This easy read was a joy.

It has murder, mystery and a posh hotel where everyone and anyone could be a suspect.

I loved how the story unfolded and while its not a pacy read I enjoyed the slow plod of the guessing game.

It is a little Agatha Christie which is always a good thing, and the setting of the 1930's with all the glamour and culture this is, for me, a recommended read..

The novel takes place at Loch Down Abbey, a former stately home turned hotel, and the mystery and murder at the centre involves the guests and staff who are at the hotel - including the Inverkillen family who used to live at the estate.

While the central mystery to this story was good, I found the pacing of the reveals to be a bit disjointed. I also didn't particularly enjoy the narrative structure, and could find myself confused at times when moving from character perspectives quite suddenly especially as there was a lot of characters to keep track of.

Overall this was an ok read, and one I'd recommend to someone looking for a quick paced historical crime with a Scottish backdrop. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this novel, in exchange for an honest review.

My review of the first book starts "What a little ray of sunshine this book is.", so you can imagine I rushed to this one.
It has a murder, and quite a bit of guessing from me as to the who did it and why. Everyone and anyone could have.
Murder aside, the highlight of the book is truly the family and the way their lives are tangled, and how the treat each other and those around them.
I don't need a crime to make me come back for them, I'm coming back anyway.
Incredibly good fun.

Set in 1930's Scotland ,this is a fun cosy murder story .Lots of colourful characters ,Mrs McBain and the local Bobby try to investigate the murder of one of the guests of her Hotel and why .Such a good mystery with a few twists and turns .A mist enjoyable book .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

1930's the aristocratic and the servants run what's now a Horel so they're comedy as week as murder.

The morning after the 1st Ball they've organised a body is found. Bit of a downer after a great night for all (well most) I really enjoyed this read a disfunction familyfrom the aristocracy that could make fit a great TV series not a Downton Abbey but a lot of fun. There are some great characters that some you'll love and some you'll hate several extras to watch for and a fantastic storyline with several avenues running from it.

This is a wonderful read and a great whodunit with all the intriguing clues and read herrings the hapless Detective Jarvis and the hotel manager (that's what we call them nowadays or a different fancy title) getting to grips with the case..

So I highly recommend this as a great read if your looking for a murder mystery a bit of humour and an escape from life as an books should be.

The Abbey is not what it sounds like but is an estate which belonged to an aristocratic family who hit hard times financially. It is now a hotel run by one of their former staff having been sold at auction. The family however have decided to hold a ball in the hotel bringing back memories of how these were planned in earlier days. The family gather for this event. What is clear is that they may have lost their estate but they have not lost their feelings of superiority. Half of the book is finished before we get one of the murders promised in the title. Then these are pursued by one policeman and the manager of the hotel. There are so many people involved from the aristocratic family that you would need a list of their names and relationships. The characters who are murdered chafe not had a sufficient role in the story to make much impact. I did not find this a compelling read.

Loch Down Abbey is doing rather well as a hotel, under the management of Mrs MacBain.

They're throwing a Highland Ball.

The only trouble is that a good many memebers of the Inverkillens, the former residents, are turning up uninvited.

Can Mrs MacBain find enough rooms for everyone, and stop the bickering?

But that proves to be the least of her worries.

One of the guests is found dead after the ball. In the library. With the door locked from the inside...

Just brilliant

Scotland, 1930s, family-dynamics, cosy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, secrets, situational-humor, sly-humor, historical-fiction, historical-research, rural, hotelier, hotel, servants, local-law-enforcement, investigation, housekeeper, closed-circle-mystery, murder****

A little longer than it needs to be, but a fine mystery to escape into. Meet a sizeable cast of laughable characters with or without any sense. Then there are the horde of unruly children, secret passages, Mrs. MacBain the intrepid housekeeper, and the spoof of the local constabulary!
Another example of great fun with some obvious and some very sneaky spoofs. A most enjoyable read!
I requested and received a free temporary ebook/PDF copy without TTS from Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley.
Avail Feb 13, 2025 #OnlyMurdersInTheAbbey by Beth Cowan-Erskine #LochDownAbbeyBk2 #NetGalley #HodderFiction #HodderBooks #CozyMystery #HistoricalFun