Thursday, May 27, 2021

Murder in a Scottish Garden by Traci Hall

First Line: Paislee Shaw gritted her teeth as the school bus jounced over a crack in the paved road, and wished for a wee bit more padding to protect her bum from the hard plastic seat.
 
Single mother Paislee Shaw's priority is her ten-year-old son Brody, but you can't blame her if she wants to do a bit of multi-tasking now and again. She signed on as chaperone for the class trip to the Leery Estate, but she not only wants to take care of the children on the field trip, she also wants to track down the heir to the estate, Shawn Marcus. Yes, that Shawn Marcus, the man who served an eviction notice to her and five other shopkeepers in Nairn and then disappeared. Her knitting shop, Cashmere Crush-- her sole means of support for herself, her son, her grandfather, and their dog-- is at stake.
 
But instead of finding the missing man, Paislee finds herself shielding one of Brody's classmates as a dead body comes crashing through a hedge. Who is the dead man? Why was he shot? And where in the world is her missing landlord? Paislee's got a lot more multi-tasking to do to get to the bottom of this mystery.
 
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Knit shop owner Paislee Shaw continues her winning ways in Murder in a Scottish Garden, the second in Traci Hall's Scottish Shire cozy series set on Scotland's north coast. The mystery is the type to keep you scratching your head as you try to unravel all the knots and tangles. True to any rich family worth its salt, those on the Leery Estate hold themselves to different standards, and everyone on the property seems to have at least four different versions of the truth that they share with both Detective Inspector Mack Zeffer and the ever-inquisitive Paislee Shaw.

One of the things that I like about this series is that there's more going on than the mystery. There's the problem of Paislee's missing uncle, a mystery that her grandfather seems loathe to share and which ties into the strong parents-and-their-children theme of the book as does the lawsuit facing the school. There's also the problem of the eviction notice that she and the other shopkeepers have been served. If Paislee is forced to move from her prime location, it could have dire consequences for her business. If she loses Cashmere Crush, women won't have any place to gather for their Knit & Sip meetings or a place to buy yarn or order one of Paislee's custom-knit items.

And of course, like any good cozy, all this is held together by a fine cast of characters, in particular Paislee, her son Brody, and her grandfather. I like how Paislee's primary concern is her son, how she isn't looking for a man but thinks nothing of trying to play matchmaker for her single friends. There is no shortage of eligible men in Nairn. For example, there's the "high-end fashion model" handsome detective inspector who seems to be slowly learning to appreciate Paislee's sleuthing skills, and there's the local headmaster with the irresistible dimples. Well, they used to be irresistible until that lawsuit.

I find Paislee, her family, and her sleuthing to be good for what ails me, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if you did, too. If you're new to the series, I suggest that you begin with the first book, Murder in a Scottish Shire. You have some fun in store!

Murder in a Scottish Garden by Traci Hall
eISBN: 9781496726025
Kensington Books © 2021
eBook, 304 pages

Cozy Mystery, #2 Scottish Shire mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Net Galley

14 comments:

  1. Although this isn't my genre of choice, I love that cover with the Scottish terrier on it.
    Actually, I'm reading Paula Munier's The Hiding Place, and the dogs have pulled me in. I'm worried if one is missing, and I'm cheering for them to get more treats.

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    1. I enjoy that series. Elvis and Susie Bear, right?

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  2. Yes, but there is a third dog, a golden retriever named Sunny. That is what pulled me in. The evil sister of a dying man says she'll get his dog a home -- but, Mercy suspects she'll take Sunny to a kill shelter! That fired me up, so I kept reading.

    I also like Patience, Mercy's grandmother, who became a veterinarian.

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    1. I like Patience, too-- and you'll like what happens to Sunny.

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  3. There's nothing like a solid cast of characters to keep a cozy series going, Cathy, and these sound like solid and well-developed characters. I love the Scottish setting, too - what is it about Scotland that makes it such a great setting for a series? Glad you enjoyed this.

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    1. I've been to Scotland more than once, and all I can say is that I am passionately in love with the Highlands. If I find out a book is set there, I'm at least going to pick it up and take a good look.

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  4. I love a cozy series that has a great cast of characters and interesting things going on in their lives outside of the murder investigation. This looks like a good series.

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    1. It is, and since it's only two books old, it's a good one to pick up. :-)

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  5. I'd read this mystery series just for its Scotland setting! :)

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    1. I've been to the area where this series is set, so I have plenty of good mental pictures as I read. :-)

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  6. And Paula Munier, the author, has dogs like the ones in the book.

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    1. I know. I keep track of her dogs on Instagram.

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  7. I liked the first one, once I got into the rhythm of the language.

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