Cute, cozy mystery. Ally is in her 60s, opens up a B&B, discovers an America guest has been killed and sets out to help find the murderer. A lot of characters who could be suspects, felt like the reveal was good and made sense, cute interactions throughout.

There really wasn’t much growth in any character, and a little conflict point near the end (someone finding out that Ally was listing out suspects) didn’t feel needed or even resolved well, didn’t find myself dying to know what happened, but overall enjoyed this read.

It was a cosy read, but nothing extraordinary.
The book dives in the story (murder) right away, on the first chapter. The setting of the story is cute - a bed & breakfast in an old malthouse, near a remote village in the Scottish Highlands (with a bonus : a ghost story - that unfortunatly isn’t used in the story at all).
The writing was sometimes a bit too oldschool for me (page 51 : « was there a Mrs Rigby to ensure he had breakfast before he ventured out to do his sleuthing each day » … is Detective Rigby a little baby that needs a woman to feed him ???) and a bit cliché (The American = entitled and rude man that wants to turn the village into a theme park).
The middle of the book is quite slow as nothing new is happening regarding the murder investigation.
Also, and that’s the animal rights activist in me speaking but … when Ally wanted to get a dog, why not go to a shelter instead of a kennel ? Why did she specifically want a pure bread Labrador puppy ? I mean, if she wanted protection, why a puppy then ?
Finally, the murderer’s identity was pretty easy to guess.
Despite everything, I overall enjoyed reading it.

Majestic mountain views, whisky by the fire and… a murder to solve? Join Ally McKinley at her cosy little guesthouse in the Scottish Highlands as she tackles her first puzzling case! Lots of action, suspense, drama with plenty of twists and turns! Wow I did not expect this book to be like it was! I highly recommend reading this one! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

"Majestic mountain views, whisky by the fire and… a murder to solve? Join Ally McKinley at her cosy little guesthouse in the Scottish Highlands as she tackles her first puzzling case!"

This is the perfect book to read on rainy or snowy day while curled up under a blanket. It was a great cozy mystery that I read in one sitting. I loved the the setting was a bed and breakfast in Scotland. She did an amazing job of setting up the world presented in this book. I loved the characters that where introduced including all the side characters. The mystery aspect was interesting and fun. I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC for an honest review.

Ally is a sixty-something woman who used to be a researcher for television programs who is now looking for a new adventure my turning an old malthouse into a bed and breakfast. Her first customer, an American man claiming to be the true heir to the earldom of Locharron, turns up dead and Ally finds herself in the middle of it. Can she trust to the police to find who murdered her guest? Or will she have to put on her detective hat and find out for herself?

Today was a rainy day, and I finished this cozy book in one sitting! I loved all the side characters in the book and Ally. It made me think how quaint it would be to own a B&B set in the Scottish countryside (minus the murder and possible ghost, ha!). I’m interested to read more books about Ally and Locharron and would love to find out more about the mysterious B&B.

It was pretty easy to figure out who was behind the murder(s) but it was still a fun read! 3.5 stars, rounding it up to 4.

A cosy murder mystery set in the Scottish Highlands. This book made me feel as though I was in a gorgeous village with interesting older characters investigating a murder. An easy read, somewhat predictable but still enjoyable. Reminded me of Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.

3.5/5

This is a fun, light cozy mystery that kept me entertained.
Ally is living her dream in the tiny village of Locharran, where she lovingly restored an old Scottish malthouse into a unique bed and breakfast.
An untimely death sends her plans into a downward spiral, and now Ally must investigate to save her dream.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.