Thank you, NetGalley, Publishers, and Lydia Travers for gifting me a copy of The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency in exchange for my honest opinions

3.5/5 stars

Edinburgh, 1911: When Maud McIntyre and her lady’s maid, Daisy, form a detective agency, they never dream their first case will take place at a glamorous house in the Scottish Highlands. But when the Duchess of Duddingston, concerned that a notorious jewelry thief will target her lavish weekend party, employs Maud to go undercover as a guest to find the culprit, the agency has its first case to solve…

Undercover with Daisy as her maid, Maud follows a trail of clues across the Duddingston House estate. And as she meets the weekend guests, she hopes one of them will reveal themselves as the jewelry thief. But when one of the house guests is discovered dead, Maud and Daisy realize they’re not only hunting precious gems, but a murderer…

As Maud and Daisy investigate, they realize that a connection in Edinburgh might hold a vital clue that will help them solve the case. Traveling back to the city, Maud hopes that what she and Daisy uncover will help them piece together the murder mystery at Duddingston House…

But when Maud receives a telephone call from the Duchess requesting urgent assistance, she realizes that the murderer didn’t have just one victim in mind. Speeding down the drive to Duddingston House, Maud and Daisy hear gunshots ring out across the estate. Will they reach the Duchess in time to save her? And will they catch the murderer in the act?

This was a wonderful start to a new cozy series. I love the setting of this book, Scottland in the 1911's. It was such a wonderful change from your typical cozy mystery. Listening to their struggles to be taken seriously as detectives was a wonderful addition. I enjoyed the characters, the two main characters gave off Sherlock Holmes and Watson vibes. I enjoyed listening to this and Helen McAlpine did a wonderful job bringing the story to life.

You don't get the full grasp of any of the characters but this is only the first book in the series so there is more time to get to know the characters as the series continues. I am excited to see where this series goes from here.

This book had it all, thrills, excitement and a brilliant backdrop of Scotland. The audio was a beautiful way to make the story come to life.

I have been enjoying a lot of historical cozy mysteries with female protagonists and The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency starts off another great series. It's 1911 in Edinburgh, Scotland and Maud McIntyre and her lady’s maid, Daisy, form a detective agency. If Sherlock Holmes can do it, then why can't they. Their first case is to find out who has been stealing jewellery from the grand homes in the highlands. They are invited to a weekend event, and not only is there a theft to solve, but a murder as well. This was a fun story with an interesting mystery, lots of clues and interesting characters. I enjoyed seeing Maud and Daisy go undercover, then figure out the clues to find the culprit. Their lives are in danger as they get closer to the truth, but miraculously, they make it out unscathed. Although this was a good start to the series, some things were a bit too convenient. I will watch for the next book in this series as I enjoyed Maud's and Daisy's adventures. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Helen McAlpine and it added to my enjoyment of the story.

This book wasn’t for me but I could see some cozy mystery readers eating it up. We have two Victorian girl bosses starting their own detective agency, on the way to solve a jewelry theft mystery. I found the feminism really trite and untested. Generally this book felt a little like it was written by a marketing team. I may be a little cynical. I wish the cover was better because the clip art style made me think less of the book.

I loved listening to The Scottish Ladies’ Detective Agency, and the audiobook captured my attention from the beginning to the end. The story is well written, and weaves in aspects of the history and themes of 1911 Scotland, feminism, and mystery. Maud and Daisy are a magnificent team of two women detectives, challenging stereotypes and assumptions, while solving impossible crimes. Lydia Travers created an incredible world, with such well rounded and interesting characters that I listened to the audiobook in one sitting and listened to it again. Every new mystery kept my attention, with great writing that flowed well.
The combination of Travers as the writer and Helen McAlpine as the narrator is fantastic! McAlpine’s Scottish accent is tremendous and listening to the audiobook was enjoyable. If you’re a fan of mysteries and enjoy shows such as Miss Scarlet and The Duke, I highly recommend this cozy mystery.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

It was a pleasure to read the beginning of this new historical cozy mystery series! I especially enjoyed the setting and the main characters.

I love a good coat mystery and this one did not disappoint!! Maude and Daisy are the sleuthing pair the world needs! Loved this book and the delightful characters!

I thoroughly enjoyed this, from the start to the end! Fab narrator, and story. Really well written characters, incorporates very well in the era when the story was placed. Maud and Daisy are the feminist, and dare I say smarter and more humane version of Holmes and Watson, who solve crimes, have fun, and kick bums. Set in Edinburgh, in 1911,the book made me travel in times and places with our duo, and felt like I was part of the story. Can't wait to start the next book in the series!

Following the adventures of Maud and Daisy as they traipse around and solve crimes was a very pleasant experience! I very much enjoyed the mystery, but the winner of this book, by far, is the word play and relationship between our two main characters! It very much reminded me of the Lady Hardcastle series, with the addition of a Scottish accent. While we're on the topic of accents, I LOVED the narration. The authentic sounding Scottish accent really enhanced the listening experience. This book was enjoyable all around!

I’m a sucker for cozy mysteries. And I’m a sucker for books set in Scotland. And this book was so enjoyable to read. I loved the characters and the mystery. I think I just found a fantastic new comfort series.

I have just listened to this author for the first time, and I have to say I have discovered a new favorite! Ms. Lydia Travers has created a wonderful story. The only drawback I can see is that this does not appear to be a series. What a wonderful series this could make!

Maud, and her previous ladies maid Daisy, have set out to open a detective agency. Maud was raised in a higher class family, and Daisy only knew of working as a ladies maid for Maud. They practically grew up together. As a close bond was formed between them, Maud decided that she wanted to open this new agency with Daisy as her partner. The two of them form a very entertaining and resourceful team as their new business begins to take off rather quickly. As women, it appears at the beginning that they are likely to have trouble getting started as detectives, because the time this takes place is in 1911 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Women are not seen as capable of such work. However, as they begin to build their reputation, the business begins to take off solidly fulfilling Maud's longtime dream.

There were many wonderful characters created with great depth. As a mystery, I was thrilled that I was not able to guess the ending in advance. We followed several different "cases" where most actually mingled with one another. The outcome was fun to discover.

I will absolutely be recommending this book on my blog found at https://thefinalwordbooks.blogspot.com. I only publish reviews that meet a certain level of criteria, as I search for the very best work (in my opinion).

I want to thank Bookouture Audio and Netgalley for this opportunity to listen to this new audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I greatly value this opportunity!

The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency by Lydia Travers is a historical cozy mystery. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at nine and a half hours and is narrated by Helen McAlpine.

Maud just used her inheritance to form a detective agency with her lady's maid, Daisy. Their first client is a local duchess hoping to stop a rash of jewelry thefts at house parties. They go undercover to find the thefts have escalated to murder.

This was a lovely cozy mystery and I do plan to continue on with the series. I especially loved Daisy, with her talents for mimicry and both of the ladies enjoying the concept of disguise. One thing to note on the latter, though, they do use the term g*psy for a scene. (Yes, this is a historical, but they could have very easily used the term Romani and I wouldn't have blinked.)

I think the book could have been tightened up a bit, but I enjoyed this read. There are four cases described here, which may have been a bit too many. Some did tie into one another, and I definitely picked out the main villain pretty early.

CW: firearms, violence, mention of the word g*psy

This was such an adorable and cozy mystery. I gave it a round up from 3.75 to a 4-star review. The witty banter and fun personalities of the characters made this so delightful. I would love to read the next book when it is available. If you like a light hearted cozy mystery with great character building and allure, this is your book!

Thank you to NetGalley for your advanced listening copy!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Lydia Travers for this ARC copy of the story. I am reviewing the audiobook version.

This was a fun, cozy mystery and I really enjoyed it. I do think that I would have enjoyed the book version better as I struggled to understand the narrator's strong Scottish accent at times. Maud and Daisy are delightful characters who seemed to work very well together during their cases. I love that it was also a historical fiction (set in 1911).

I think this would be a great miniseries and so fun to watch. I would definitely recommend to anyone.

I liked the overall story, and enjoyed the characters, but I couldn't get into the audio book. Due to this I have been unable to finish it so far.
I will update once I have managed to finish.

The Scottish Ladies’ Detective Agency by Lydia Travers, narrated by Helen McAlpine.
I found this cozy mystery quite entertaining. Maud and Daisy have set up a new Detective Agency in 1911 Edinburgh. It was a delight to listen to the narrator, she was wonderful! The detectives were smart with a good sense of humour.
I am looking forward to seeing what these two ladies get up to in future cases. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for a free copy for my honest review.
#TheScottishLadiesDetectiveAgency
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*I have posted a review on Goodreads

This was a delightful story with a beautiful narration. I love a good mystery and kept me at the edge of my seat. Maud and Daisy made a wonderful team and I can't wait to read/listen to their next adventures. This is a enjoyable audio book.

Set in Edinburgh in 1911, this book tells the story of a young woman who has started her own detective agency despite the culture norms of the time. She (and her assistant, her former maid) have to overcome stereotypes and are often rejected. But finally they're hired by a wealthy duchess to investigate jewelry thefts that have plagued several house parties among the wealthy.

I enjoyed this book, not only for the story, but also for the significance of how women's roles changed during the early 1900s. It had bits of history, humor and romance, in addition to the mystery at the forefront. The main female characters are portrayed as strong women. I thought the narration provided an added touch of realism to the story.

A great read, and I'm looking forward to a possible sequel!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for sending this audiobook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audio book, the narrator had the perfect Scottish accent which made the book seem more authentic, I didn’t manage to finish the whole book due to unforeseen circumstances but from what I did listen to to was excellent !!!

I really liked this. It was a cosy historical mystery set in Edinburgh, and it was delightful.

I warmed to Maud and Daisy right away, and I really liked the friendship between them. Helen McAlpine did a brilliant job as the audiobook narrator - she was lovely to listen to, and brought the characters to life really well.

The story was entertaining, and I found the audiobook relaxing to listen to. I've been approved to review another title in this series, so I'm really looking forward to that.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.