Murder In A Scottish Shire
For a twenty-eight-year-old single mum, Paislee has knit together a sensible life for herself, her ten-year-old son Brody, and Wallace, their black Scottish terrier. Having inherited a knack for knitting from her dear departed grandmother, Paislee also owns a specialty sweater shop called Cashmere Crush, where devoted local crafters gather weekly for her Knit and Sip.
Lately, though, Paislee feels as if her life is unraveling. She’s been served an eviction notice, and her estranged and homeless grandfather has just been brought to her door by a disconcertingly handsome detective named Mack Zeffer. As if all that wasn’t enough, Paislee discovers a young woman who she recently rehired to help in the shop dead in her flat, possibly from an overdose of her heart medicine. But as details of the death and the woman’s life begin to raise suspicions for Detective Inspector Zeffer, it’s Paislee who must untangle a murderous yarn.
Series: A Scottish Shire Mystery – Book #1
Author: Traci Hall
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Crafts/Exotic Location
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 268
Rating: 
The new “A Scottish Shire Mystery” series from Kensington Books, written by Traci Hall, aka. Traci Wilton is out now. Murder In A Scottish Shire will have readers traveling to the beautiful land of the brave and delving into the art of knitting.
Paislee is a character that has a past, one not as bad as she seems to think, but one she has spent the last ten years trying to fix. This character is immature. The idea that she can’t date someone until her son is off to college is not realistic. Taking her son to school late every day, irresponsible. Unfortunately, she uses her knitting shop and her son to keep from making an emotional connection to any would-be suitor.
Other characters are interesting, and hopefully, like Paislee will mature and grow. Angus, in particular, is very entertaining. He cares about his granddaughter and grandson but in a gruff way that can be detrimental. There are far too many unanswered questions in this book. One of which is Angus’ missing son. Who is Brody’s father? Will we meet Paislee’s mother? Even the fate of the knitting shop is left up in the air. This can be frustrating in any book, but cozies should never leave so many issues open-ended.
The mystery of the murder was good; if readers are paying attention, they will guess the killer’s identity reasonably soon. The evidence is there. It just takes a bit to figure out how it all applies to the motive and investigation. it seems like the knitting shop should have played a more significant role overall but it is set up for future books in a way that readers will enjoy. The book was well written and flowed smoothly. The Scottish village sounds adorable, but I could do without the attempt at creating the dialect in the written word, it makes it difficult at times to understand the conversations and slows down the pacing. Overall, Murder In A Scottish Shire was a good beginning yet left room for improvement in future volumes.
Other knitting or exotic location books readers may enjoy are Catie Murphy’s wonderful “The Dublin Driver Mysteries” or Holly Quinn’s entertaining craft series “A Handcrafted Mystery”.
About the Author:
From contemporary seaside romances to cozy mysteries, Traci Hall/ Traci Wilton 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.
Contact Traci: Traci@TraciHall.com
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