Murder at a Scottish Social by Traci HallMur

Murder at a Scottish Social

Book Summary

Sweater shop owner Paislee Shaw puts the yarn in Nairn, but a killer has put poison in some Scottish shortbread cookies . . .

Opening her shop Cashmere Crush and making a new home for herself, her son Brody, Gramps, and their black Scottish terrier Wallace in the beautiful Scottish village of Nairn is a dream come true. So Paislee is happy to give back by donating a luxurious cashmere sweater for an auction to raise money for the Nairn Food Bank. She’s less happy to make the acquaintance of a clique of competitive moms at the charity event, who treat a baking contest like it’s life or death. It turns out to be the latter for Queen Bee Kirsten Buchanan when a peanut-laced shortbread cookie triggers her fatal nut allergy.

 

Who would poison Kirsten? How about half the town? But when Paislee’s pal Blaise is suspected, the sweater-selling sleuth leaps into action to unravel the mystery. Along with gruff but handsome DI Mack Zeffer, she has to sort through a batch of suspects without becoming this cookie-cutter killer’s next target . . .

My Thoughts

Paislee Shaw has agreed to share a table with her friends, Lydia, and Blaise at the fundraiser to support the Nairn Food Bank.  Drama starts before Paislee arrives when the Queen Bee of the mom clique from the local elite school, Kirsten Buchanan puts their table at the back of the room next to the loo.  The theatrics continue as Kirsten and her worker bees shoot barbs at Blaise who has decided their crowd is not for her.  When Kirsten ends up dead after sampling a cookie, Kirsten’s friends are quick to point the finger at Blaise.  Paislee puts away her knitting needles and dons her sleuthing cap in order to find the guilty party.  

Murder at a Scottish Social by Traci Hall is the third A Scottish Shire Mystery.   It is best to read this series in order so that you can get to know the and understand their relationships.  I thought the story contained good writing with a slower pacing.  There is an interesting cast of Scottish characters.  Paislee, Brody, Lydia, Gramps, and Wallace the dog are back along Detective Inspector Zeffer.  We get to meet Blaise O’Connor, her husband, and son.  I did have a hard time with the Scottish brogue.  It was in the previous books, but it seemed more pronounced in this one.  I had such a hard time deciphering the words that I got a migraine.  The whodunit had several suspects, a red herring, and direct clues.  If you catch the clues, you should find solving this mystery a cinch. Paislee did not do much sleuthing in this story.  She was, though, on the receiving end of nasty potshots.  I was turned off by the mean women group.  Their nastiness was off-putting (and reminded me of high school).    When not knitting or working at the shop, Paislee must deal with an issue regarding her son, Brody.  Unfortunately, that means dealing with the problematic headmaster.  Gramps, as always, provides humor.  I liked how the author emphasized the need for the food bank in the community.  The fundraiser was wonderful the way people came together to raise money for the cause (if you can overlook the cruel female clique).  Murder at a Scottish Social is a Scottish whodunit with a cookie contest, a cruel clique, nasty nuts, an elusive Epi-pen, a pilfered piece, remarkable knitwear, and a dedicated detective. 

Murder at a Scottish Social is available from Amazon*.  The first two books in A Scottish Shire Mystery series are Murder in a Scottish Shire (on Kindle Unlimited) and Murder in a Scottish Garden.  You can find Traci Hall's other novels here.  Follow Traci to get updates when she has a new release.  Thank you for joining me today.  I will be back tomorrow with The Lady of Galway Manor by Jennifer Deibel.  I hope that you have go maith (good) day.  Take care, stay safe, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader 

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