Things have been quiet at the detective agency since their last successful case. Maud and Daisy take on a case for free when someone suspects art forgery is taking place in a small village. But on the way there, the pair discover a dead body on the train…
Murder in the Scottish Hills is the second book to feature Maud and Daisy as they seek to establish themselves as private detectives in Scotland during the 1910s. I have previously reviewed the first book in the series, The Scottish Ladies’ Detective Agency, and there are some spoilers about the outcome of that book so I would suggest reading the books in order.
A maid suspects that her employers are selling forgeries and Maud offers to investigate free of charge during a lull in paid work. She and Daisy head to the small village of Braemar, just outside Balmoral (yes, there is an encounter with King George V at one point!) They become embroiled in another matter when they find a body on the train. Could there be a link between the forgeries and the murder or is it coincidence?
Maud has mixed emotions when she spots Lord Urquhart and the romantic tension and gentle antagonism continues. I enjoyed the historic detail that underpins the plot and the characters dynamics. The Scottish dialect brings the speech parts of the book to life. The case itself, combined with the murder, maintained the mystery until the end, although for me it was of secondary interest to Maud and Daisy’s exploits.
Murder in the Scottish Hills is a very enjoyable murder mystery.
Book Description:
When Maud McIntyre and her lady’s maid Daisy travel into the Scottish Highlands, the last thing they expect to find is a body on the train… Will these keen amateur sleuths stop a murderer in his tracks?
Edinburgh, 1911: When Maud McIntyre receives a letter from a maid called Rose, sharing her suspicions that something strange is happening in the house where she works, she and her assistant Daisy immediately travel to the Highlands to investigate.
But as they are changing trains, the body of a man falls from the carriage right in front of them, a bullet in his head. Maud and Daisy can’t believe it – they’ve waited ages for a new case, and now one has literally landed in front of them! And when the local police rule the death as a tragic accident, the pair have no choice but to investigate what they believe is a murder…
Arriving in the Scottish village, Maud and Daisy go undercover to begin their hunt for the murderer, while also investigating the strange behaviour of Rose’s employer, a local art dealer. As they begin to piece together the chain of events, Maud and Daisy wonder whether the cases might be linked. Is it possible the man on the train was killed to cover up something in the village? And, if so, who would do such a thing?
When a local artist is found murdered, Maud and Daisy become convinced the two cases are connected. Searching for the link between the deaths, will Maud and Daisy solve the case before another mysterious murder takes place?
A page-turning historical whodunnit, perfect for fans of the mysteries of Helena Dixon, Verity Bright, T.E. Kinsey and Catherine Coles.
Author Bio:
Lydia Travers was born in London. She moved progressively north until settling with her husband in a village on the edge of the Scottish Highlands. She has raised children, bred dogs and kept chickens; and for as long as she can remember has written for pleasure. A former legal academic and practitioner with a PhD in criminology, she now runs self-catering holiday accommodation, sings in a local choir and is walked daily by the family dog.
Lydia also writes as Linda Tyler and her first novel under that name, Revenge of the Spanish Princess, won a 2018 Romance Writers of America competition for the beginning of an historical romance. Her second novel The Laird’s Secret was Commended in the 2021 Scottish Association of Writers’ Pitlochry Quaich competition for the beginning of a romantic novel. Mischief in Midlothian won the 2022 Scottish Association of Writers’ Constable Silver Stag trophy. She has had a number of short stories published in magazines, journals and anthologies in the UK, the USA and Australia.
