This is one of my favorite cozy series, but I was a bit impatient with this one. I love Paislee and Grandpa and Brody and Lydia. But, lord, was I sick and tired of Amelia by the end of this book. And I feel like she's going to become a more integral part of the cast of characters in future books. Sigh.

The plotting was well done, as always. I just didn't enjoy spending that much time with Amelia. And Paislee putting everything else on hold to chauffeur Amelia around just took me out of the usual work of Paislee, her shop, her family, her world. The pacing seemed to drag, because it was so much of driving Amelia around to things. It all felt repetitive, even though Paislee was making progress on solving the murder.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

Book Review: Murder at a Scottish Christmas by Traci Hall

Rating: 3.5 Stars

So, I just finished Murder at a Scottish Christmas, the sixth book in Traci Hall’s delightful Scottish Shire Mystery series, and it was quite the cozy and festive treat! This book, set in the picturesque seaside village of Nairn, really captures the essence of the season. It’s got all the festive vibes you could ask for and even more!

Summary

In this installment, we follow Paislee Shaw, a sweater shop owner and knitting enthusiast, as she prepares to ring in the New Year. She’s got her hands full with plans for a holiday feast for her twelve-year-old son Brody, her grandpa, and their adorable black Scottish terrier, Wallace. The vibe is all about warmth and togetherness—until things take a dark turn. During the Hogmanay celebrations, with fireworks lighting up the sky, a shot rings out, leaving everyone in shock. McCormac, Amelia's brother, becomes the target in this deadly game of mystery. As chaos unfolds, Paislee takes it upon herself to help Detective Inspector Zeffer crack the case, even though it might put her own life at risk.

My Thoughts

First off, can we talk about how cute and festive the cover is? It totally sets the mood for a cozy mystery! I really enjoyed how Hall captured the small village charm of Nairn. It made me wish I could just pop over there for a Sip and Stitch event myself! The characters are just wonderful; they embody that Scottish pride and community spirit that makes you want to be part of their lives. I’ve grown quite fond of Paislee, her son Brody, grandpa Angus, and of course, Wallace.

The mystery itself was engaging and well plotted. There were enough twists and turns to keep me guessing right up to the very end. I loved that it wasn’t just about solving a crime; it was also about friendships and community bonds that made it all the more enjoyable. And speaking of enjoyment, I wouldn't mind seeing a little romance blossom between Paislee and Zeffer—just saying!

Overall, I’d definitely recommend Murder at a Scottish Christmas to all my cozy mystery-loving friends. It’s a lovely mix of festive cheer, intriguing mystery, and charming characters that make it worth picking up this holiday season. I’d give it a solid 3.5 stars! 🎄🧶✨

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

Paislee wants her new house ready for occupancy, but instead she gets involved with a murder and the heist of designer puppies in Murder at a Scottish Christmas, Scottish Shire mystery. A puppy that is precious to a friend also goes missing. How can she solve the mystery and get back the puppy? Competent cozy.

This was my favorite so far in the Scottish Shire Mystery series, it had that overall feel that I was looking for and enjoyed the mystery of this story. I was invested in what happened with the characters and was glad I was able to read this. Traci Hall wrote this well and left me wanting to read more.

A different twist in Paislee Shaw mystery solving ability. She takes a back seat this time by helping her friend Amelia Henry solve not one but two mysteries. One being who murdered her brother? What was he into that he had so much cash to flash and giving expensive Christmas gifts. Amelia fell in love with the cute puppy her brother’s last gift to her, but Snowball is sick and the Vet she was advised to use seems a little shady. Then Snowball goes missing and the Vet was the last person to have her. Is somehow the Vet her brother recommended involved with her brother and the sudden influx of cash? Thankfully Paislee is able to drive her around and help figure out what is going on.
Once again a page turning cozy with a great ending. Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are mine own. #MurderataScottishChristmas

"Murder at a Scottish Christmas (Scottish Shire Mystery #6)" by Traci Hall falls in December/January over the Christmas season. However, the murder really happens on New Year's Eve/Day. Right as the fireworks go off. The victim is the brother of Paislee's friend Amelia.

Paislee really doesn't get too involved in the murder investigation because Amelia's next problem is that her new puppy is sick and the vet that was taking care of it disappeared. The puppy was one of the last gifts the her brother had given to her and she was getting really attached to it. So, Paislee is helping Amelia figure out what happened to the puppy. Maybe it's tied to what happened to Amelia's brother?

🎀Relaxing holidays in Nairn? Not really!😕

This entertaining murder mystery has the series female lead Paislee Shaw spending what should be a relaxing break between Christmas and New Year's running around helping her friend Amelia whose "reformed" favorite brother has left a trail of romances and questions about his finances behind along with a bevy of adorable puppies. The more they investigate his shocking murder, the more Amelia realizes her brother was not the man she thought he'd become!

I've followed this Scottish Shire series through from its inception and always wondered how amateur detective Paislee could run a successful knitting shop with all the time she takes working on murder investigations. In this story, Paislee has closed her shop for the holidays expecting time to relax, spend quality time with her little family and knit more inventory. Great plan but time after time helping friend Amelia takes precedence.

I liked best the cozier scenes of Paislee with her rapidly growing son, grandfather and her BFF Lydia. Some events, like the Hogmanay and fireworks gatherings, included too many characters for me to keep track of.

The plot was good, with a wide range of characters, and a definite holiday feel. And, not to be ignored, some poor, adorable pups so deserving of a happy ending!🐕

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Its Christmas in Nairn and Paislee Shaw still has a million things to do, including buying her son Brody’s gifts. Amelia, a friend from her knitting group suggests a puppy and says she can get a good deal from her brother McCormac. McCormac comes back home to Nairn for the holidays, flashing a lot of cash from his job selling high end cars in Ireland, and giving purebred puppies to all of his friends and family for Christmas. Is this legit or has he gone back to his criminal ways? Then, under the cover of fireworks at midnight on Hogmanay (New Year’s Eve). Paislee doesn’t mean at get involved but Amelia is her friend. Who shot McCormac? There is a lot of action as more suspects turn up. Was it about the high end cars or the designer dogs or something else? I absolutely loved this book and this author. I was hooked from the first page, and although it is part of a series, it was easy to read as a stand-alone. Now I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in this series.

Paislee Shaw, owner of Cashmere Crush, is happy to be back in her home. While attending the village's Hogmanay
celebration, the black sheep brother of her part-time employee Amelia is murdered. It turns out the brother was still
invovlved with criminal activities despite his time spent in prison. Amelia has been placed on leave from her job
at the police station and is determined who is responsible for her brother's death. As Paislee and Amelia look
into her brother's recent activities, it becomes evident that the puppies her brother was selling are somehow
involved. Well plotted cozy with twist and interesting list of suspects.
#MurderataScottishChristmas #Kensington #NetGalley

An interesting premise- a bad seed brother supposedly reformed returns at the holidays, bringing puppies and being flash, but someone isn't happy he has returned, and using the holiday fireworks to hide their crime, they think they've gotten away with it. Paislee unknowingly gets caught up in investigating the murder, when all she is trying to do is to help her coworker and friend, who happens to be the deceased's brother out, as her car is out of commission. One ride leads to another, and Paislee steps in to help as her natural curiosity comes into play. Gotta admit, this wasn't my fav of the series, probably because Amelia just flat out annoyed me with her mispeaks and lies to Paislee...but it's great to see the changes in Paislee's life and I'm looking forward to the next book.

Murder at a Scottish Christmas is the 6th novel in Traci Hall's A Scottish Shire Mystery series. I have read most of the novels in this cozy mystery series and have enjoyed them. This is small town Scotland and our heroine is Paislee, who although she owns a yarn shop, is happy to solve murders during her winter break. Murder at a Scottish Christmas can function as a stand alone novel, although reading all the novels in order will add to the reader's enjoyment.

In Murder at a Scottish Christmas the characters are interesting and can hold the reader's attention. The topic is puppy smuggling, which certainly held my attention, since in my home the terriers seem to be in charge. As with the previous novels in this series, there is liberal use of Scottish dialect, but after the first few pages, it is easy to get back into using the dialect. I did enjoy Murder at a Scottish Christmas and do recommend it.

Thank you to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC, in exchange for home honest review.

I received a free copy of, Murder at a Scottish Christmas, by Traci Hall, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is book 6 in A Scottish Shire Mystery book series. Paislee thought it would be a fairly quiet, Christmas. Paislee is waiting for her home to be finally finished, and is ready to host a party, when someone is murdered. Now Paislee has a murder to solve. This was a nice cozy mystery set in beautiful Scotland.

I am so happy to visit Scotland again--and my favorite yarn knitter, Paislee Shaw, in this latest installment of the Scottish Shire Mystery series. Murder at a Scottish Christmas, book #6, is a warm cozy glimpse into life in a small seaside town during the holiday season. The characters are life-like, the town of Nairn is scenic and cozy. The hunt for is on when Paislee's best friend's brother is shot during the fireworks--making for a twisty mystery.
I have loved every book in the series.

Thank you #NetGalley, #KensingtonCozies #TraciHall for granting my request for an ARC to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Recommended for all mystery lovers!

I was looking forward to spending time with Paislee at Christmas, and the parts that had Paislee enjoying Christmas, her family and remodeled home were the best part of this book.
The middle with all the unanswered questions about McCormac’s death and the missing or sick puppies dragged a bit. I wasn’t convinced that Amelia wasn’t using Paislee.
My feelings about it softened at the end. Paislee gets to be a hero.
The tale was good but didn’t hit high marks for me. It may be entirely your cup of tea. The book could be read as a stand-alone because there is good introduction to main characters and of course full introduction to the new people introduced for the story.
Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington for the opportunity to read this book.

3.5/5 ⭐️
Paislee is back in her next mystery investigating the murder of a man at a New Year’s party.

I really like the characters and setting in this series. Normally, I feel like there is more sleuthing about the murder but this one was more about the dogs, which led to the murder. I found puppy smuggling a weird take but maybe that is more of a thing overseas! I felt like the last one was similar - a lot more searching for a tangential thing rather than sleuthing about the murder. Hopefully, the next one will see Paislee doing more detecting! It was still an easy to read enjoyable cozy mystery.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was another wonderful installment in the Scottish Shire series. Amelia Henry works as a receptionist at the police station and part time at Paislee's yarn shop. Amelia's brother McCormac comes home for a visit, driving an expensive car, flashing money, and gifting expensive pedigree puppies. When McCormac is shot and killed under cover of the New Years Eve fireworks, Amelia begs Paislee to help find his killer. There are plenty of suspects. including McCormac's many girlfriends and a few of his unsavory friends/associates. When Amelia disappears, Paislee enlists the help of handsome DI Zeffer and sparks fly - which might prove interesting in the next book!

It might be Christmas time, but that doesn't stop crime from happening. Paislee is in the thick of things when her friend asks for help in solving her brothers murder. Plus there is something going on with the puppies that were gifted as Christmas presents. Is everything connected? Or is it all a coincidence?

Murder At A Scottish Christmas is an excellent addition to Hall's A Scottish Shire Mystery series. I enjoyed the mysteries, the danger and suspense, the characters, the setting, and the possibilty of DI Zeffer.
Highly recommend this book and series.

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

Murder at a Scottish Christmas is book #6 in the A Scottish Shire Mystery series by Traci Hall.

Paislee just wants to be in her home to celebrate the holidays and spend time with family and friends. But when a friend’s brother is killed, she promises to help solve the murder. There is so much that I love about this book - the characters, the friendships, the holidays, puppies, and the Scottish setting. There is a bonus knitting project at the end. I enjoy learning about Scotland and traditions in each book.

Thank you to the author, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Paislee Shaw, owner of a knit shop, single mother of almost-thirteen Brody, loving granddaughter to Angus and a support to her friends in tough times is deliriously happy to be back in her home for New Year. She's planned an open house for New Year's day and has invited all her friends, including Amelia, who works part-time in the knit shop. Amelia will be bringing her brother, McCormac who's visiting for the holiday. Everyone's enjoying Hogmanay(New Year's Eve) in the town square and looking forward to the fireworks at midnight. Sadly, the explosions muffle another sound -that of a gunshot that kills McCormac. Amelia enlists Paislee to help her discover his killer. McCormac was a wheeler-dealer with a criminal history but he came to town in in a flashy car bringing pedigreed puppies as gifts for family and friends. Amelia want to believe he had put his past behind him although mounting evidence seems to indicate otherwise. Paislee and Amelia put themselves in grave danger in attempting to find the killer and when Amelia disappears Paislee has to call in DI Zeffer to find her friend.
The action is fast-paced, the characters well-drawn and the mystery keeps you guessing. Throw in Paislee's romantic life and a message from her estranged mother and you have another great entry in the series.
Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington for the ARC.

Paislee Shaw owns Cashmere Crush, a yarn shop in Scotland. She lives with her young son Brody, her Grandpa, and their Scottish terrier Wallace. Since a pipe burst in her home leaving her with an unusable house, she's been staying in her best friend Lydia's condo. But it's the holidays, and she wants to be back in her own home for Christmas. But it can't be done until the repairs are finished -- so she'll just have to make do.

So she decides to have Christmas dinner at a local hotel, and invites her friend, police receptionist, Amelia Henry, to join her. Amelia shows up with her brother McCormac, who's come from Ireland to see her. It's obvious he's more than a little drunk, it's no hardship when he leaves early.

Fortunately, Lydia was able to offer incentive to the workers and Paislee is thrilled with her new kitchen. So much so, she'll be able to offer the traditional buffet feast to friends and family. But Hogmanay night -- New Year's Eve -- McCormac collapses, and everyone thinks he's just drunk. Except he's not. And now Amelia wants Paislee to find out who did this to McCormac, because she's been placed on leave from the station due to McCormac being her brother. Can Paislee find the killer? Or will it be something else that leads her to the truth?...

This is the sixth book in the series and I've enjoyed them all. The first one was a tad confusing, with the Scottish dialect, but I've picked up on what the words mean in English, so it's a breeze to get through (Scotland, here I come!). There are two plots in this tale -- one, the death of McCormac, and two, the pups that he gave to his sister and family as Christmas presents. I will say no more on the subject, as giving too much away (what I've said in the beginning is done early on), and I will not spoil the book for others.

Paislee tries to keep out of the investigation, but Amelia is desperate on two counts, and unfortunately, Paislee is drawn in once again to a murder investigation. There is also the problem of Hamish, who wants to keep seeing Paislee, and DI Zeffer, who is causing problems for her in more ways than one.

The clues are there along the way, but not easy to find; I appreciate this as I love nothing more than working my brain to put the puzzle together to find answers. The murderer is indeed a surprise; again, another thing I truly enjoyed. The ending comes together beautifully, and I will say that I hope things go in the direction that I think they are leading to. A terrific cozy for Christmas, and I would definitely recommend it to others.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review,