The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency by Lydia Travers- Cozy crime
A book that is a treasure and a pleasure to read. Maud McIntyre has set up her detective agency and her assistant is her former ladies maid Daisy. Their first case takes them to a country house as jewels have been going missing from house parties and the host is keen that this isn't going to happen this time- or if it does Maud and Daisy can hopefully find the perpetrator. When one of the guests is killed Maud wonders if this is above their capabilities but jewels are missing and she and Daisy are right on hand to find the culprits.
I loved this, I'm smiling as I’m writing this as it's an evocative piece set in 1911 when ladies were just beginning to step out into doing more than being chattels. Maud and Daisy have their wits about them and as lady and maid are perfectly poised to hear any gossip or wrong doings both above and below stairs. There are other small cases and twists and turns making this a page turning wonderful book. There's a slightly whimsical nature to this- in a very good way. It's a warm hearted easy read with descriptions and characters to make the reader smile along the way. Loved it.
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When Maud McIntyre sets up her own private detective agency, she never imagines her first case will involve murder… A mystery in the Highlands? The Scottish Ladies’ Detective Agency is on the case!
Edinburgh, 1911: When Maud McIntyre and her lady’s maid, Daisy, form a detective agency, they never dream their first case will take place at a glamorous house in the Scottish Highlands. But when the Duchess of Duddingston, concerned that a notorious jewellery thief will target her lavish weekend party, employs Maud to go undercover as a guest to find the culprit, the agency has its first case to solve…
Undercover with Daisy as her maid, Maud follows a trail of clues across the Duddingston House estate. And as she meets the weekend guests, she hopes one of them will reveal themselves as the jewellery thief. But when one of the house guests is discovered dead, Maud and Daisy realise they’re not only hunting precious gems, but a murderer…
As Maud and Daisy investigate, they realise that a connection in Edinburgh might hold a vital clue that will help them solve the case. Travelling back to the city, Maud hopes that what she and Daisy uncover will help them piece together the mystery.
But when Maud receives a telephone call from the Duchess requesting urgent assistance, she realises that the murderer didn’t have just one victim in mind. Speeding down the drive to Duddingston House, Maud and Daisy hear gunshots ring out across the estate. Will they reach the Duchess in time to save her? And might they catch the murderer in the act?
A warm 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.
Audio:
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