Murder at a Scottish Wedding by Traci Hall Series: A Scottish Shire Mystery #4
Published by Kensington on January 24, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Cozy / General, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / International Crime & Mystery, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths
Pages: 304
Format: eBook
Source: Amazon
USA Today bestselling author Traci Hall returns with the fourth novel in her Scottish Shire cozy mystery series set in a charming seaside town in Scotland and featuring busy single mom Paislee Shaw, owner of a specialty sweater shop, knitting enthusiast, and reluctant sleuth who must untangle another murderous yarn!
As her friend’s matron of honor, Paislee Shaw vows to solve the mystery of a missing brooch and a dying wedding guest . . . Paislee’s specialty sweater shop and yarn business Cashmere Crush, in the charming Scottish village of Nairn, is closed today for a special occasion. Her bonnie bestie Lydia is moments away from walking down the aisle of the church at Old Nairn Kirk to wed Corbin Smythe. Gramps and Paislee’s eleven-year-old son Brody are seated in the pews with the other guests—the only family not in attendance is their black Scottish terrier Wallace. As matron of honor, Paislee is at her friend’s side when Lydia lets out a frantic cry. The Luckenbooth brooch her betrothed gave her is missing. A traditional Scottish love token, the gold heirloom has been in his family for generations and not wearing it could bring bad luck—according to the superstitious Smythes. But the real misfortune falls on a distraught cousin who suddenly disrupts the ceremony and dies with the brooch in her hand. The Smythes insist it’s the curse. But Paislee must broach the subject of…murder. And was the intended victim the guest—or the bride? Only Paislee can determine who to pin the murder on . . .
My Review:
Murder At A Scottish Wedding is book four in the Scottish Shire Mystery Series. I am going to do my best to tell you about the book without giving away spoilers from the first three, but I have a feeling it might be tough. I will be sure to mark where the spoilers will be if I include any in my review. I do want to say, Reader, that if you decide this book sounds good to you, then you may want to pick up book one and start from there. Book one is called Murder In A Scottish Shire. The reason I say this is because the story sort of builds upon itself, and throughout the first three books, we are learning about a missing individual with some background/relationship information on other characters. With all that being said, let me get into this review.
Reader, to say I was excited to get back into this cozy Scottish Town is an understatement. I have loved this little village and the characters that reside within it. I really love following Paislee through her day-to-day life of owning a yarn shop and being a single mum to Brody, and I have to say, Wallace, their little dog, is everything. This little village is so cozy as well, and it always has new people coming in, with some staying and some just visiting. The story opens up on Lydia’s wedding day. She also happens to be Paislee’s best friend since childhood. Of course, the energy is chaotic, but it is shaping up to be a good day until Lydia’s brooch goes missing, the one her fiance Corbin gave her to wear on their wedding day. As if this isn’t bad enough, his stepmother believes that the brooch is cursed and their wedding is doomed before it even begins. The woman is cray cray and even had the brooch cleansed in hopes of breaking the curse. I mean, whatever, I guess. To each their own, but it does not change the fact that the brooch is missing. It was there one moment and gone the next. Did someone take it, and if so, why? It isn’t long before some answers are discovered when one of Corbin’s cousins falls down the church steps and snaps her neck; oh, did I forget to mention she was holding the brooch? Mystery solved, right? No, think again. The mystery has just begun.
Paislee is not convinced that the death of this cousin was a mere accident. She suspects there is foul play, and this is confirmed when the police show up. The cousin was murdered, but the question is, was the murder meant for Lydia and not the cousin? Lydia has asked Paislee to look into this because her wedding has been put on hold, and she wants to get to the bottom of this quickly. Lydia does not trust that the police will be quick enough, and she wants to prove that the fault is not due to the brooch or its supposed curse; someone is behind it all. But who? Paislee is no cop, but she does seem to have a way with sleuthing that tends to get her to the answer faster than the cops, so she agrees to help her friend.
Meanwhile, let us not forget about poor Grandpa Angus and his missing son Craigh. Reader this is why it would be good to start from the beginning of the series. There still has been no word from his son or even sightings of him. Craigh has been missing now for a long time and Angus is beyond worried and completely stumped on what to do to find him. You see, he is afraid that Craigh might be mixed up on the wrong side of the law, and he does not want to get him into any more trouble than he already might be a part of. That is not to say that the Investigator from the previous books has not been after Grandpa about his son. Grandpa is just too scared to say anything. Paislee does manage to get Grandpa to speak with him, though, and what he discovers is hopeful and scary all at the same time. The search for Craigh is now on for Grandpa and Paislee, and time is quickly running out.
The search for the murderer is not going well, but what is becoming abundantly clear is that Corbin’s family is a bit controlling and money-obsessed. This is not something that Lydia was expecting, and things are not going well with her relationship with Corbin or his family. Will they be able to survive this, or will it drive them apart? Things are simply not going well for Lydia, and they are only going to get worse. Lucky for her she has her best friend and parents to help see her through it all.
This story is full of mystery, secrets, suspicion, adventure, friendship, sweet moments, and coziness. Reader, if you want to get sucked into a world that just feels like you are coming back home, then maybe give this series a go. I have very much enjoyed each book in the series so far, and I still have another to go before Traci Hall releases a new one this September. If you decide to pick this series up please let me know because I am eager to hear your thoughts on it. Until Next Time, Reader, Happy Reading.
Trigger Warnings:
- Explosion
- Being Held Hostage
- Kidnapping
- Break Ups
- Stalking
- Car Accident
- Exclusion (being made to feel like an outcast)
- Suicide