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A charming cozy mystery set in a small Scottish town. Paisley is a friend to all and when one of her young employees boyfriend is accused of murder she steps up to the plate to help clear his name.

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I missed the last one, but this is a very enjoyable series and I am glad to have gotten this one. The investigation is well done with its twists and more including lots of impending changes and the hope of the series continuing in a new and intriguing way.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from Kensington Publishing | Kensington Cozies via NetGalley. Pub Date Nov 25, 2025 ***** #NetGalleyreview @goodreads
#MurderattheScottishGames by @tracihallauthor #ScottishShireMysteriesBk7 @kensingtonbooks
#cozymystery @bookbub @librarythingofficial @barnesandnoble #booksamillion #bookshop_org @Waterstones #bookshop_org_uk #kobo #Scotland #Investigations #twisty #familydrama #knitting #cheating #friendship #volunteers #yarnshop #highlandgames #competition #relationships #parenting #policeScotland #romantic #teenagers

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The latest in this cozy series set in a small town in Scotland sees some significant changes in the main characters’ personal lives as well as in the latest murder mystery. Paislee and friends end up involved in figuring out the violent death of a deeply unpleasant local, which quickly proves to involve longer standing mysteries and some heavy family drama. On the personal front, Paislee also has to face change on a number of fronts, including her growing son, her friends’ plans, and her own long delayed personal life. It’s a good, involving story as always in this series, and the personal developments feel very plausible and real. Without offering spoilers, I will say that one of the developments somehow felt both too slow and too quick, but I will look forward to seeing how it plays out. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. All views are entirely my own and offered voluntarily.

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This is my first book by this author. I was a little lost with some of the Scottish language, but called on quickly. It was a fun mystery with lots of family drama and suspenseful moments. Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC and exchange for my honest opinion

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4.5 Stars
An emotionally charged addition to the series, this book transports readers to rural Scotland for the community Highland games and includes some thought-provoking themes, which is a nice change up from more lighthearted cozies. I love the setting and the returning characters, but it's the writing style that keeps me coming back for more. I enjoy the cultural and background tidbits the author incorporates to illustrate each scene (highland dancing and caber tossing), and the relatable relationship challenges (whether between families, friends, or romantic partners). Keep it up! I can't wait to see where the story goes from here.

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Kindle Copy for Review from NetGalley, Kensington Publishing and Kensington Cozies.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

Paisley volunteers to help out at the Highland Games but she gets more than she bargains. She will find herself involve in another murder investigation. There s just more than competition in these games. It is another winner of a mystery.

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Paislee Shaw lives with her son Brody and grandfather in their small town of Nairn, Scotland. She owns a yarn shop which fortunately is doing well. Volunteering to help with the annual Nairn Highland games should be easy enough -- that is, until she finds that there is plenty of friction between others involved. Her employee is dating one of the entrants - Artie Whittle -- but her parents think he's not good enough, though she stays close. When Artie is accused of cheating in the caber throw, he denies it, and his father Joseph is angered enough to confront the man who accused him. In fact, Paislee learns later that Artie's father is not only full of anger, he's also a philanderer, and just downright mean.

Which doesn't mean that he should be murdered, but that's exactly what happens -- and Artie is the prime suspect. Paislee wants to believe him innocent; if not for herself, then for her employee, but who would want to kill him? As it turns out, many people, including his long-suffering wife. But would she go that far?

When DI Zeffer turns up, it turns up feelings in Paislee that she never expected to feel. It also turns up questions she never wanted to answer, and even questions her son never knew existed. Now, with the murder first and foremost, Paislee must put her personal feelings aside -- even though she doesn't really want to -- and concentrate on the here and now, And that means Brody comes first, even at her own cost.
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But can Paislee find a killer, keep Mack Zeffer at bay, and keep Brody close? These are questions that need answers, and Paislee is at once confused and determined...if she can find a killer before they strike again...

This is the seventh book in the series and I have loved them all. The author brings us to Scotland with ease, and describes the surrounding areas, which makes me want to visit. She also engulfs us in the lives of Paislee, her family, and her close friends; and we find that things are changing; whether it is wanted or not.

As to the murder, there are people to sift through, and they all seem to have secrets of their own that somehow connect them to the dead man. While Zeffer is looking through his clues and conducting investigations, Paislee is sifting through her own.

When the ending comes and we finally figure out the identity of the killer, Paislee discovers it also, and it leads to a climax that is worth the wait. At the end, the epilogue is worth reading the book alone, and I am glad that I was given the chance to do so.

I was given an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

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What a fun addition to the A Scottish Shire mystery series. There's twists and turns, an interesting mystery, and lots of changes for Paislee and her crew - which she isn't ready for, but will have to accept. I enjoyed trying to figure out whodunnit.
Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

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This is a fantastic addition to this charming cozy mystery series.
Paisley is a fun character and I feel like I really got to know her in this book.
She faces challenges with her son Brody, her grandpa, and of course another murder investigation.
The Highland games are supposed to be fun and exciting , but the possibility of steroids being used causes many problems.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

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Another good story in the series set in Scotland. Paislee and her crew from her yarn store, and her son Brody and her grandfather have a lot going on with this one. And finding a new love with the hunky DI just adds a nice touch too. Liked this one and highly recommend this book, author and series.

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What a fun ride this was! Murder, mayhem, family drama, teenage angst, and love; what more could you ask? An overly obnoxious and philandering man, Joe is murdered and the race is on to find out who did it. All of my favorite characters from this series were featured in one way of another along with a few new ones. I love the way Paislee Shaw has matured and grown as a mother, friend and woman. She is learning to love and give herself credit for all her accomplishments, especially raising a teenage son, Brodie. I admire her ability to let go of some of the animosity she holds toward her mother so her son can have a relationship with his grandmother. While I'm sure I might have reacted in a somewhat similar way when the matter of Brodie's father comes up, I give her a boatload of credit for addressing it in a healthy manner. I am invested in seeing where her relationship with Mack goes next.
While she is engaged in helping solve the mystery of who killed Joe, she is not the risk taker so many amateur sleuths are. Paislee is a mom first and foremost. She always shares what she has stumbled on or learns to the police. Like most amateurs she does make connections it takes the police a bit longer to make, but she does not rush in, more like most of us I think.
Nairn strikes me as a simply perfect example of what I picture when I think of a Scottish shire and while I do not do needles crafts, I would love to join the ladies at the Knit and Sip group some Thursday evening. Here's to a speedy return to Nairn and The Cashmere Crush!
My thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this in exchange for my honest review.

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