like to see resolved. Were Caitlin and Mike drugged, and if so, why and by who? What are “the brothers” involved in? What’s the deal with Angie’s fiance? and of course, the mystery of Em’s family history.

However, there’s one aspect of Em’s backstory that bothers me quite a bit.

Spoilers ahoy!

For most of the novel, Em’s reasons to move about one third around the globe are mostly hand-waved, though there are hints of trauma, and references to her unwillingness–nay, inability–to trust men in a romantic setting.

The way these hints are written, for a good chunk of the story it seemed equally likely that her husband had either become abusive, and that the move to Sea Isle was designed to put distance between them; or the he had been revealed to be a criminal or a serial killer; or that he had died by suicide.

It is, of course, the latter.

The reason given for this man to take his own life was that he had been having an affair with a man, and, unable to choose between his wife or his lover, he chose neither. And of course, Emilia was unaware of his bisexuality until she reads his suicide note. In the shock and grief over all of this, she loses the baby she had just realized they had conceived shortly before his death, during a trip to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary.

All of which is bad enough, but what really soured me to the author’s choice here is that at one point, before we know exactly what happened, Em thinks (paraphrasing), “after what Derek did” in an accusatory way (which is why serial killer or domestic abuser were possibilities in my mind). It’s never made clear whether she means the cheating or his suicide, but either way, it left a bad taste in my mouth; it’s not just that we have fridging of the one bisexual character in the story, but that he was a cheater who may have been also ashamed of his sexuality.

Overall, in spite of this, I enjoyed An American in Scotland quite a bit. 8.75 out of 10.

1 The copyright page gives up the game: Lucy Connelly is Candace Havens.

2 I have no way of telling whether this was an ARC issue, or an editing issue, but at the end of chapter 26, Em's last words are "I'm calling the constable" and then we are never told what she and her companion saw that prompted that call; this is in fact never again mentioned.

GREAT. GOOGLY. MOOGLY.

IF you follow my reviews [all 3? 4? of you], or you are my Mom or my bestie, you know that I have not had the best experience with new cozy series as of late. There have been so many awful [for me] reads as of late that I will admit that when I remembered that I had this book to read, I almost cried, and then I almost bailed without even trying it [when you have been burned by so many new series' as I have, you'd feel the same; I mean, IYKYK absolutely applies here]. NEVER have I been so glad that I chose to give it a chance.

Y'all, THIS WAS FREAKING AMAZING. I don't think I was even 5% in and I was going to my group messages and telling my bookish friends that they NEEDED to be reading this, and then talked about it almost continually to my Mom [who is no longer reading] the whole time I was reading it [I couldn't talk about it to the bookish friends because I TOTALLY want them to read and experience this]. Even when I knew who the killer was [at 60%; I knew the why about 70%], it absolutely DID NOT TAKE AWAY FROM THE BOOK. And that reveal....HOLY FREAKING COW. I don't think my heart has beat that fast in ages. ;-)

Emilia is a really great MC that just grows as the book goes on [again, IYKYK]; I love that she is older, an established Doctor, and has lived life, not always for the best and is so open to living a new life in Scotland [and as you read about this town, WHO WOULDN'T? I want a Pig & Whistle and a Chippy and I WANT. IT. NOW. ;-) ] I am not really going to go into the story, because truly, this is one of the books that you need to go unto blind. Everything needs to unfold as it unfolds and you need to experience it with absolutely no preconceived notions. You will thank me later for this. Trust me.
[As a side note, I can only hope there are MANY more books to come - M A N Y. I am officially in love with Sea Isle and all its inhabitants]

Now, go find this and read it. Yes, right now. Go on. I'll be waiting here when you are done and need to talk about it. And you're welcome.

**I was thankful to receive the audiobook ARC of this and boy-howdy this was a really great audiobook. I think much of my enjoyment of the book came from the amazing way the narrator read this book [rarely have I loved someone who does accents/voices as much as this narrator - she is 100% spot on and never did I feel her voices were forced or unbelievable]. SO. WELL. DONE. I will be looking for more books read by her in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lucy Connelly, Kimberly M. Wetherell - Narrator, Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Media for providing both the book ARC and the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hopefully the first book.
This is my first book by Lucy Connelly and she gives us a really fun and intriguing story with our main character an American named Dr. Emilla McRoy. Having spent years as an Emergency Room doctor, and had a recent death in her family, she takes a doctor position on a small island off the coast of Scotland to hopefully move past the trauma she’s endured. She was hired by Ewan Campbell, who is the Deputy Chief Constable, Mayor, and Laird of Sea Isle. She settles into her new living quarters/office which is located in an old church. And she is also the Coroner for the island. Her first night on the Isle, as she’s heading back to the church, she’s caught in a rainstorm and takes shelter in an outbuilding on the church grounds. And that’s where she finds a dead man. I really enjoyed the characters in this book, Lucy Connelly has done a great job of describing the island and developed both her main and secondary characters well. The ensuing mystery is well written-any one of the characters could be the murderer as each has motive and opportunity. Even Ewan, who could become/is becoming Em’s romantic interest, crosses her mind as a suspect. I wanted to read this book because the title and blurb caught my interest and I’m very glad I did. I want to know more about the people and the places on Sea Isle and hope for a second book in this series. I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Burned-out American emergency room doctor, Emilia (Em) McRoy, has accepted the position of village doctor in a beautiful, quiet, peaceful seaside village in Scotland. When she arrives, it is everything she dreamed it would be – breathtakingly beautiful, quaint, and filled with warm, welcoming Scots. She’s so excited to begin to explore her new home – until she finds a dead body only a short while after she arrives. No, not just any dead body – the body of someone who was murdered – although she and the handsome constable disagree on that.

Apparently, she didn’t read her contract very carefully because she finds out she is also the coroner for the area. The constable, Ewan Campbell wants her to just sign the death certificate as accidental death and be done with it. The man was a known drunk and Ewan is convinced he just fell and cracked his head open during a drunken walk. Emilia refuses to sign the certificate and, as coroner, begins her own investigation. That investigation apparently doesn’t sit well with the murderer, because he starts coming after Emilia. Can Ewan and her new friends protect her from the psychopath? Has this person killed before? The victim, Smithy, was a surly old cuss that nobody liked, but who truly disliked him enough to murder him?

I’m always looking for new-to-me mystery writers – particularly those who write books set in some of my favorite places – like England, Scotland, and Ireland. I enjoyed the writing style and the characters, but there is a lot about this book that will require you to totally suspend your belief/disbelief. Basically, the whole of the town and its inhabitants require that. There is Ewan who is the constable, mayor, laird, and practically the richest man in Scotland. Well, frankly, from the descriptions of the things he provides for the town, the doctor, the medical facility, and the inhabitants, he has to be the richest man in the world. Then, there is that medical facility – housed in an old church – and with more modern, up-to-date equipment than most modern urban hospitals. Oh – and BTW – what is with dukes and marquesses and aristocrats being royalty? Yes, the reference is made more than once. A duke nor a marquess is royalty – unless they are a Royal Duke such as William or Harry.

All-in-all, this was a nice beginning for a new series and I will definitely read the next book. However, I will be wearing my rose-colored glasses and will have all beliefs and disbeliefs suspended before I start reading.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I knew from the first chapter that this new cozy mystery series had to have a spot saved for as many more there may be. It's that good. Cozies are my de-stressor reads and when the main character is a strong woman, it's set in Scotland with a small community, count me one happy reader.
Emilia McRoy was a doctor practicing in Seattle until the death of her husband and her life turned upside down. Given the chance to move to a small town in Scotland. At least she's familiar with snow capped mountains and the ocean. Seattle had those but wow, what else was so different. First off, her new home is a beautifully decorated converted church including a cemetery. Her medical practice has lots of up to date equipment and then she finds out she is also the Coroner. Talk about a learning curve. With her only familiarity with crime and the role of a coroner coming from Acorn and BritBox, she has a lot to learn, indeed.
It isn't long before she has met with the locals and encounters her first dead body. As Coroner she meets the challenge of finding out the manner of his death, etc. Her new life is going to be far from boring, that's for sure. I loved spending time with Em and the people who live in Sea Isle. The mystery was well crafted keeping me engaged to the great reveal at the end.
My thanks to the publisher Crooked Lane and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review

An American in Scotland tells us the story of Dr. Emilia McRoy, who was ready for a change – both personally and professionally. Emilia left her hectic life in a Seattle emergency room to take a position as a small town family doctor in Scotland. It seems like the work will be easy. Gaining the trust of the residents of this insular town may be more challenging. Emilia seems to be making some progress with the townspeople and the renovations she’s making to her new office/home until she comes across a body and becomes the number one suspect – being the stranger in town.

She begins investigating the suspicious death on her own, because she is unsure who she can trust. I was too. I suspected several different people and was wrong on every count. I guessed the murderer at one point but was convinced otherwise.

I did think the job seemed a bit too good to be true – the perks of the job, the state-of-the-art equipment – but it was satisfactorily explained by the end.

The book is planned to be the first in the Scottish Isle Mystery series and does a nice job of creating a world with plenty of interest and potential. There is a large cast of characters, and I look forward to getting to know each of them.

I received this Advanced Reader Copy of An American in Scotland from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to really love this book because of the setting, etc, but overall it just kind of flat for me.

Some of the issues were with the writing which felt a little basic/ bland for the most part. Some were with bits of the storyline (the doc moving to Scotland to live in a house and practice completely rent free, never had to pay for food out at places or groceries or medicine, car, etc has pretty much everything she needs at her beck and call despite living in a tiny old fashioned little village, secret rooms built into an old church that sound state of the art and unrealistic for the place, and lastly when she was introducing people she met to each other when I feel like everyone there should already know each other since it's been said countless times that it's a small village, everyone takes care of each other, etc etc).

I also felt like the killer was easily predicted quite earlier on as was the motive etc.

But onto some good things, because it wasn't ALL bad! The characters themselves are decently likable. (I did heavily relate to the main character watching a lot of Acorn TV and Britbox though and enjoyed the references to various series 😂). I really enjoyed Abigail and Tommy. The friendship that quickly forms with all the ladies (Emilia, Abigail, Mara and Angie) was one of the best aspects. Ewan grows as a character as the book goes on, and it was nice to fully get Emilia's full back story eventually. It took me a while to really get into the book, and as I stated, it was very easily predicted; however, when the story fully got going, and I knew the characters more and grew to like most of them, I grew to like the book better as I finished it.

I know this is just a cozy mystery type of book and not meant to be some flashy or fancy thriller/ suspense so I'm also trying not to judge it too harshly with that in mind. But I've read a decent amount of Carlene O'Connor's books recently and thoroughly enjoyed those which are billed as cozy mysteries so I think I was hoping this would be comparable to those, and for me, it just wasn't. Given that this is the start of a series, I might still be inclined to eventually check out the next one if and when it's released to fully decide whether I'd stick around for any more or not.

Thank you to Net Galley, Crooked Lane Books, and Lucy Connelly for the opportunity to read and review this eARC.

Love discovering new authors and Lucy Connelly is a winner. First in series set in the small town of Sea Isle, Scotland. Dr. Em McRoy is a burnt out ER doctor from the States, she is hoping to find an easier life and maybe discover her roots. Unfortunately that isn’t what happens! Seeking shelter from a sudden storm she enters the closest cottage. No one answers and as she enters she can smell blood and an attack dog is guarding the body. And the deceased is a man she had a run in with at the pub.
Love the development of the characters and the banter between the Dr, and the Laird of all trades is great. The narrator was fantastic! Looking forward to reading the next in the series. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #AnAmericaninScotland

This is the first book in a series about an American doctor, suffering from burnout after her time in an ER in Seattle, agrees to become the doctor for Sea Isle, Scotland. Emilia McRoy has recently discovered that she has Scottish ancestry from this area of Scotland and is curious to learn more about her family's roots as well as get used to a much slower pace of life. Unfortunately, those hopes are turned upside down when Emilia has a verbal altercation with a man who very shortly ends up dead. In her new role as coroner Emilia begins an investigation either fighting or cooperating with the local constable who also happens to be her boss, Laird Ewan Campbell.

Right from the start I liked the setting. Going from Seattle to a small island in Scotland has to be quite a shock and an exhausting journey. The author does a good job of bring the town to life and showing it peopled with residents who are mostly kind hearted but not always the most welcoming to new residents. Emilia is intelligence and dedicated as both a doctor and an accidental investigator. Even though her experience with the victim wasn't pleasant she strongly believes in justice and is determined to make sure that happens. I also liked that Emilia made friends relatively easily. She does care about people and is a nice person. She doesn't get her feelings hurt over every little detail and is quick to realize when she comes off a bit harsh and apologize.

My main issue with this book is the pace and number of characters. Since the reader is plunged into a new town along with the main character we are introduced to a fairly large cast of characters and while I could keep Mara and Abigail straight as they have considerable page time I had a hard time remembering a lot of the other smaller characters. As well, with the introduction of all these characters it took about 30% of the book for the plot to really get going and pull me in. I suspect these are issues that occurred only because this was the first book in the series and I'm really looking forward to reading the next book.

Sea Isle, Scotland is meant to be a fresh start for Emilia, a widow who is tired from working as an ER physician for years. Running a small practice in a small village sounded wonderful but then she found a body. And then the body disappeared. And someone doesn't want her here. This is a nice start to a new cozy series with a good setting, characters, and storytelling. Ewan, the constable, which bantering with Em now, will clearly be a future love interest (as is someone else- no spoilers). There's some chuckleworthy bits as Em sorts out the differences between the US and Scotland (coroner duties, for example). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read- and I'm looking forward to the next one.

An American in Scotland by Lucy Connelly is an entertaining story. I enjoyed getting to know Dr. Emilia McRoy. She is burnt out from working in a busy Seattle emergency room. Emilia decided to take a leap and accept the position as the town doctor in the charming Sea Isle, Scotland. The residents are happy to have her. Her position comes with some great perks. You can tell that Emilia failed to read her contract thoroughly (she should know to never sign a document without reading it). There are some quirky residents which add to the charm. I love Mara. You could tell right away that Mara and Dr. Em would be the best of friends. I enjoyed meeting Laird Ewan Campbell who wears many hats. He happens to be the local constable. Ewan may be gruff on the outside, but he has a heart of gold. You can tell that he cares about the town and its residents. I enjoyed the picturesque descriptions of the village (I want to live there). I love the converted church where Emilia works and lives. There are some areas of the home that are unbelievable (reminds of the TARDIS). It is certainly a unique place. Emilia’s new beginning starts off with her finding Smithy dead in a bothy. Emilia soon learns that she is not only the local doctor. She is also the coroner. Emilia knows that Smithy was murdered, but she needs to convince Ewan and the village. It is a good thing that Dr. Em is a strong, stubborn woman. In her new role as coroner, Emilia goes around asking questions and searching for clues. There is plenty of activity to keep the story quickly moving toward the conclusion. Dr. Em needs to watch her step or she could end up being the next victim. It is a fun mystery to solve. Emilia also hopes to learn more about her heritage. Her ancestors came from the area. I bet she will be in for some surprises. There is humor sprinkled throughout the story that had me chuckling. The author managed to combine caring, quirky characters, a quaint setting, and an intriguing whodunit into one engaging story. I am looking forward to the next A Scottish Isle Mystery. An American in Scotland is a distracting story with a converted church, slippery slopes, a slain Smithy, quirky residents, pub grub, and a curious coroner.

An American in Scotland is the first book I have read by Lucy Connelly. I enjoyed it immensely, so I was glad to begin the new series of A Scottish Isle Mystery. Dr. Emilia McRoy has moved from the US to a small Scottish village to slow down from the fast-paced life of the busy ER. While some of the move is full of charming people and beautiful surroundings, life does have it not so positive surprises.

There is the early on mystery of what happened to her husband. Not really a mystery but not explained at the beginning so I couldn’t help but wonder. Then the dead body she finds after being in Sea Isle less than a day. What a mystery this becomes with the quirky village characters, a Laird that is neither old but perhaps a bit grumpy. There is humor, suspense, a hint of romance, a graveyard in an unexpected place for Emma and work not listed in the recruiter’s job description. I found it all to be intriguing and captivating.

Knowing I have found a new-to-me author to add to my TBR list, I can’t wait for the next for surely the village of Sea Isle has much more for Emma. For a cozy mystery An American in Scotland can’t be beat.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this. It was like Doc Hollywood but in Scotland and Doc Hollywood is one of my favorite movies , so basically this is one of my new favorite cozies. I'm definitely going to be sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book in the series. So please don't make me wait too long.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of An American in Scotland (A Scottish Isle Mystery #1) by Lucy Connelly from Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books in order to read and give an honest review.

… I really enjoyed Emelia’s character, I love protagonists who are intelligent, strong, down to earth, yet vulnerable…

In this debut novel from Lucy Connelly, we are introduced to Dr. Emilia McRoy, who after a few traumatic years of struggling with her husband’s death and burnout from working in a high stressed busy Seattle ER department decides to chuck it all in to move to her ancestorial home of Sea Isle, Scotland. Upon her arrival she is overwhelmed, everything is perfect, her home and office are in a converted old church with all the medical equipment she could dream of. Her helper and gardener are amazing, and everyone is thrilled to have a doctor in town and treat her like royalty…. well, almost everyone.

When the local curmudgeonly con artist Smithy zeros in on the fact that Emilia is related to the McRoy’s, who he feels ruined his family he has a lot to say her first night at the local pub. Smithy’s behavior aside, Emilia is growing fond of Sea Isle but was not prepared for the sudden changes in the weather. While out on a walk she seeks shelter from a sudden storm only to stumble into a structure that contains Smithy’s dead body. Emilia, convinced it is foul play, becomes suspicious when the Deputy Chief Constable/Laird/Mayor Ewan Campbell arrives and quickly dismisses the idea. She also realizes that she should have checked the fine print on her contract much sooner as Ewan informs her that she is also now the town’s coroner. The story takes off from there moving at an extremely fast pace. Filled with science, mystery, missing bodies, mayhem, a blossoming love triangle and plenty of red herrings to keep one guessing to the end.

I really enjoyed Emelia’s character, I love protagonists who are intelligent, strong, down to earth, yet vulnerable. I was also impressed by her supporting characters, the friendships they form felt genuine. I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Connelly’s writing and I really look forward to reading more about Emilie and her experiences in Sea Isle. I would recommend this to anyone looking for an amazing cozy mystery.

“ An American in Scotland” by Lucy Connelly the 1st instalment in the " A Scottish Isle Mystery" series. I loved this book and totally added it to my favourite series list! The small idyllic town of Sea Isle, Scotland, harbors some dark secrets, and Dr. Emilia McRoy is determined to uncover all of them—no matter what the diagnosis

I really enjoyed visiting Sea Isle, Scotland, and seeing how Em started her journey on the island. Another thing I enjoyed was the relationship between Em and Mara right from the start you knew they would be best friends and have each others back. I also loved the characters of Abigail and Tommy. It's great how the people of Sea Isle take care of their own and opened their arms to adopt Doctor Em into their town family.

It was entertaining, full of twists and turns and I didn’t completely guess whodunnit until Em did.

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends and I can’t wait for book 2 to come out!

I requested and received an advanced readers copy from Crooked Lane and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

This is the first book of the series, and it starts off well indeed! What happens when you are so ready for a change of pace, that you don't quite read all the fine print in your new work contract? You find yourself in a pickle when you find out your house is your office, and you're the coroner and a dead body has to be stored in YOUR house. but then the body disappears and suspicion starts and your fish out of water routine seems to be every day, and yet, you love your new adventure, and it seems time to run, but is it really? This book is at times charming, funny, sweet and just happens to have a trickster dead body! Which all leads up to a fun read!

From the cast of characters (the locals really make the story work) to the setting (quaint and intriguing) to the mystery itself, An American in Scotland does a great job of keeping the reader engaged. I enjoyed the main character, Dr. Emilia McRoy. Her reasons for wanting to move from Seattle to Scotland become clearer as the story progresses, like small reveals as we learn more about her past. It provided depth/layers to the character as well as insight into why Dr. McRoy approaches her work/interactions with others a certain way. She was a relatable main character who was more than one-dimensional. The setting itself could be considered a character in the story. It serves as a way to imagine the physical location where the story takes place as well as provide the stage for exploring the number of secondary characters in the book (Dr. McRoy’s residence/workplace is a great example of this). Overall, I found this book to be enjoyable and easy to read.

I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series!