Hayley and her newish husband Nathan travel to Scotland for what they are calling their honeymoon, but since they are joining his sister and her husband and bringing family friend Miss Gloria and Nathan's mother with them, it's really less a romantic trip and more of a family reunion. The story starts with trip preparations getting sidetracked by another family friend, Ray, arrested for brandishing and shooting a gun in public. This insertion of this side story was very confusing to me; why did the author do it? The story would have moved happily along without it; it's an unnecessary and, to the reader, unwelcome intrusion and distraction. It also means that we get musings on whether policeman Nathan will bring his gun with him to Scotland (only if he gets a Visitor Firearm Permit from Scotland and only if he can get it through the TSA screening process here in the US). Nathan's sister Vera is working on a book with some college friends, and relations between them have become strained with the passage of time and the stress of the book project. Vera takes the group off on tour of some of Scotland's sacred places that will be included in the book, but even before they leave, someone falls ill to poison, and accidents and murders stalk the tourists. I have to say, this book, too, employed a plot device that's crucial to getting our nosy amateur detective further along the investigative process but which is such an unbelievable stretch that it annoys the reader. In this case, Hayley, a food critic, tracks down the bereaved family of the murder victim within days of his demise and invites herself, a complete stranger who witnessed his death, into their house to ask them questions. The author has the heartbroken family not only talk to her, but welcome her and confide in her. What? I've lost people I've loved so very dearly, and if a complete stranger had tried to push her way into my grief with these kinds of questions and under the silly pretext of getting my award-winning scone recipe (hey, has Ms. Burdette been watching Father Brown on PBS?), I'd have had less than kind words and shown her the door. Hayley confessed to feeling "a little sick about pushing my way into their grief." She should have felt a lot sick, since she follows that statement with a thoughtless description of seeing the woman's son dead on the ground, and my already razor-thin interest in her as a character morphed into disgust. And yet she has the nerve to feel "slightly" ambushed herself when her mother-in-law tries to find out what she was doing all afternoon; imagine how that mother felt, Hayley. Pot, meet kettle, thine own self. I'm not a fan of paranormal stories, and while the repeated episodes Miss Gloria has in various historic locales might appeal to fans of Outlander, they didn't appeal to me. The abduction of Vera as a teenager swirls around the edges of this story, coloring her relationships with most people. I found it hard to believe that there was little post-traumatic therapy for Vera and her family, that she herself is still not in therapy, which was just another element that didn't seem to make this story more realistic. The author avoided directly stating whether she had been raped or not, although the implication is there. That makes the lack of psychological help and therapy even more distracting. The author seems to have wanted to write a cosy, and has blended several subgenres--cooking (Hayley is a food critic), paranormal, with a dash of psychological thriller with Vera's subplot--all of which is just too much. There's too much going on, and the reader's attention is pulled in too many directions for this to be a satisfying read. Living on a houseboat in Key West would normally pique my interest, but I won't revisit this series and give this entry a C (mostly for the discussion of Scottish food and some settings).

Lucy Burdette has done it again. A Scone of Contention is a winner!

In this story, Keywest Zest Food Critic Haley Snow and her husband Nathan are heading to Scotland for their honeymoon. However, they are not alone on their honeymoon. No, his mother, sister and brother-in-law decide they too want to go to Scotland. Oh, and you can't forget Miss Gloria.

If things couldn't get worse there is a body and Miss Gloria seems to be on the suspect list. Haley's job now is the clear her name before she is framed for murder and before she can even enjoy her honeymoon.

Very well written with loveable characters A Great Read!!.

11th book in this series

Key West food critic Haley Snow and her new husband Nathan thought Scotland would be wonderful for their honeymoon. That’s before they learned that they would be spending their honeymoon with his mother, sister and brother-in-law. Worse the trip takes a turn when a man falls to his death from the famous Falkirk Wheel.

No-one in Vera’s party claims to know the victim Joseph Booth but Harley suspects otherwise.
She has to add Gloria her mother in-laws friend to the suspect list who claimed she was poisoned by the salad course the night before.
Though the next day she was well enough to join the boat ride.

To clear miss Gloria, Haley visits the deadman’s home in search of clues while enjoying Booth’s mother’s cinnamon scones. What she finds troubles her because the killer could be someone close to her heart.

Can Haley find the killer before he gets away Scot-free..


I loved this book and can’t wait for the next book in the series.

First of all the description for this book in Goodreads seems to be slightly off... Hayley's mother-in-law isn't crotchety nor a friend of hers, Miss Gloria is Hayley's friend and neighbor and wasn't the one who was "poisoned" during a dinner party. This description can be misleading and confusing to the reader.

With that said, I liked this story... the setting, the plot, the mystery surrounding the "thin" places in Scotland and the idea to compile a book emphasizing these areas. Also, anything Scotland is right up my alley. I love Ms. Gloria, she's feisty and sharp as a tack... the VOD experience described in the book sounds intriguing and the reactions to such an experience described were visceral. I couldn't help feel for Ms. Gloria.

Hayley's sister-in-law and her need to hold everything in (i.e. thoughts, feelings, etc.) was an interesting contrast to Hayley and her need to know everything. I noticed Nathan takes a bit of a backseat with this one and is roped into a golfing tournament, I think I'm missing some backstory on some of the main players in this series and need to read the previous books. I do recommend this series, and think it's perfect as a beach read.

I’ve enjoyed several of Lucy Burdette’s Hayley Snow cozy mysteries in her usual Key West setting. Now she’s taking the show and her ragtag crew on the road for a honeymoon in Scotland. The premise is that a visit to her husband’s sister will be their long-delayed honeymoon. The visit starts with an undercurrent of tension that soon turns to murder. The plot is complex and keeps you guessing, but of course, Hayley wraps it all up in the end.

Each chapter opens with a quote from a mystery novel, many of which will be familiar to readers of cozies. The book closes with recipes for some of the delicious Scottish dishes described in the previous pages. I lived in Scotland for a couple of years and the descriptions of the countryside and the general vibe definitely rang true.

This review of A Scone of Contention by Lucy Burdette is courtesy of NetGalley. #ASconeofContention #NetGalley. 3/5

Prior to finding A Scone of Contention on NetGalley available for review, I'd read the first of the series and thus recognized Lucy Burdette's name. Despite not having followed the series to this 11th book, it was easy to follow along as relationships between characters were explained during the course of the book.

This cozy contains beautiful descriptions of food as well as mentions of Scottish locales that had me craving Scottish food and a desire to visit Scotland. My favorite thing compared to many cozies is that the main character doesn't do anything illegal while attempting to "solve" the mysteries. Note, there are two mysteries officially part of the storyline, the main one focused in Scotland and a minor one that weaves it's way annoyingly through the book.

Generally delicious plot though the real mystery for me is the relevance of the literary quotes mentioning food starting off each chapter.

A favorite series that I eagerly look forward to. Love the localw in Scotland for this one. Her characters are so lifelike and personable. Great pace. Fun read! Thanks #netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

A Scone of Contention is my first reading of a book by author, Lucy Burdette. While I am still reading A Scone of Contention, I am quite enjoying the read. This book is the latest addition in a fairly long book series. I did not feel lost at all, as the characters were more than adequately described to bring me right into the story. The story quickly brings me up-to-date in the Key West location. And I loved the descriptions of the houseboats and the characters living in them.

Two of the characters have put off their wedding for quite some time. They decide to get married in Scotland and to that end, they bring lots of folks with them to Scotland for the wedding. When the group arrives in Scotland, I felt like I was right there with them enjoying the sights of Scotland. However, the members of the wedding group quickly find themselves right smack in the middle of a couple of very disturbing happenings.

A Scone of Contention is a fun mystery novel that has kept me fully engaged in the story. Be warned...if you love pastries, A Scone of Contention will, without a doubt, arouse your sweet tooth and cravings for some tasty baked goods and maybe for some cream tea too!.

I liked A Scone of Contention by Lucy Burdette, a part of the Key West Food Critic Mystery series. I have not read any of the other books in the series but I had no trouble getting into the action. The characters are well-rounded and likeable.

Hayley and Nathan are finally going on their honeymoon to Scotland where Hayley will meet the sister-in-law she wasn't aware of until recently. Going with them are their neighbor, Miss Gloria, and Nathan's mother, Helen.

Hayley is in search of the ultimate scone recipes and finds murder and mayhem along the way. Nathan is off playing golf with his brother-in-law and the women become indirectly involved in a book project that Nathan's sister, Vera is working on with some friends she has known since her college days.

Hayley helps solve a murder before returning to Key West to help solve a mystery at home. She also is gifted a prize-winning scone recipe for her troubles.

A cozy mystery set in Scotland sounds perfect. I've never read any of Lucy Burdette's mysteries so although this was the 11th book in a series it was my first. Hayley is newly married and going on her honeymoon with her elderly neighbor and mother in law. While in Scotland for their honeymoon there is a murder and Hayley helps to solve it. The descriptions of Scotland and the food, especially the scones, made for delightful reading.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane books for my ARC.

I received this copy of Scone of Contention by Lucy Burdette and I am so happy that I did.

This is a mystery set in Scotland where the protagonist Hayley was visiting her Sister In Law on her honeymoon.
Where she encountered some accidents which make her suspicious of the people around her.
The writing was intelligent and gripping. The setting of book initially in Keywest and then in Scotland was awesome. The book satisfies all the hit points of a mystery lover and most importantly being a foodie the food, recipes and the description of food was just mouth-watering.
I am definitely going to try the Scones.

#lucyburdette #netgalley #crookedlane

Everyone wants to take an octogenarian and in-laws on their honeymoon with them right!?! Especially when you have not met your sister-in-law and barely know your mother-in-law. Hilarity, awkwardness and strange behaviors abound in this installment of the Key West Food Critic series. Great characters draw you in and a fun, intriguing plot keeps you entertained. I absolutely can't wait to see what happens next for these characters and I completely aspire to be half as spunky as Miss Gloria, the octogenarian neighbor!

Hayley and Nathan are finally off on their honeymoon, along with Miss Gloria. They're meeting up with Nathan's mother and staying at Nathan sister's home in Scotland.
This was an entertaining mystery and I loved the descriptions of Scotland.
Highly recommended

Lucy Burdette's new cozy mystery takes her out of Key West and over the ocean to Scotland on a whirlwind honeymoon. Recipes, murder continue to entertain the reader and a change of scenery is a nice change. Don't miss this new read.

Having never read this series before I found characters well developed and with a good layered story and not superficial over too obvious. Very enjoyable

When I first saw the title to this book I thought 'how cute!' and it's what made me want to read it. I love cozies. It's one of the things I read most of these days. This author and book series has been on my tbr list for quite awhile so when I saw it, I jumped at the opportunity. However, this book has proved to me that not everything is as it seems. The whole point of a cozy is that you have a mystery without all the gore and negativity. Well, there was no gore in this book but there was a ton of negativity.

Cozy, this book isn't. The first couple of pages start off about how dangerous and awful our world is. And several times throughout the book you have to read about how awful our country is. And then you have to wade through the anti gun jargon as well. Ugh, I am sick to death of authors shoving their thoughts and politics on their readers. I've got news for you: we don't care what you think about world topics. We simply want to be entertained and get out of our day to day lives for awhile. That is the whole point of reading. Not to have your ideals pushed on us.

Then I get to the whole crux of the story: no one is going to believe that you're going to take your honeymoon and bring someone along with you. Not to mention, that even if you did, for argument's sake, no one would put up with someone else taking over said honeymoon and making sure that you actually do not see your wife/husband for almost the entirety of the trip.

Then to have the author put the whole mess of the mystery in Scotland, well at first, I was intrigued. However, after reading about it, all it did was put me off. My relatives from Scotland came over to America before the Revolutionary War and I very much doubt that they would want anyone reliving all the bloody battles that had happened there. Them having to leave their native country was hard enough as it is. And all of this negative posing about how Scotland doesn't like tourists is just a bunch of nonsense. All countries rely on tourism for the sake of revenue just like we do.

The mystery was convoluted and sloppy. It was so jumbled that by the time the book I ended, I truly did not care who did what. The MC Haley was overly blunt with the questioning and truly came off as just a nosy intrusive person. Not overly bright. Not to mention that there was very little police interaction in the whole book. It was just a mess, period.

I started off not liking this book however I kept reading because sometimes with books by the end things have cleared up and the book ends up being great. This book, not so much. I couldn't wait for it to end.

The only thing good about this book was that it included animals and food. Otherwise, there is truly little to care about.

I recieved this ARC from NetGalley to read and review. My opinions are honest and my own.

I really enjoyed this book. It's nice being with old friends again and meeting new. I loved the descriptions of Scotland and all the food. It's a compelling, interesting story. #ASconeofContention #NetGalley

When I started this book yesterday, I was looking for the usual light, fun read. I was also very happy to go on a trip to Scotland with Hayley and some of her crew. I enjoy the stories set in Key West, but a change of venue could add a bit of spice.

Ultimately, I was disappointed with the slow pace. At one point I was shocked to see I was at 34%, it seemed like the book had been going on forever. Understandably, there were a lot of new characters introduced and a lot of time sent on the setting and the Bransford family's personal issues which detracted from the mystery. Despite all the famous Scottish sites mentioned, the book didn't transport me to the location like the books set in Key West do.

The book has a lot of minor, non-lethal mysteries for Hayley to try and figure out, as well as the lethal mystery. I thought the lethal one was fairly easy to figure out though. Nathan and Ms. Gloria provide additional mysteries of their own. Nathan might as well have not come on his honeymoon and I don't want to give spoilers about Ms. Gloria.

I was able to finish the book, but even as a long time reader of the series, I can't really even give this an OK rating. Even if this is to serve as a possible transition book (Hayley going in a new direction as a married woman and/or Nathan's family playing a bigger role in future books), it just left me unsatisfied in most areas.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Another favorite by a great author. The plot of the story was very well written. The author really draws the reader in as you read. I cannot wait to read another book.

I loved going to Scotland with Hayley, Nathan and Miss Gloria. The descriptions of the countryside were enchanting, there was a delightful spiritual quality to it and the murder mystery was sharp and engaging. I loved 'A Scone of Contention' from start to finish, especially the recipes. I can't recommend this series highly enough.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.