Death in a Scottish Castle by Lydia Travers: The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency Book 4

Publication Date:

July 11, 2024

Length:

313 Pages

Summary:

I read book one of this series and since I got this advance copy I decided to go ahead and skip to book four. It was easy to pick up the storyline and these books can be read as standalone. I don't like to do that with a series but it worked out here okay.

It's 1912 in Scotland and Lady Detective Maude McIntyre and her former maid Daisy are thriving with their business, chasing down criminals and solving mysteries. When they are asked to investigate a missing statuette in a remote Highland castle they jump at the chance to travel. Clachan Castle on the Island of Mull is as far as they can imagine and when they arrive they expect only to find a theft to solve. Little do they know they will become embroiled in not one, but two murders and a locked room mystery. 

Magnus Carmichael, the castle's owner is horrified to find himself the host of a murder scene and eventually welcomes any help he can get, including the doctor, police, and the Scottish ladies. Along with other houseguests, the dashing Lord Urquhart and the Tremaines, there are plenty of suspects. It will take everyone working together with the sharp wit and insight from the lady detectives to find the killer and how on earth he or she was in the locked rooms. 

My Thoughts:

This was a fun little cozy to read over this 4th of July holiday week. It had the feel of the Golden Detective novels I've been reading lately and the author clearly drew heavily from Agatha Christie....I won't give away anything that goes with the ending but many clues were familiar from other stories. I like the characters of Maude and Daisy and found them to be really cute together. Added touches included mores of the day, the whole Downton Abby upstairs/downstairs vibe was there along with the romance between the ladies and a guest or two. 

I thought the mystery was well done. There was enough here to keep you guessing but I confess I did suspect the actual method early on. Again, it was something I'd read in another novel that had been done before. But that didn't take away from my enjoyment. 

My only con is that I wish there had been a little more authentic Scottish history/dialogue. The author seemed to switch back and forth between that some and I think could have added a bit more description of the castle, Island, etc. to make the setting more engaging. Overall though a cute cozy and worth a few hours to uplift your week.