I could not get into this book at all. I felt the material was very dry and it took along time for the story to get moving. I normally like British cozy mysteries but this one just wasn’t my cup of tea.

It's a good start for a new cozy series: I liked the fascinating setting, the quirky and rounded characters and the entertaining storyline.
The mystery is solid and it's an engrossing and fun to read book.
Look forward to the next instalment.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The description and setting for this new mystery gave me high hopes for this book. It didn’t live up to my hopes.
Scotland is a lovely setting for the story. The knitting shop sounds lovely. A single mom with a boy and a dog has promise. A bunch of obstacles - an eviction notice, the unexpected arrival of a grandfather she doesn’t know, trouble with her son’s headmaster and the death of a former employee - all seem a great set up for a new cozy mystery.
Paislee is a fun name for a main character. I wanted to like Paislee, she had overcome so much. However, the way Paislee got distracted from the important things in her life - the knitting store that provided her livelihood and her son - bothered me. I really didn’t get her obsession with finding Isla’s killer when she needed to be focused on making sure her own life didn’t fall apart.
Since cozy mysteries are character driven, this trouble with Paislee putting her own life in danger for someone who just wasn’t a very nice soul means I wouldn’t rate this book higher than 3 stars.
I would likely give a second book a try and to see if Paislee can grow on me.

I love Scotland. I'm familiar with the book's setting of Nairn. I love to knit. I certainly love mysteries. Traci Hall's Murder in a Scottish Shire was a no-brainer for me to pick up, and I'm delighted to admit that I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed this cozy mystery.

Hall is better known for her romance novels, which is one genre that I avoid like the plague. She's set up her main character with a couple of romantic prospects, but so far Paislee is standing firm: Brody is her primary concern until he's old enough to be on his own. With the possibility of a romantic triangle reminiscent of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, this is a situation I will be monitoring closely, but in the mean time, I went along for the ride and enjoyed every minute of the story.

With characters like Paislee, young Brody, cantankerous Grandpa Angus, and best friend Lydia, Hall's strong, well-paced mystery unfolds smoothly, and a few unknotted threads at the end certainly make me anticipate the next book. Can the author avoid diving headlong into a sea of romance? I enjoyed Murder in a Scottish Shire so much that I certainly intend to find out.

When a book looks appealing enough as a start of a brand new series, in a whole new city When a book looks appealing enough as a start of a brand new series, in a whole new city with an attractive setting, I usually end up choosing to read it. This time I visited Scotland. It took me a chapter or two to understand the pronunciations, since I am not very familiar with the nuances of Scottish English. I watched a random video or two to get the ‘feel’ for the words and then got more preoccupied about the story.

The leading lady in this is Paislee Shaw and to give some credit to the statement made by the more unsavoury characters we meet, she is a goody two-shoes. She wants the best for everyone around her and associated to her, feels bad about losing her temper or even doing The leading lady in this is Paislee Shaw and to give some credit to the statement made by the more unsavoury characters we meet: She is a goody-two-shoes. She wants the best for everyone around her and associated with her, feels bad about losing her temper or even doing something that puts her son in a mildly bad light. Despite all this, you cannot help but like her. She sticks to her ideals even at the harshest of times, and this adventure actually shakes her understanding of people she considers her friends. She has unexpected events happen, which sets the stage for the rest of the misadventure. Paislee inserts herself into the investigation, thinking she is the only one who cared for the victim, a fact which turns out to be entirely accurate. We are also provided with multiple contenders for the love interests, and the mild overtures that they make are quite endearing, and it isn’t easy to decide who I will be championing. There are even two threads of unknowns thrown in to lay the ground for the next books (I assume), which did the job of making me curious. I will definitely be following this series if I can. The mystery itself kept winding into new territories, making it harder to guess the culprit but once last few chapters come around it was not hard to get to the villain of the piece before Paislee does!

I will leave a review on Amazon or B&N on June 30. 2020

Murder in a Scottish Shire is the first book in a new series. I fell in love with the setting of this book, and most all of the characters. I found this to be a delightful story, and look forward to reading more books in the series. If I could give half stars this book would be a 4.5 rating.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Kensington, and this is my fair and honest review.

Paislee Shaw, her son Brody and their cute dog Wallace lived in Nairn, Scotland. Paislee was her own boss and owned the store - Cashmere Crush. Her grandmother would have died, leaving the house to Paislee. Her grandfather turns up suddenly at her doorstep one day and she takes him in. Life is looking a little more brighter with her grandfather around, until one day Isla, who is supposed to help her is dead. Is it a suicide or a murder?
Then starts Paislee's adventure to find out what happens to Isla. Detective Inspector Zeffer is assigned to this case and she needs to know what happened to Isla.
She starts raking up the case and snoops around digging more information. As she digs, she is able get particulars and the dots begin to connect. Until one day, somebody wants her out.

- Who is behind Isla's murder?
- What happens to her Boy Friend and her Best Friend?
- What is it about Isla that Paislee has no clue about?
- Does the town have a reason to eliminate Isla?
- Who is trying to hurt Paislee?

Rating - 4/5 Stars
Recommendation - Moderately High

Conclusion,
From running her store Cashmere Crush to running behind a murder case, this book revolves around protagonist Pasilee's life. For a thriller addict like me, this was a very different yet blistering read. I didn't have nail biting moments, but I just couldn't put this book down. An absolute page turner, I thoroughly enjoyed this read right from the beginning. An astoundingly cozy mystery that beguiled me throughout.

Trigger Warnings – Nil

A very nice start to a new series! Paislee's a single mom who is struggling to keep her grandmother's knitting shop afloat and raising her son (and his dog). The last thing she expected was to have her homeless grandfather delivered to her door. Wait- that's not the last thing! The last thing is to find her friend and employee Isla dead. Was it suicide? Nope. Paislee seems to be the only one who liked Isla. Detective Mack Zeffer has the case and he's a little annoyed at Paislee for investigating on her own (of course). I loved the setting for this- Nairn, a small village in Scotland, as well as the characters. Paislee's young but intrepid (and she loves the yarn). There's some romance possible with Mack but also with someone else (no spoilers) although she's very focused on family and work. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Murder In A Scottish Shire is the first book in the A Scottish Shire Mystery series.

Paislee Shaw is a 28-year-old mom with a ten-year-old son and an adorable Scottie pup. They have a fairly comfortable life, but that is about to change. Paislee owns the Cashmere Crush, a yarn shop, where she carries fine Scottish yarns and specialty sweaters, and provides a space for local knitters to knit and converse.

As she arrives one morning and is getting ready to open for the day, there’s a knock on the door. When she answers it is Det. Mack Zeffer and he has an elderly gentleman with him. The gentleman turns out to be her estranged grandfather who is homeless and has been sleeping in the park and Paislee is asked to take him in. Shortly, thereafter, Paislee’s landlord and delivers a notice telling her the building has been sold and she has thirty days to vacate the shop. Having had her morning disrupted, Paislee has forgotten that she was to be meeting with Isla, a former employee, about possibly working some part-time hours at the shop. When Isla doesn’t show up for her interview, Paislee tries phoning her, but the calls go directly to voicemail. Paislee decides to drop by Isla’s flat to make sure she is all right. When she arrives she finds the front door ajar and calls out and enters, where she finds Isla on the floor dead. Det. Zeffer arrives to investigate and is ready to call it suicide when he finds an empty vial of heart medicine. Paislee saw a couple of things in the flat which convinced her that Isla hadn’t committed suicide, but had been murdered. Paislee now sets out to find out who might have murdered Isla.

The book is well-written and is a very interesting story. It has a wonderful cast of believable characters. I would like to see more back story of the characters and am interested in seeing how Paislee will deal with Brody’s headmaster and Det. Zeffer. There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

If you've already decided to read this book you already know what you're getting - your basic cozy mystery. This book isn't doing anything particularly different but it is interesting and a fun read. My first concern was that reading the Scottish accent can be tough and distracting for me usually but I had no problems with this book. Secondly, the yarn shop setting was very appealing to me. If you are a fan of the Maggie Sefton knitting series, this book is perfect for you. The story goes at a good pace and the child character isn't super annoying. I'd read more in the series.

Murder in a Scottish Shire is the first in a new series by Traci Hall.

One of Paislee Shaw's former employees, Isla, has been killed, but no one really seems to miss Isla except for Paislee herself.

The book takes place in Nairn, Scotland, in a beautiful, picturesque setting. It had me Googling real life images of Nairn to complement the scenes set by the author.

I love that Paislee owns Cashmere Crush, a sweater and yarn shop - I can just imagine the beautiful Fisherman Cable Knit sweaters and soft yarns on display in her shop.

I liked all of the main characters - single mom Paislee and her 10 year old son Brody, Grandpa Angus (who grows on you throughout the book), Detective Inspector Zeffer, and (surprisingly) Headmaster McCall.

Sometimes reading the Scottish accent can be a bit much throughout the whole book - too many dinnae kens, cannaes, and taes.

Overall, it was a fun first book with a twist on the killer that I did not guess.
I like how all the storylines were not wrapped up and will continue in another book - such as what she is going to do with her shop and what happened with Craigh.

For fans of Carlene O'Connor's Irish Village mysteries.

I look forward to reading the next one.

I received this book as an advanced copy from the publisher through NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

This is my first introduction to Cozy Mysteries....well thanks Traci Hall. I am hooked! I love the setting in a small Scottish town and the characters are wonderful. Paislee is the main character, a single mom with a 10 year old. Struggling to make ends meet, be a good mom and run her yarn shop, but everything seems to be against her.....and she finds her ex employee dead. Things go downhill fast after that discovery. Murder? Attempted murder? Long lost family......and the lists goes on. Great twist, never saw it coming. You will love this book. I hope there will be more to follow.

First in a new series and off to a great start, although it was a little challenging for this Yank tae be understanding it at first. I am happy to say that nothing was lost in translation and I managed to not speak with an accent even though I was starting to think with one. Nice plot and an excellent and strong leading lady with a most unusual name; Paislee. This story has all the right plot points to be a perfect cozy, the inquisitive lass, a supportive albeit small family which includes a Scottish terrier, the enigmatic Detective Inspector who is easy on the eyes, a flock of friends, her own specialty yarn and knitting business as she is quite the entrepreneur, and a stern headmaster who might just have a heart of gold to go with those good looks. As with all good cozys, our lass Paislee is or was close to the victim so of course she feels the need to for Isla to be at peace because even though no one has anything good to say about Isla, Paislee believes that no one deserves to be murdered. There was a nice amount of twists and turns and of course you are left guessing as to how the romance side of things will go and there is the mystery of her Grandpa’s missing son. I can see all sorts of wonderful follow up stories taking place in the small town or shire of Nairn, Scotland where you can drink Brodie Scottish-blend teas and raspberry scones.

A fun and refreshing cozy mystery that avoids the formulaic traps so often found in the genre. The characters are well-rounded and sympathetic, the craft content is accurate, and the mystery keeps readers guessing until the end (this reader, anyway). My only complaint is the dialect. It feels forced and is inconsistent in places. It distracts more than it adds. Nonetheless, this is a very promising start to new series. I look forward to reading book #2.

Paislee Shaw is a twenty-eight-year-old single mum with a ten-year-old son, Brody. She owns her own business and lives in the home that was left to her by her grandmother. Her life might not be completely wonderful, but she's doing the best she can.

That is, at least, unless the new detective inspector in town shows up with her estranged grandfather, Angus Shaw, in tow. Telling her that he has nowhere else to go, she reluctantly takes him in. Then she receives a letter from her landlord giving her thirty days to move since he's sold the building. With her business on the line and a new presence in her life, Paislee thinks things can't get worse. Until she goes to see an ex-employee she's decided to hire back, and finds the young woman dead on the floor of her flat. Now Paislee's sure that Isla was murdered, and is determined to find the killer...even if it puts her in danger of being the next victim...

This is the first book in a new series, and it takes place in Scotland. It took a bit to get used to the speech, but after that I fell right into it, and found myself speaking in a Scottish accent in my head (others probably will, too). While the author definitely got the workings of a small town right, I would have loved to have descriptions of the surrounding areas, but perhaps in the next book.

So let's get the things that bothered me out of the way, and then on to the good of the book. After Paislee discovers the type of person that Isla was, she has a conversation with DI Zeffer and tells him that Isla was her protege and that she "discovered her." Paislee is not a world-class knitter known for her sweaters and making exorbitant amounts of money from them, so how was Isla her protege when the girl couldn't even knit? And how did she 'discover' her? All Isla really learned to do was blackmail people, and Paislee wasn't a blackmailer. So perhaps a bad choice of statement on her part. Ah, well...Then, Paislee goes from one suspect to the next accusing them (to her friend Lydia) of being the murderer, until it's ruled out that they can't be. I would like to see in the next book that she puts more thought into this and doesn't go around accusing everyone in sight. (Although since she's new to sleuthing, it all makes sense, so I would never think of dinging the author for this).

Aside from this, I did think that this is a very good start to a new series. I do like Angus the best, since he speaks his mind, even if there are subjects that are taboo between himself and Paislee. He's lived a long life, and he's set in his ways, but it does seem that there's affection from him toward her, and that goes a long way. Brody is an intelligent kid, who acts like any ten-year-old (being the mother of boys, I can attest to this); and his interactions with Paislee are spot-on. I also like the possible love interest, and the fact it wasn't just thrown into the series immediately. Paislee seems to be the type of person who lives her life carefully, and it wouldn't have made sense.

I like the fact that we get to see Paislee, who might not be the most animated of people; but for the life she lives - which is to earn an honest living and raise her son the best she can. Then her life is disrupted both at home and at work,and she's trying to cope with it. While I felt there were a few questions I would have liked answered, I am hopeful that this will be so in the next installment.

The mystery was solid, with few clues leading to the murderer until the end, when we figure it out just before Paislee does. I do like the fact that she didn't knowingly put herself in the arms of a killer, and was just as well able to figure out how to keep herself alive without help. At the end, everything about the murder was tied up nicely with the reasons why, and that is what you look forward to in a decent mystery. Recommended.

This one didn't quite work from me, but I think a lot of people will like it. Paislee Shaw owns a sweater shop in a cozy little Scottish town. When one of her former employees ends up dead, she takes it upon herself to try to find the killer - except, she has a lot of her own life to work through and deal with.

The murder takes a bit of a backset here. Paislee is dealing with issues at her son's school, learning that she's being evicted from her shop and trying to help her long lost grandfather when he is brought to her shop by police. This could be a symptom of too much conflict and not enough time to work through everything.

The writer did include authentic Scottish dialect which can be distracting at first, but the reader should acclimate to it fairly quickly. It does add a touch of coziness and charm to the story.

Thank you Kensington Books for sending me a digital ARC of this book!

This was a very, very, good first book in a new series. I have had some real duds as of late and I was very nervous to start this. And then I did and I didn't want to put it down. THAT is a good thing.

Set in a small town in Scotland, Paislee Shaw is a really good MC. Flawed and very human, she is easily relatable to and the idea of pulling yourself up from a bad situation and making something of yourself really shines here. She is the owner of Cashmere Crush, a yarn and custom made sweater shop and is doing well. Her son Brady [who is kind of obnoxious, even for a 10 year old boy and needs a touch more discipline IMO, but I digress] is healthy and they are doing okay. Until the day that her son is in trouble for being late AGAIN for school, the police show up at her door with her long-lost grandfather AND she finds the dead body of her assistant. And so starts the story that takes many twists and turns and JUST when you think you know what is going on, WHAM! it all is revealed and you just sit and go "WHAT? I NEVER saw THAT coming".
There IS the potential of a love triangle here, and I am now BEGGING THE AUTHOR - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not do it. PLEASE. We do not need a love triangle. E V E R. Just pick one for Paislee and lets move on. Because this series is going to be too good to have to give up for something as stupid as a love triangle.

This was a good read and made me happy. Its been a long time since I have liked a new cozy author and this was just such a pleasant surprise.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Murder in a Scottish Shire, the first in The Scottish Shire Mystery series. This cozy has all the elements that I love in a great mystery: twists, turns, red herrings, family angst, an intriguing inspector, a yarn store, and of course, a hint of a budding romance. Paisley Shaw has her hands full enough with the surprise arrival of her curmudgeonly grandfather and ten year old son when she finds herself drawn to uncover what happened to her one time friend and employee. The solution was not easy to tease out and kept me reading to the very last page! There is so much that I’m looking forward to in the next Scottish Shire Mystery. This is a perfect read for fans of cozy mystery and yarn arts.

Paislee Shaw is raising her young son in the cottage her grandmother left her.Paying her bills by running a yarn shop, she gets by, but isn't rolling in dough.Always on the run between the shop and taking care of her son Brody.
She plans on adding a former employee back on her payroll to free up some of her time.
Adding to her stress, the police appear in her shop with an elderly man, who'd they had caught sleeping on a park bench, her own grandfather, adding another dependent to the mix.
When the employee, Isla, didn't show as expected, she goes to the address given, only to find her dead on the floor. She just can't let it go, having had an empathetic relationship with Isla.
She doesn't feel the new D.I. in charge is doing enough to catch the killer, so with the help of her grandfather and a few friends, she snoops around....nearly getting killed. D.I. Zeffer does take her feelings seriously, but there is no proof to back them up.
She puts forth several possibilities as to the killer, none provable.
She accidentally finds out who did do it and is almost killed. The D.I. Arrives in the nick of time.
Ms.Hall brings a widely varied cast of Scottish characters to life with humor and detail.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC to peruse and offer my opinion freely.

I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters and the way they interacted. It's a little hard to understand parts of it, as it's written with scottish words. I was sorry to see who the killer was, I felt sorry for the character although I didn't have an idea. The reveal was exciting. #MurderinaScottishShire #NetGalley