First time reading a cozy murder mystery ! I really enjoyed this read. I loved that the setting takes place in the beautiful Scottish Highlands, makes you feel like you are really over there as well. This is definitely a quick fun read you could finish in one sitting. I liked Ally's character and her interactions with all the people in the small town and potential suspects. I suggest giving this one a read if you enjoy a cute cozy mystery.


Thank you Netgalley and Bookoture for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

Ally McKinley is living the dream. Waking every morning to an uninterrupted view of the Scottish Highlands, she now lives in a converted malthouse and, as she was the one who planned it all, everything is just as she wanted. Now proudly serving her first guest in her own little B&B, Ally has made new friends, discovered beautiful walks, and thoroughly confused her children, all of which,  unfortunately, pale into insignificance when a body is discovered behind her home!

With plenty of suspects, including the local laird and her own cleaner, Morag, Ally is dismayed when the local police seem to have no idea how to solve a murder. As Ally was a researcher in her previous life she is absolutely sure she can solve everything herself, especially as she's also sure her new friends can't possibly be involved! The stakes are high however, and it soon becomes clear that there is a desperate killer on the loose, but can she discover their identity before alienating everyone in the small village of Locharran which she now calls home?

Book one in a new series, when you loved a writer's previous work, is always a trip into the unknown, but I needn't have worried. Ally McKinley is a brilliant new main protagonist who I liked from the get go, while the landscape is also a main player in this story and it's clear the author is very familiar with its beauties and dangers. The more minor characters, who are definitely going to keep Ally on her toes over what I hope will become a regular series of adventures, are both humorous and full of potential.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Bookouture, but the opinions expressed are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this. It didn't read like the first in a series, the characterization is great, and I'm happily looking forward to more.

The premise of this book felt very similar to the Home Repair Is Homicide series by Sarah Graves. An old house. A small remote village. Entertaining locals. A cozy mystery with a protagonist in her 60s and it was quick, fun read. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

This is a fun, quick read. I really enjoyed it. Eccentric characters, a dash of romance, a puppy and some mystery. Overall a great mix that makes for good reading.

Thanks Netgalley!

This is a cute, cozy mystery about a 60 year old woman, moving to Scotland to open a bed & breakfast. I loved the setting and characters were introduced to, but at times the writing style was not for me. I still would be interested in reading more if this becomes a series from this author.

This is a sweet and simple cozy mystery. The lead is very likeable, as are most of the characters, and there's a lovely camaraderie in the community. Might Ally solve a murder and find love?
It was a quick, enjoyable read. I figured out the murderer quite easily.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Dee MacDonald for an advanced copy for review.

Ally McKinley’s new life in retirement operating a B&B in the Highlands of Scotland quickly becomes less than idyllic when one of her guests is found murdered. The police don’t seem to be following leads as quickly and thoroughly as she thinks they should and starts her own investigation with the help of her 2 new guests, who are connected to the murder victim. The murder may have been triggered by ancestry research that calls into question who the real Earl of Locharran Castle is, which frightens and angers most of the village residents. Ally shows everyone that she knows her own mind and isn’t afraid to speak the truth when gossip follows her as she gets to know several attractive widowers. Definitely some twists and turns in the mystery and a 2nd murder to complicate things.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

I really enjoyed meeting Ally and the other residents of Locharran in this new series! I was able to figure out about half of the mystery from the beginning, but I didn’t put all of the pieces together until the end. I did find the climactic scene to be a bit chaotic and hard to follow, particularly with the geography of where this was all taking place. The ending too felt rushed, like the loose ends weren’t tied up. But overall, I enjoyed the read.

I very much enjoyed this cozy crime from a new to me author.

The characters were well drawn, though of course there wasn’t time in one book to understand a whole village! I enjoyed the dynamics of the interaction of Ally with various other characters. I hope that we’ll get to know some of the villagers better as the series goes on.

The mystery itself was fun to solve alongside Ally. It was not an action packed gallop (thank goodness!), but there was plenty to keep me interested and entertained. And the ending was certainly dramatic!

I also enjoyed the setting, which was well described without ever distracting from the story. There was definitely a strong sense of place running throughout.

Overall, this was a great start to a new series, with a range of interesting characters, and a fun mystery. I look forward to the next in the series.

I was given a copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery! There were a few laugh out loud moments and I did not guess who the killer was at all. I really enjoyed Ally & Hamish’s friendship and her relationship with the vet! I’ll be on the lookout for the next one!

Murder in the Scottish Highlands goes down just as smoothly as whiskey.
It is a great piece of cozy crime that I’m sure will be received wonderfully by anyone that enjoys the Thursday Murder Club or the Marlow Murder Club.

This is a cozy, fun, quick murder-mystery! I really enjoyed myself when reading this book. I love the setting of this book (I love reading about Scotland) and the FMC (Ally) was amazing. You are never to old to do something new, and I love that message. I did figure out who did it eventually but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher, and of course the author for this ARC!

Murder in the Scottish highlands is the start of another series by Dee MacDonald.
After the Kate Palmer series has come to an end I was curious if the next series is going to be as delightful, so when an Arc of the first book in a new series became available on Netgalley I was quick to request a copy.

Ally, the new series' protagonist, is a 60 something former research assistant who has relocated from Edinburgh to the Scottish Highlands where she has restored an old malthouse into a Bed & Breakfast. Right from the start Ally's B&B is haunted by problems, quite literally by the resident ghost who goes by the name of Wailing Willie, but also her because her very first lodger is killed on her doorstep. Definitely not a good start. Because she has not much confidence in the detecting qualities of inspector Rigby Ally decides to do her own research. (Note to Ally: if you don't see a police officer making progress it doesn't mean there is no progress, it just means the police is not telling the public what they are doing)

In the course of the book we meet a lot of eccentric villagers ans Ally acquires a couple of admirers. Se also acquires a labrador puppy, that goes by the name of Flora.
Murder in the Scottish highland is certainly a nice, cosy read but there is too little development in the characters to my liking. Well I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt and will read the next book in this series, got to know how Flora is growing up and how often she needs to go to the vet ;-)

A quick read that could have been tightened up with some better editing.
Ally has bought and renovated an old malthouse in the Scottish Highlands. At retirement age she has taken on a bed and breakfast at the foot of a mansion and welcomed her first guests. When her American guest is murdered on the property Ally must help the bumbling police in the village to solve the case. Full of quirky villagers and a frisky earl, plus 2 more Americans who are helping to uncover the murderer and a new puppy, how can she fail!

Murder In The Scottish Highlands by Dee McDonald was a decent, pretty average mystery. It wasn’t terrible by any means, but it also wasn’t a favorite.
Thank you NetGalley & Bookouture for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3 stars! When I saw the title of this book, I immediately requested in on NetGalley! It sounded right up my alley - I love Scotland and cozy murder mysteries. Then I read the description because I love Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and was hoping for something similar.

Overall, I think this does deliver as a cozy murder mystery. Ally McKinley retires to the Scottish Highlands and opens up a bed & breakfast. One of her guests from America, Wilbur, has a supposed claim to the Earldom of Locharran. Wilbur suddenly is murdered outside of Ally's B&B! So Ally, starts to investigate! Did the current Earl kill him? Did any of the townsfolk who rely on the Earldom kill him?

I thought the premise was good, but I found other elements of the story (the main character and the dialogue) silly and a little ridiculous at times. If you're looking for a quick, light, cozy murder mystery - this works! If you're looking for something with more substance or a hard to solve murder, this may miss the mark.

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture for the eARC!

A Delightful Start..
The first in the Ally McKinley series of mysteries finds our recently retired protagonist running a small guesthouse in the Highlands of Scotland. Things certainly seem rosy for her. That is, until a dead body makes an appearance practically at her front door and, worse, it just happens to be one of her paying guests. With the local police making little progress, Ally cannot help but don her own sleuthing hat and begin to meddle. A delightful start to a new series with a well drawn cast, a perfect setting and a narrative laced with plenty of humour.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read "Murder in the Scottish Highlands" in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the first book in the new Ally McKinley series from Dee MacDonald. Having read all the books in her Kate Palmer series, I had high hopes for this new series and she did not disappoint! This book grabbed my attention from the first sentence and did not let go until the very last sentence. Ally is 68 and has retired from Edinburgh to Locharran in the Western Highlands of Scotland and bought the old malthouse and turned it into The Auld Malthouse Bed and Breakfast. Her family had their doubts, thinking she was too old to go into business but Ally is a strong, fun character who is instantly likeable.

Her first guest - Wilbur Carrington - an American staying in Room 1 - is found with a Skean Dhu in his back out in the courtyard of the B & B. Mr. Carrington had been going around the village claiming to be the rightful heir to the earldom instead of Lord Hamish Sinclair. Soon his brother Tyler Carrington arrives to find out who killed his brother and to take his body back to the States. Soon after Mamie Van Nuyen arrives claiming to be Wilbur's fiancé.

Not long after another murder happens. Someone had figured out what really happened to Wilbur and before they could go to the police they were also killed.

Ally not really believing that DI Rigby is competent to solve this case, sets out to solve it herself and puts herself in some danger along the way. She also has attracted the attention of the Earl and the local retired vet Ross Patterson. She becomes the fodder for the town gossip in the form of Queenie at the Locharran Post Office and Stores which she runs with her sister Bessie who rarely says a word. There is also the interesting character of "Wailing Willie" a ghost who has been haunting the malthouse since the 1800's and Ally's new puppy Flora can sense his presence in one of the guestrooms and refuses to enter the room.

There is something for everyone in this new series. Personally I am eagerly awaiting the next book to see what will happen at the malthouse next and what adventure will find Ally.

Ally seems to be living the dream in a small village in Scotland running an inn in the country. What a retirement. I would love like 80% of that. I am an introvert and need my privacy. I would hate having strangers in my home. It seems though Ally needs the adventure and is free to have it now that her husband is gone and her family is grown. I love that for her.

I was a little confused about her choice of this tiny village in the highlands since she seemed to be searching for adventure. But things started to make more sense as adventure and mystery find her. As evidenced by her self appointment to investigator. Taking it upon herself to nose into her guests family history and who done it lists.

Overall a decent mystery. Shades of Agatha Christie, with Ally solving the mystery for the fairly useless policeman. All in all not a bad book.