This ebook was an easy read about a reverend visiting her brother and niece on a Scottish island where murder and mayhem are aplenty. She takes it upon herself to solve the mysteries in her own unique way. I enjoyed the odd characters and I loved having an easy read for stressful times. ( )

cosy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, Scotland, murder, theft, greed

Vicar Annabelle is in Scottish Isles to be relief for the regular as well as visit with her brother and niece for a short time. While there she meets young and old in the village, is asked to keep safe a valuable box of jewelry, and locates a murder victim. It's the stormy season and there is no resident law enforcement on the island which makes everything more difficult! Good sleuthing, interesting characters, and enough red herrings to make it more exasperating. Loved it!
I have the audio narrated by Julie Missen who is great! ( )

Reverend Annabelle Dixon is off for a quiet visit with her brother and niece, on a little island off the coast of Scotland. It will be a time for rest and relaxation, with the only work being filling in for the village's regular vicar, who is taking a well-deserved vacation himself.

Surely it won't be anything like the busy excitement Upton St. Mary's has experienced recently.

Annabelle meets some interesting people, including an American couple who have purchased a lairdship on the island and want to see the three square feet of land that goes with it, a retired rock star, and Harry Anderson, the pub owner and bagpipe player who enlivens everything he can with his bagpipes.

This is all within the range of the expected. What isn't expected is a theft from the church safe, followed by Harry's brutal murder. Clues lie with her niece Bonnie's young friend Felicity, Felicity's rather unpleasant aunt, Kirsty, and retired rock star, Pip Craven, who is suspected of being the source of the drugs suddenly circulating in the area. The American couple, Mitch and Patty, and their increasingly frustrating quest to meet the man who sold them the lairdship and see their tiny patch of Scottish land, is surely a distraction.

It's a quaint, charming village peopled by quite real human beings. Golden gives us humor without laughing at her characters. It's warm and comfortable while being a mystery more than interesting enough to hold the reader's attention--very much what I want a cozy to be.

Recommended.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the author and am reviewing it voluntarily. ( )

Another delightful book by Alison Golden! If you like cozy mysteries that have a touch of whimsy, a little budding romance, lots of fun characters, and a plot that keeps you guessing, then this is the book for you. ( )