This is the 4th book in the Scottish Ladies Detective Agency and follows the exploits of Maud and Daisy in this cosy 1920’s period murder mystery. They have been invited by Lord Urquhart to recover a stolen statuette and help avoid a potential scandal. They travel to the Isle of Mull, under the guise of a mystery writer and her assistant and are invited to stay at Clachan Castle. One of the guests is found dead and the ladies quickly get involved in trying to solve this seemingly impossible locked room murder.

The castle and scenery around the area are nicely described with thunder storms and fog contributing to the growing tension. There is a good list of potential suspects for both the theft and the murder plus an interesting sub story drawing on political events of the time. The growing relationship between Maud and Lord Urquhart adds a nice feel good touch to the story.

In this fourth and final outing for the lady detectives from the M. McIntyre Agency, Maud and Daisy travel to Clachan Castle on the island of Mull. Lord Urquhart who now knows them well, has requested that they disguise themselves and find a way to be invited to stay at the castle so they can find a valuable bronze statuette that he has been suspected of stealing by the Castle’s owner Magnus Carmichael. While they are there an unpleasant guest, Neil Tremain is found dead from a stab to his heart in a locked bedroom so now they also have a murderer to catch.

While there are several suspects, including the man’s daughter, Jane, Magnus and his sister Ailsa, a servant, Andrew and the visiting doctor, the real problem is working out how the murder was done with the room locked and no feasible hiding place for the murderer to be hiding when the door was eventually broken down.

This delightful historical cosy mystery series set in Scotland in 1912 features two irrepressible women who are fiercely independent and ever resourceful. Lord Urquhart, former client and occasional sidekick, is clearly in love with Maud but she is yet to admit that it might be reciprocal. In this episode she does learn there’s more to Lord Urquhart than meets the eye, but she is having too much fun being a detective to think about marriage. A charming series I am sorry to see completed. If Ms Travers ever feels like revisiting them I’d love to see what they are all doing a few years down the track!

I have been waiting for this book ever since finishing the last one. This series featuring Maud and Daisy is the best cozy crime I have read in a long time, the characters are sparkling and the plots are so well drawn, I love the degree of detail used by Ms Travers, the places, the clothing and the splendid surroundings of Scotland make one want to go there. I am sorry to leave these people and will remember them, I do anticipate more great writing from this author and look forward to her next book eagerly.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of all the books in this series. It has been a riot!

3.75 stars

This is one of several quite readable pre-World War I series featuring strong female protagonists with a hint of aristocratic romance while crime solving.

This time out, private investigators Maud and Daisy are requested to find a missing sculpture at a country Scottish estate. But the case turns into a lot more when the suspected thief and weekend house guest is found murdered inside his locked bedroom. The sculpture is found, but that only adds to the mystery. And when the local investigating copper is also murdered under seemingly impossible circumstances, things get murky.

It's always nice to see a historical mystery featuring intelligent and self-sufficient women. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the 4th book in the series where Miss Maude McIntyre and her former ladies maid, Daisy Carmichael, operate undercover to solve a mystery for for M. McIntyre Ladies Detective Agency. At the invitation of the handsome and mysterious Lord Urquhart, the ladies travel under pseudonyms, pretending to be a crime novelist and assistant, to discreetly solve a theft. A theft quickly changes to a double murder and Maud must work to clear Daisy’s name as a suspect while trying to manage her conflicted feelings for Lord Urquhart. It is not easy to solve a murder in a locked room but Maud and Daisy persist by reviewing alibis, motives, and lessons from Sherlock Holmes and Jane Austen to guide them. This book brings Daisy into her own, showing her prowess as a sleuth and not just a former maid or assistant, which is great timing for Maud.

When Maud McIntyre and her assistant Daisy travel to a remote Scottish castle, the last thing they expect to find is a locked room murder mystery. Can they prise open this case and catch a killer?
The story line is brilliant no boring parts and kept me guessing to the end. Can't wait for the next one!'⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️