“Murder in the Scottish Highlands” by Dee MacDonald is a lovely cozy, with engaging characters, a gorgeous locale and a decent plot. What makes it stand out is the atypical lead character: Ally is a widow of a certain age, newly retired, and new to running a bed and breakfast in the Scottish Highlands. One of her guests is murdered, and Ally decides to solve the murder. She’s new to her community, which might explain it, but the usual cozy neighborly vibes (the nosy next-door, the vicar, and so on) are missing. It’s a charming start to the series, and I look forward to reading more!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC!

Oh my goodness this book is so adorable! I love a cozy murder mystery and of course I’m down for anything set in Scotland. The characters are fun and bring great color to the story.

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

1.5 ⭐️

I was really excited to read this one, but the writing style and plot just did nothing for me. The dialogue seemed so far-fetched and unrealistic and caused me to set this book down frequently.

If you’re looking for a basic murder mystery, this may be for you. The crime is simplistic and, at least in my case, easy to solve before the main character.

I wanted to like it, but this one just was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of the book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Murder in the Scottish Highlands by, Dee MacDonald. I always love a cozy mystery and when I saw that this one was set in the Scottish highlands I knew I wanted to read it.

Ally is a widow who has just retired and has moved her life from Edinburgh to renovate a malt house in the highlands into into a bed and breakfast. When one of her guests is murdered Ally is determined to solve the murder as well as the mystery that goes with it.

This book and it had all the aspects of a cozy mystery that draw me in: an older and unlikely detective, a mystery behind the murder, a cast on funny and interesting side characters. The book did jump right into the murder and I had wished for a little more background into the characters and setting before we are introduced to the murder. I also wanted to see more of Ally’s relationships with the other people in her village, she didn’t seem particularly close to anyone but I think that was to show how new she was to the area and hopefully those relationships will be expanded in future books in the series.

This was a fun cozy mystery for anyone looking for something set in the Scottish Highlands.

Ally has retired to the village of Locharron and restored an old Scottish malthouse. When her first guest is found dead she decides that she must find out how and why. A fun, well written Scottish mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of "Murder in the Scottish Highlands' by Dee MacDonald in exchange for my review.

I thought this book had a lot of promise. The personalities established for the characters rang true for the location of the story, a good mix of quirky locals and sensibly minded pillar characters. The location and buildings were well described and the general ambiance of the book was enjoyable. My main issues were the dialogue - which felt repetitive and immature - and the murder(s) plot. The inspector was too useless he may as well not have been there and Ally seemed to spend a lot of time traveling to remote locations to ask people one question and then she'd leave and the plot wouldn't have progressed much. At times it felt that Ally's potential love life was more important in the narrative than the murder mystery.

Fans of M. C. Beaton's "Agatha Raisin" series may enjoy this.

Review in exchange for the arc from NetGalley.

This was an enjoyable, cozy murder mystery. If you enjoy sitting down on a rainy afternoon and turning on a Hallmark Mysteries movie, this book is for you.

Overall, the book followed your standard murder mystery story format, which is to say it didn't have a wholly unpredictable ending, but it was satisfying.

The charm of Scotland can be found throughout the pages, and Ally is enjoyable to follow as she uncovers the truth.

A very gentle cosy mystery that's perfect for curling up with. Set in the stunning highlands of Scotland, Ally McKinley retires to highlands to run a newly renovated B&B. As Ali is starting to settle into her new village one of her guests is found dead.

This is a very engaging mystery with lots of funny, warm and endearing characters set in an immersive and well-written landscape of the Scottish Highlands.

I can't wait to read the rest of her books!

The first of Ally McKinley mysteries, this book is about a 68-year-old woman who moved to Scotland to run a bed-and-breakfast business all on her own. Unfortunately for her, one of her guests was found stabbed in the back (literally) and sprawled lifeless in the back of her B&B. As a former researcher for TV, Ally couldn’t help but to want to find out the truth. Especially after meeting the not-so-reliable police.

I thought the book gave everything that I expected to get from cozy mysteries. There was some romance, some idyllic setting, some gossip, some interesting characters and relationships. What I found refreshing was the overall age of the characters – they were all pretty old by typical standards, but they were colourful and full of life. Their love life is more happening than me, that’s for sure! I also loved how the murder happened from the first chapter. I’m not a very patient reader and if I pick a murder mystery, I just prefer that the murder occurs early on.

While I did guess correctly (okay, only partly), I did enjoy the pretty dramatic ending. The story also deals with inheritance and possibly long-lost relative(s), a popular trope with cozy mysteries.
If you like cozy mysteries, one with beautiful highlands in the background, and the vibe of Miss Marple’s St. Mary Mead, this may be the book for you.

This was a generally enjoyable cozy mystery set in the Scottish highlands. I enjoyed the main character and many of the inhabitants of her little town. I found the mystery to be interesting enough to keep me engaged and lots of little hints were dropped here and there that I had a pretty good idea of some of the pieces by the end. That being said this was pretty typical of this type of cozy mystery and there wasn't anything that really set it apart from others of its type. I am undecided if I would read a follow-up.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I just loved this book! It’s the first book I have read by this author and it was very good and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series. The book is about Ally McKinley who after visiting with a friend she just loved Locharran and notices that there is a building for sale and thinks why not I’m on my own my children are grown up, I’m going to do this for me and so she does and she renovates and makes the building called the Malthouse into a b&b when she is sorting things in the morning and realises that one of the guests isn’t there as normal so she thinks I’ll check his room and upon checking his room notices that the bed hasn’t been slept in and as she looks out of his bedroom window she hears a scream and looks down to see her cleaning lady Morag stumble upon the guest she was looking for only he’s dead and has been murdered. This then sets off a chain of events until they find the murderer. I really enjoyed reading this book as the story was good and also the characters in this are a hoot. There are the two unmarried sisters who run the shop and love a good gossip, the earl who likes the women and a lot more. It was just so good that I couldn’t put it down.

I would highly recommend reading this book if you like a good murder mystery that has lots of quirky characters.

I would like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book early and I look forward to the next book in the series.

I enjoyed this one. It had good pacing and kept me turning the pages. I can recommend and plan to read more in the series.

Thank you to Bookouture, NetGalley, and the author for an advanced reading copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dee MacDonald, and Bookouture for providing me with an e-ARC before publication.

3.25 ⭐️ rounded to 3⭐️ for GoodReads and NetGalley.

First of all, cozy mysteries with retiree sleuths have become a favorite genre for me. Murder in the Scottish Highlands was a great fit for this. The whole cast of characters is funny and truly on point for what I believe a small-town cast would act like. ☺️

Ally, the main character, is such a cute little old lady. I loved her back story as a TV researcher. I don't think I have ever encountered this as a character background. ❤️

I found Hamish, the earl, hilarious! Though I have to be 100% honest, he did give me the creeps a little at the beginning 👀, but I think that is what makes his overall character so much more likable in the end.

The plot was interesting. A regular "Who dunnit?" story, though a bit slow at times. Part of the story felt a bit stilted, and some of the dialogue just didn't work for me: particularly when the American characters were talking. They were using way too many British English expressions to sound authentic in their "Americaness".

I did enjoy the romance aspect of the story. I love to see characters of older age get a second chance at love 🥰

Overall a nice cozy read that I'm sure will give warm fuzzy feelings to anyone who loves a good retiree sleuth solving crimes 😉

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookoture for the ARC e book. This was the first book I've read from Dee MacDonald and overall it was pretty good. I traveled to Scotland last year and absolutely loved it there so when I saw the title of the book and what it was about I just knew I had to read it! I really liked most of the characters in this book and overall it was an interesting read. Ally moved from Edinburgh to the Highlands to open a guesthouse. It isn't long after, that there is a murder and she's bound and determined to figure out who killed her guest. It was a light, easy read that I highly recommend.

#MurderInTheScottishHiglands #NetGalley

I've read all of Dee MacDonald's Kate Palmer series and really enjoyed them, so when this new series began I was keen to read it too. This time we are in the Scottish Highlands with Ally McKinley, who has moved there to open a guest house from Edinburgh after the death of her husband. She has converted an old malt house and now is looking forward to hosting her guests, unfortunately, one of her first guests turns up dead on her doorstep and she finds herself trying to get to the bottom of what happened.
I really enjoyed the new characters introduced in this book and the setting for the story. The murder itself took a little figuring out, but I think I got there just a bit before Ally. I also liked the way that her new puppy and then potential love interest were all added into the mix.
This is a good read and a strong start to a new series. I'm looking forward to hearing more from Ally soon.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

As much as I wanted to love it. There wasn't anything special about it. There wasn't anything compelling or gripping me to read it.

A new author to me though I see she has written many other crime novels. I chose this because it is set in the Highlands and I am Scottish. The story is a bit Midsomer Murders and a bit Agatha Christie - not a bad pedigree. Village life is depicted well - every one knows everyone’s business. Surprising then that they didn’t discover whodunnit! Parts of the story were predictable and I did work out the major plot line but it was an enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC.

The mystery wastes no time getting started. We are barely introduced to the protagonist, Ally McKinley, before the body is found.
I really liked the main character, as well as many of the villagers, being an older age. It gave a unique perspective in many areas of the story. I also appreciated that Ally, using the back of a frame, with post its, to walk herself through the various suspects and theories. Because it also helped the reader to keep the clues straight. I did find this to be a bit repetitive which left me feeling bored in quite a few spots. And I did not care for the abrupt change in some of the characters personalities to make the plot work. Unfortunately, just not a book for me.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I haven't ready any of Dee MacDonald's books before so was intrigued by the setting and the fact that it was the start of a new series of Ally McKinley mysteries.

A light, easy read and one which I really enjoyed.