Cozy-ish Mystery following an American doctor and coroner living in a Scottish village who turns sleuth after finding a dead man during a blizzard at a wedding.

5/5 stars: This is the second entry in Connelly's Scottish Isle Mystery series, which is Cozy-ish Mystery that takes place during October in Scotland and follows an American former ER doctor turned village doctor and coroner. With plenty of twists and turns, Connelly has crafted a perfectly balanced mystery with clues, red herrings and suspects that come together effortlessly and will keep you guessing until the final reveal. Connelly's character work is excellent; Em's tough yet incredibly likable. Additionally, I love the found family she's built, each character is unique and yet of oh so lovable. I especially like how thoughtfully Connelly's written Em's assistant Abigail's brother Tommy, who's neurodivergent. And I have to say I'm loving to oh so slow build-up of Em and Ewan's “can't get along with each other but really like each other” relationship is utter catnip! Plus Connelly's delightful descriptions of Scottish village life and in particular the perfectly Gothic castle the wedding takes place in continue to draw me in. Some might find the medical and crime scene a bit intense, so be sure to check the CWs. This is an excellent series for those looking for something unique that has all the “Cozy Mystery” feels but is a tiny bit grittier. While you could read this as a stand-alone, you'll gain so much more by reading the series from the beginning; so be sure to check out book one, An American in Scotland.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

“ Death at a Scottish Wedding” by Lucy Connelly the 2nd instalment in the " A Scottish Isle Mystery" series. What a great follow-up to book one! Something old, something new, something borrowed and someone’s blue…

I really enjoyed visiting Sea Isle, Scotland again, and seeing how Em has fit in on the island. Another thing I enjoyed was the relationship between Em, Mara, Abigail, Angie and of course Ewen. I’m still hoping something romantic develops between Ewen and Em maybe in book three…

It was entertaining, full of twists and turns and I didn’t completely guess whodunnit until Em did.

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends and I can’t wait for book 3 to come out!

I requested and received an advanced readers copy from Crooked Lane and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

I read book one earlier this year and loved it! So I couldn't wait any longer to get to book two which comes out in January. Even though it wasn't as good as book one it was still very good.

Emilia who is an American living in Scotland in a small seaside town, where she is the local doctor, has been making some good friends and one of them is getting married. Angie wants her good friends to be at all the functions as it seems the Scotts like to do a lot of celebrating leading up to the wedding.

They are having the wedding at a local castle that is owned by Ewan who is the Liard of the small town they live in and also the constable. The man that Angie is marrying comes from money and so Ewan will be there with some of his men for security which was a good thing because once they get to the castle things don't go so well.

Emilia and Ewan find a dead body and it happens to be Angie;s ex who was also Damien's ex friend. That isn't the only problem as it's been snowing and snowing so they are snowed. Then Angie and Mara are not feeling well and because of what happened to the victim she is worried about them as they could have been poisoned too. Em who is not only the doctor but coroner doesn't have a lot of supplies and they are cut off from going anywhere.

So everyone there is a suspect and Em is determined to find out whodunit even if it almost gets her killed in the process.

I really like Em, she is a fun character with lots of spunk. All the characters are great actually. I think what I missed from this one that was in the first one was the banter between Em and Ewan, there just wasn't as much in this one.

I really enjoyed the mystery in this one as it was really hard to figure out who exactly done it as there were lots of good suspects. I had it narrowed down to who I thought it was and I was right but I couldn't figure out the motive.

So this is called a cozy mystery but I will say that for some it might not be as cozy as they would want. The main character gets injured pretty good in this one and that isn't even what happened at the end when she figures out who the bad person was and gets in trouble. I feel that for some people it might not feel cozy so giving you a heads up. It's cozy in the sense of a amateur sleuth, small town setting, etc., just a little more injuries. :)

I can't wait for another one though so I highly recommend it!

4.5 stars

Scotland based intrigue with romance
Emily is a physician who has moved to Scotland to tend a small village. She hadn't read her contract thoroughly because she desperately wanted out of New York. The little addendum she missed...she was also the coroner. No biggie really, she thrived in her new environment and made lots of good friends. A pair that were getting married in a hauntingly beautiful castle. Ms Connelly wove this tale so enchantingly, I'm going to check her back list and want for new ones.
The murderer is a cunning fiend and Emily, her crew and the constable need to weed through the clues to find out who is so cold and calculating. It was hard to put down and is fat moving. I rate it highly and loved every bit of it.
I requested and received a NetGalley arc gratis and offer my opinion in the same.

This was a fun follow-up to the first in the series. I loved the descriptions of the castle and learning more about all of the characters.

The mystery wasn’t too surprising or difficult to figure out, but I still wasn’t exactly sure what happened and why until the end.

I would have liked to see more development in the relationship between two of the main characters. I feel the series is building for them to be together, and I wanted to feel more tension!

Thank you to Crooked Lane Publishing and NetGalley for the advance read copy!

Finally feeling like Sea Isle, Scotland is becoming her new home, American doctor Emilia McRoy is delighted when she is invited to a wedding at Morrigan's Castle. Her friends have warned her that it's a three-day party and it's bound to get wild, not to mention the impending snowstorm. Constable Ewan Campbell, owner of the castle, ensures their safety with the blizzard. What he didn’t ensure, is that all of his guests would survive the night alive. When Emilia explores the impressive castle, she finds a dead man in one of the turrets.Who killed him? I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book.

This mystery is just plain fun, especially if you like mysteries with interesting locales. The characters are engaging so it's easy to go along for the ride. Thank you NatGalley for the ARC.

Title: Death At A Scottish Wedding
Author: Lucy Connelly
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publish Date: January 9, 2024
Rating: 4 stars

An enjoyable second book in the Scottish Isle Mystery series. When a death occurs at a high society wedding, American ex-pat, Dr. Emilia McCoy is onsite to help figure out what's happened....even if others don't think they need help.

Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

I was drawn to this book because of its Scottish setting and the whole winter wedding vibe. At first, I found the gothic atmosphere enticing and intriguing, but quickly I realised that the plot wasn't compelling enough to keep me engaged. Even though I really enjoyed my previous Crooked Lane book, for this one, I'd say I have mixed feelings.

Emily and her Scooby doo gang are at it again. NOPE, you better read the first book in the series before getting to this one to understand the relationship dynamics between Em and her friends. A fun and quirky take on the classic locked room mystery with a raging snowstorm adding to the thrill, Lucy Connelly has worked wonders with this latest series addition to A Scottish Isle Mystery.

Book # 1, An American In Scotland had established who, what, and how the team had joined hands together, and moving into book #2, we see Dr. Emily and Mara with the local constable and Laird Ewan driving to his castle for the wedding of Angie who is also a member of this set of scooby doo. As the wedding festivities tumble down into a bang that none of them expected complete with a dead body in the turret, along with being poisoned and other shenanigans, Em has her hands full unearthing the murderer amongst them in addition to being the coroner and the resident medic.

The story moves along with enough suspicious characters adding to the drama, I really did have gala time trying to differentiate between the stepmoms, imagine the riot having all of them under one roof, and then, of course, disgruntled exes of both groom and the bride in the party, there is something or the other always happening during this one of a kind wedding.

Ewan and Em have a spark, and their witty quips against each other prove it beyond doubt. Still, we don’t get to see much development from book #1 with regards to the romantic aspect of the story but the thing that warmed the cockles of my heart is the lovely friendship between Em, Mara, Angie, and Abigail. Three cheers for the women's team who always have each other backs and I can see many more books in the series with the lot of them involved in one way or another.

The suspense gets revealed without much ado and wraps up quite nicely making it an easy cozy read. OK, my one grouse, the castle on the cover image could have been more eye catching. Well, Scotland and snow, and the image should have been of something more massive and attractive.

Many thanks to Net Galley, Crooked Lane Books, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

This review is published on my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, Book Bub, Medium.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

The second installment of the Sea Isle Mystery series, Death at a Scottish Wedding, centers around a murder at a three-day wedding celebration. The main character, Dr. Emilia McRoy is an American who relocated to Sea Isle Scotland, after the death of her husband to become the local doctor and coroner. During her short time there, Emilia created a new family and amazing friendships for herself, with Mara, Angie, and Abigail. Then there is her somewhat prickly relationship with the very wealthy Ewan Campbell who is the laird and constable of the small town.

This book takes place a few months after the first book. Emilia attends Angie’s wedding at Morrigan’s Castle, Ewan’s family home, along with the rest of the crew including Jasper and Abigail’s brother Tommy. Sadly, the wedding festivities become a murder scene, possible poisoning, and attacks on Emilia at the event. The victim is Angie’s ex-boyfriend who was not invited to the wedding. Adding more tension to the situation, the guests are snowed in by a blizzard and avalanche; so, no-one can come or go. Then Emilia, Ewan, and the gang jump into action to investigate and solve the murder.

This was a delightful story and I enjoyed learning about Scottish wedding traditions. The author keeps the suspense going right up until the end. I love the female relationships and strong bonds and I can’t wait to see what new adventure await Emilia and her friends. I do hope the next installment will delve more into the relationship between Emilia and Ewan much more. There is a sense that there could be more to their relationship. This was an excellent read and I would recommend reading the series in order.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The gangs all back for another installment about this wacky group of people in a small Scottish town. There’s Emilia the American doctor who fled the US after the death of her husband (that’s a whole other story from the first installment) along with newly formed best friends Mara, Angie, and Abigail. There’s also Constable Ewan, who is also a very wealthy laird. I just want to say that I don’t think this would make a very good standalone. Without reading the first installment, I don’t believe one will be able to fully understand and appreciate the relationships between many of the MC’s like the ones between Em, Mara, Angie and Abigail. There is also the prickly interactions between Ewan and Em that began in the first installment that the second installment doesn’t really explain too much. Anyway, I strongly suggest reading the first installment before this one.

The book summary lays out the primary storyline: a big, old, creepy castle – check, a punk rock/gothic wedding – check, a boatload of wedding guests that includes jealous bridesmaids and a handful of stepmothers to the bride (aka “the steps”) - check, a dead body in a castle turret – check and a horrific blizzard that closes down the roads and strands everyone for three days - check. What the book summary doesn’t mention is that the dead body was the bride’s ex-boyfriend, that wasn’t invited to the wedding and no one liked so no one knows how he got there or, in this case, they aren’t saying! It also isn’t obvious that it really was a murder or an accident of some kind. Anyway, this presents a whole bunch of people as possible culprits and/or accomplices.

Most of the story revolves around the MC’s investigation of why the ex-BF is there, who brought him to the castle, who killed him and who is out to kill the bride (there is a few attempts on her life) as well as Em (there are attempts on her life too because she has all the evidence that is collected). By the second half, the team strongly suspects that there is either more than one killer and/or accomplice. It’s well into the second half that I am just as clueless as the team is as to who the killer(s) and/or accomplice(s) are. The end comes pretty quickly after that in a really scary and deadly scene for Em.

I absolutely love the chemistry between Em and her new BFF’s; the humor and snark are very entertaining. I especially like it when they gang up on Ewan to tease him mercilessly. I want to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #CrookedLaneBooks #DeathataScottishWedding

3.5 stars

This is the second installment in a cozy series featuring American doctor Emilia McRoy, who has ended up in a Scottish village as local physician and coroner. There is a nice ensemble of locals, including the Laird, Ewan, who butts heads with Emilia on a regular basis due to their shared stubbornness.

This time out they are all holed up in one of Ewan's family castles for the wedding of their dear friend. From the beginning things begin to go wrong, family dysfunction, bad weather, etc. Then an uninvited guest with links to everyone's past shoes up dead.

Emilia and Ewan and crew start investigating. This is an interesting book with a fun setting and nicely drawn characters. Emilia, as we are reminded very often, has never had such a close group of friends. I only wish all the female characters didn't feel the need to scream so often. That was kind of mystifying since they are all strong independent women. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this DRC.
Dr. Emilia McRoy, an American in Scotland, is snowed in at a wedding in a gothic castle. Someone dies and everyone becomes a suspect.
This book was very readable and I wanted to know who did it, but it does have its glitches. It repeats a lot of information, thoughts and jokes that becomes annoying. Emilia’s being American is so grating that other characters also read as American
#DeathataScottishWedding #NetGalley

Death at a Scottish Wedding by Lucky Connelly is the second book in the Scottish Isle Mysteries that began with An American in Scotland. It is October in Scotland and the good doctor is finding life in Sea Isle, Scotland, quite a bit colder and a lot snowier than her old Seattle neighborhood. It has been three months since she arrived and took over the medical practice. She loves the place and the people. The weather- not so much.

Not only is she the doctor, she is also the coroner. That means she works with the local constable of Sea Isle, Ewan Campbell. He is also the mayor, laird, and her host the next few days at his castle known as Morrigan Castle. It is one of his many family homes. It has at 94 rooms. It has a support staff and generators for power and should be a beautiful place for a wedding.

It was until folks started dying during a major snowstorm.

Cutoff from the world, what-follows is a locked room style cozy mystery read where while the wedding moves forward, it does take a backseat to the deaths. Deaths that are clearly murders. The question is who is killing and why?

Death at a Scottish Wedding is a fun mystery that is a good read, but could have been better. Nearly every chapter has a hook at the end to encourage the reader to move forward and continue reading. Numerous times the hook is having a character or characters hear a noise and then our heroine, or somebody else, screams from the fright. It is done so much, it become laughable. Amazingly, none of the screamers ever need a throat lozenge.

We are also told again and again that Ewan and good doctor don’t mix well with each other. We already very much know that from the first book. Clearly the ongoing annoyance will lead to romance. The only question is when. But, in the meantime, the fact that they clash is pounded ad nauseum in the first half of this book as is other repetitive information.

While the above issues are strong in the first half of the book, they eventually stop in the second half of the book as the pressure of the situation ramps up considerably. The reader is left with a good cozy mystery that easily could have been way better, but is pretty good overall.

As always, one should read the first book in a series. That fact is very true here. If one chooses to start here, understand the previous events are well detailed in the begging chapters of Death at the Scottish Wedding.

My reading copy came by way of the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, through NetGalley with no promise of a review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2024

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

2.5 stars rounded down
I liked the first book, and as much as I was disappointed in this one, it won't stop me from continuing the series. However, there was SO MUCH repetition that I kept muttering to myself, yes we get it, move on. If you remove all that, there wasn't much of a story at all. And there were conflicting moments that were also annoying. For instance, at one point Emilia makes a big deal about having to be so steady in the ER and not let loud noises, etc, get to you, yet every time there was a single unexpected sound around her, she screamed and reacted like a child. All of the characters except Ewan seemed much more immature this time.

And now that I've re-read my review, I'm dropping it from 3 stars to 2.5. Can't recommend this one, although if you do read it and haven't read the first, you won't be lost....because everything will be repeated ad nauseam!

The first book in this series, An American in Scotland, was one of my favorite reads this year. The follow up Death at a Scottish Wedding, is definitely continuing in that mode. We have an interesting take on a locked room mystery, with the death of someone in a Scottish castle that is totally closed off due to a major blizzard. Everyone in the castle are family or close friends of the couple getting married, who would want to ruin their special day? When the victim is found to be someone not invited, but someone not unknown to the bride and groom, questions continue to pile up. Why was the victim there, how did they get there, who has it in for the bride and groom? As Em and her posse try to figure out what's going on, they find themselves taking hits and being stalked. Can they figure out what's going on before someone else loses their life? Can the bride and groom make it to the altar? Will it ever stop snowing? You will definitely want to be around for this ride. Thanks to #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for a chance to read this great tale!

"Death at a Scottish Wedding" has a wonderful concept - a winter wedding weekend at a castle in the Scottish countryside where a blizzard strands the attendees and cuts them off from the rest of the world and then someone is murdered. Luckily the castle is owned by the local Captain of Police and in attendance is the town doctor / coroner. Unfortunately, the delivery of this fun and mysterious set up falls short.

The location is so atmospheric but the writing does nothing to create that atmosphere. Saying something is creepy over and over and having the lights periodically go out does not really do much to place me in the world as a reader. Nearly the whole story is told through dialog and lacks the moody descriptions and exposition the location deserves. Also, since the protagonist is an American living in Scotland, her explanations of things being called different names between the two countries feels awkward, as does the seemingly random Scots language words thrown into some dialog.

I appreciate being given the opportunity to read this advanced copy from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books. I'm hoping it is a very preliminary copy as there are quite a lot of errors from people not being in a scene then suddenly having dialog in the scene, as well as major plot holes. Sadly, the bottom line is that it just isn't very well written. With a dedicated editor (or team of editors) there could be something good in this series.

A fun cozy mystery that I read in one setting, loved the location, as well as the characters themselves.

Loved everything about this novel - the setting, the characters, and mostly the twists and turns that left me guessing until the very end!

In Death at a Scottish Wedding, American doctor Emilia McRoy is delighted when she is invited to a wedding at Morrigan's Castle. Her friends have warned her that it's a three-day party and it's bound to get wild, not to mention the impending snowstorm. Constable Ewan Campbell, owner of the castle, ensures their safety with the blizzard. What he didn’t ensure, is that all of his guests would survive the night alive. When Emilia explores the impressive castle, she finds a dead man in one of the turrets.