Murder at a Scottish Social (A Scottish Shire Mystery)

It’s hard to believe that each book in the series continues to get better. When I start reading a Scotland Shire Mystery, I have a difficult time putting it down. I look forward to the next to be released book in this series.

The third in a cozy series, Paislee Shaw, owner of a sweater shop, investigates the death of a mom in a very competitive clique. This is the first I’ve read in the series but you can easily understand it without reading the others.

It is a solid cozy with the expected elements. The main recurring characters are fun and engaging. But what really colored my enjoyment of the book was just how nasty these moms were. They reminded me of the bullies from high school. Because of that I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I could have. It wasn’t a good fit with me. There was nothing wrong with the story I just really didn’t like the murder victim and the possible suspects.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest opinion.

Mom loves a great gift for all scottie lovers.

There is something special about this cozy mystery serie that I really enjoy. I love the setting, and the town, and the yarn shop, but I especially love Paislee and all the different relationships and friendships she nutures. I also find it refreshing that the author doesn't find it necessary to set Paislee up in a romantic relationship, showing that women can be happy and complete and not involved with someone romantically.

I enjoyed this recent visit to Nairn more than the last one (which I also liked) because I felt that it flowed better. There were still some slower areas within the story where it did drag a little in the middle but overall the story was interesting and the mystery kept me guessing. I was not a fan of the women highlighted here but you weren't supposed to be. I did like how much more her grandfather was in this story and how they were co-parenting her son. I will definitely continue with this series.

Paislee Shaw wants to give back. She has made a home for herself in Nairn, Scotland, with her son Brody and her grandfather. She has a knitting shop named Cashmere Crush, where she makes a living for herself and her family by selling items she’s knitted and local wool and cashmere yarns.

And when she was asked to be a part of the Nairn Food Bank Fund-Raiser at the newly reopened Social Club and Art Centre, Paislee jumped at the chance. She donated a beautiful cashmere sweater set to the auction, but she also set up several other knitted pieces to sell to those who are coming through the center, donating a portion of her sales to the food bank as well.

She’s sharing a table with her friend Blaise O’Conner, who had recently moved to Nairn. Her husband Shep is a golf pro, and their daughter is going to Highland Academy. Blaise is selling some of her homemade biscuits, which she plans to enter into the cookie competition. But winning will be difficult. Every year at the cookie competition, Kristen Buchanan always wins.

Kristen is the queen bee at Highland Academy. Her husband is also a golfer, so between that and the school, she and Blaise run in the same social circles. And Kristen and her two best friends, Mari and Christina, are like the mean girls in middle school. Blaise is trying to make friends with them, but since she’s not interested in playing the games (and her husband is more successful than Kristen’s), Blaise is having trouble getting close to anyone. But she likes Paislee and Paislee’s best friend Lydia, so she does have some allies in the town.

When it’s time for the competition, Kristen’s chef Fergus brings out the plates of cookies to the judges. Kristen looks at the shortbread cookies that she made and say that they don’t look quite right. She tries it and decides that it tastes okay. But then, a moment later, she starts choking. Immediately, people jump into action. Paislee tries to do CPR and Kristen’s friends try to find her EpiPen, in case she’s having an allergic reaction, but the EpiPen can’t be found. When the paramedics get to the scene, they try to do what they can to stop her allergic reaction, but it’s too late.

The police show up and start questioning everyone, trying to figure out what happened. Eventually they find out that someone had put ground up peanuts in the topping that was on Kirsten’s cookie, and with her EpiPen missing, her nut allergy acted fast to close her airway. Clearly, her death was intentional. And when one of Kristen’s friends find the missing EpiPen near Blaise’s table, suspicion falls on her.

Paislee doesn’t believe that Blaise had anything to do with Kristen’s death, but she has no evidence. So she and Lydia and Blaise try to get to the truth. There are a lot of loose ends. Kristen’s chef Fergus went missing after the event, and the women find out that he had just been fired that morning. An expensive gaming laptop had been stolen from the fund-raising auction. And when Kristen’s husband finds out that she’d had an affiar with Anders, the fund-raising chair, he showed up at the second day of the fund-raiser and kit Anders in the face.

There was no shortage of drama about the fundraiser, but Paislee has drama at home to distract her also. Her son has been getting into trouble at school and fighting with his best friend. Her grandfather is helping Paislee out with the shop and at home, but she worries that she’s putting too much on him. It’s the tourist season, so things are busy at her store. And then there are her conflicting feelings about the handsome Detective Inspector Zeffer.

But with all that going on, will Paislee and her friends be able to figure out who killed Kristen before they are targeted by the killer themselves?

Murder at a Scottish Social is the third book in Traci Hall’s Scottish Shire Mysteries. Following the adventures of knitter, yarn shop proprietor, and single mom Paislee, these mysteries feature the charming Scottish setting, warm friendships, and a strong sense of family.

I wanted to love this book. I am a big nerd for all things Scottish, and I love a well written cozy mystery. While I have never been coordinated enough to knit, I do enjoy crocheting (until my cat attacks the yarn), so I was really looking forward to this book. And it’s good. But there were moments when the heavy Scottish dialect used in the dialogue of every character weighed the story down some. And while I liked the storyline with her son and her grandfather, there were times that those scenes slowed down the momentum of solving the mystery. But I liked these characters a lot, and I thought the setting of Nairn was completely charming. I enjoyed my time there, and I look forward to going back again and spending more time with these characters.

Egalleys for Murder at a Scottish Social were provided by Kensington Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This is the third book in the Scottish Shire Mystery series. An excellent addition. Series gets better and better. Love Paislee Shaw who runs a sweater and yarn shop. The story flows along with red herrings that keep you guessing. Well done Traci Hall!
#TraciHall
#MurderataScottishSocial

This is book 3 in the Scottish Shire Mysteries. What makes this cozy series unique is that it takes place in the quaint and charming town of Nairn, Scotland. I love being transported to a different country through the descriptions and dialect of the characters!

I really enjoy the various relationships amongst the characters. My fav is between Paislee and her son. It's refreshing to see a realistic version of a mom/single parent in a cozy. I enjoyed the side story of seeing Brody work through some issues and struggles he is having at school and amongst friends. Grandpa cracks me up. He is the perfect definition of a curmudgeon and his snarky comments just make me smile. However, at the end of the day, he helps Paislee out quite a bit around her shop and at home.

The mystery part of this story was a perfect mix of Mean Girls meets Desperate Housewives. It takes place at a fundraiser where the victim and suspects are a group of cliquey women with enough drama to make you second guess all of your main suspect predictions along the way. I was pointing the finger at all of them at some point throughout the book.

I'm not sure if the author is pushing for a love triangle. If so, I'm on team DI Zeffer. I'm just not feeling any chemistry between Paislee and the headmaster. Since the start of the series, there has also been a second mystery going on regarding the disappearance of grandpa's son, Craigh. I keep hoping this storyline will become an entire book because I'm definitely intrigued by it. So far, we just collect very brief clues that cause quite a bit of speculation.

TW: Includes a character that is bulimic.

Murder at a Scottish Social is the third book in this cozy mystery series by Traci Hall. I have read and enjoyed all the books in this series. I love the setting of a small town in Nairn, Scotland. Paislee Shaw Is a single mom who runs the Cashmere Crush shop with the help of her grandpa. Her new friend Blaise asks for her help with the Nairn food bank so Paislee donates a hand made cashmere sweater to be auctioned off. At the fundraiser she meets Nasty Queen Bee Kristin Buchanan and her clique of mean girls. Kristin eats one of her own cookies at the fundraiser and dies from an acute peanut allergy. Kristins friends are quick to point the finger at Blaise so Paislee puts her investigative skills to work to try and clear her name and find the real killer. I look forward to the next book in this wonderful series.

Murder at a Scottish Social was an enjoyable read. I did find the story slow going with a lot of emphasis on the pettiness of the four woman who made people's lives miserable. The main character is Paislee Shaw who owns the knitting shop, Cashmere Crush, She lives in Nairn, Scotland with her son and grandfather. She and her best friend, Lydia Barron who works for a Real Estate company have been invited by their new friend, Blaise O'Connor to share a vending table to sell their wares at the Social Club and Art Center for the Nairn Food Bank Fund-raiser. The supporting characters are each individuals who add to the story. Kirsten Buchanan who is allergic to peanuts is murdered by eating her shortbreads at the fundraiser dinner. Paislee decides to try to find out who murdered Kirsten as well as Hendrie, the Buchanan's chauffeur is also murdered. The story takes the reader on an adventure of who did it. There is a hint of romance for Paislee with Mark Zeffer, a Detective Inspector and Hamish McCall the principal at a private school. There is also the mystery of the whereabouts of her father who seems to have disappeared.

I did enjoy reading the story with the Scottish brogue.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corporation for this ARC.