Murder in a Scottish Garden

The Blurb
Paislee’s custom sweater and yarn business, Cashmere Crush, is the sole support for not only the single mum and her ten-year-old son Brody but also her eccentric Gramps and Wallace, their black Scottish terrier. So when her landlord, Shawn Marcus, serves her an eviction notice and then pulls a disappearing act, she’ll go to any lengths to find the man and reason with him.

Shawn is heir to the Leery Estate, which Brody’s class will be visiting on a field trip. So Paislee volunteers to chaperone in the hopes of tracking down Shawn and killing two birds with one stone. Unfortunately, the only one killed is a man Paislee sees falling out of the hedges after being shot. It’s not her missing landlord, but Lady Leery’s nephew, Charles Thomson. Gruff DI Mack Zeffer is on the case, but Paislee also has a stake in flushing out the shooter. With suspects sprouting up like weeds, Paislee may need to hedge her bets until she can determine who is trying to lead her down the garden path.

The Details
Series: A Scottish Shire Mystery – Book #2
Author: Traci Hall
Genre/Category: Cozy –Exotic Location/Hobby
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 1496726014
Page Count: 304
Rating:

The Review
The latest installment in the “A Scottish Shire Mystery” series, Murder in a Scottish Garden is a great addition. The main characters in this series keep getting better, and even though this is book two, readers will feel as if these characters are long-time friends. Paislee’s sweater and yarn shop are in danger when the landlord sends an eviction notice and then disappears, leaving everything up in the air and the future uncertain. Paislee has to find a way to talk to him but wasn’t expecting to have a murder involved when she did.

A man is killed while Paislee is chaperoning a school outing for her son at the estate owned by her landlord, Shawn. After watching the man stumble out of the bushes and die practically at her feet, she has no choice but to help find the killer. Her sweater and yarn store are everything to her family; if she loses it, her son, grandfather, and her dog will be out on their ears with nothing. Even though the DI on the case doesn’t want her help or interference, Paislee gets herself smack dab in the middle of the investigation and on a killer’s radar.

The suspects in this story all have good motives and flimsy alibi’s; the tension runs high as Paislee works through the clues to find the killer’s identity. There are plenty of twists and turns, with just enough hints to lead readers down the garden path of truth. The locations, Paislee’s sweater and yarn shop, as well as the estate and gardens, are described well and give you a sense of having been there. The action is good but not over the top. The main characters have wonderful personality quarks and have grown since book one; even Gramps becomes more understood, and dare I say, loved? I enjoyed Murder in a Scottish Garden and look forward to the next addition.

The Author
From contemporary seaside romances to cozy mysteries, Traci Hall writes stories that captivate her readers. As a hybrid author with over fifty published works, Ms. Hall has a favorite story for everyone. Mystery lovers, be on the lookout for her Salem B&B Mystery series, co-written as Traci Wilton. Traci finds her inspiration in sunny South Florida by living right near the ocean.