Apr 30, 202310 min read

The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency by Lydia Travers. Review

Book Description:

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.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency' by Lydia Travers.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Lydia Travers, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 27th April 2023.

This is the first book I have read by this author. It is also the first book in her 'Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency'' series.

I was originally drawn to this book by its fantastic eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'A warm historical whodunnit, perfect for fans of the mysteries of Helena Dixon, Verity Bright, T.E. Kinsey, and Catherine Coles.' I am a huge fan of both Helena Dixon and Verity Bright so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 30 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Edinburgh, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. I have actually holidayed in Scotland many time so am intrigued to see if I recognise places based on anywhere I visited while there.

This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Maud McIntyre. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO LYDIA ON A PAGE TURNING SUCCESSFUL START TO WHAT PROMISES TO BE AN EPIC SERIES!!

This book is a successful unputdownable cosy mystery by the very talented Lydia Travers. I'm always a bit dubious with books based historically as I worry about not being able to 'deal' with the language used but I absolutely love how Lydia has written her books. The language used is perfectly suited to the era whilst being easy to read and making it quite humorous on several occasions. The atmosphere and descriptions were perfect. The synopsis and cover also suit the storyline.

This may be the first book I have read by this fantastic author but it most certainly wont be my last and I am looking forward to getting stuck in to the second book in this fantastic series which is called 'Murder In The Scottish Hills' so keep your eyes out for my review of that which is coming soon!! In this gripping story we meet Maud McIntyre and Daisy Cameron who set up their detective agency in Edinburgh in 1912. Maud is asked to come and investigate the theft of jewellery at the Duchess of Duddingston's manor at the weekend. Daisy accompanies Maud and acts as Maud's maid. This storyline is based in a time when it is uncommon and practically unknown for a female to participate in detective work and is also set during the suffragette movement. The fact that Lydia has done her research shines through the storyline. It is one of my pet hates when an author does not do enough research on the topic they are writing about as it can lead to unnecessary mistakes which can spoil the storyline for me so a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS LYDIA on researching your history well!! Daisy, acting as Maud's maid has the ability to discover what is being said amongst the other maids and staff and passes them back on to Maud. Between Daisy seeing what goes on 'under stairs' and Maud finding out more from the guests they slowly start building a bigger picture of the guests and end up trying to solve more than just the mystery of the jewel thief. I thoroughly enjoyed disappearing into the past and it felt like I was on a beautiful holiday to Scotland losing myself in the fresh air and the Scottish dialect. I became completely hooked and every time I would tell myself one more chapter and then I will get on with something else each chapter ended in a way I just had to carry on listening and in the end I completely devoured it in several hours! Lydia's evocative writing skills and Helen's fantastic narrative ensures the reader is completely captivated throughout. I found the storyline to start slow but pick up pace extremely fast likening it to a rollercoaster ride where you are quickly pulled to the top and then taken on fast twists and turns until you get to the mind blowing ending!! It is ram packed with friendship, lies, murder, crime, mystery, history , tension, suspense and everything you could ask for in a cozy mystery. Lydia had me laughing, shocked, angry at the lack of respect fior women and absolutely hooked throughout!! This is definitely one of those books that can be read in front of a fire, on a beach or relaxing in the garden and it sweeps you away to the beautiful Scotland in times gone by. The storyline had me hooked immediately and I love the way that Maud and Daisy go about their detective work. There was so much going on that it kept me entertained thoroughly throughout with mystery after mystery and clue after clue. It was filled with suspense, mystery, laughter, murder, clues, deceit. tension, suspense and so much more!! I never did work out who the thief was and was completely shocked when they were discovered. A great achievement as I am a huge crime fan and tend to work out who did what quite early on, especially considering I have read so many of Verity's books yet she manages to get me every time. The atmosphere was perfectly suited to the mystery. One of the things that I loved the most was that although this is predominantly a crime book is that it has plenty of moments of humour throughout which lightens up the atmosphere and had me giggling away one moment and shocked the next! An absolutely perfect start to what promises to be a fantastic and addictive cozy mystery series and I cannot wait to get stuck into the next book especially after reading the teaser chapters at the end of this one!!

This is one of the few books that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Helen McAlpine who did a great job bringing this story to life. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Helen did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices as well as accents!!! I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Lydia but also to listening to more books narrated by Helen!

It is always worrying when starting a new series as you have no idea who the characters are. It is very important for me to bond with not only the lead protagonists but also any characters that may make repeat appearances during the series too.

I absolutely loved these new characters which are all realistic, well rounded, have a mix of personalities and each work their part perfectly in the book! Thanks to Lydia's evocative writing skills and Helens amazing narrative they all jump out of the pages and come to life before the readers eyes. They are all larger than life, realistic and a complete breathe of fresh air. Maud is an amazing and very likeable character, strong willed and made me laugh on several occasions, she is absolutely unique as well as a very strong female lead which is a great bonus for myself being female. She is keen to follow in the footsteps of fictional detectives that include Sherlock Holmes and uses his techniques in her own discovery work which included sleuthing and disguising herself! It would not have been easy trying to make a name for herself in a time where the main roles were predominately filled by men and there was the Suffragette movement ongoing but Maud and Daisy held strong and made themselves known. She is determined and when she does make mistakes she ensures that she learns from them. I absolutely love her calm determination and strong personality and I really cannot wait to see what she gets up to next!! Daisy is another loveable lead character who I adored. She made me laugh on several occasions also and is cheeky, loveable and funny. She is definitely a woman that I would love to be around when I'm doing my work!! They are both young women with Maud being 25 and Daisy being 24 and in a "mans world" where woman are taking a stand and these are two fantastic women to have around at the time! They both take their investigations seriously but also have some fun ways to get the information they need which included several lots of fancy dress items!! I loves the fantastic dynamic between them and enjoyed watching their characters and friendship develop. They both complimented each other and worked perfectly together sometimes not even having to talk to know what the other needs/wants making them a great, strong female duo! I loved meeting them along with several other characters that we come across in this fascinating funny page turner. I can't forget the absolutely adorable Gladstone who is an adventure in himself!!!. I cannot wait to meet them all again and see what they get up to in the next "episode".

Love, love, love this fantastic and explosive start to a promising new series that I cannot wait to get stuck back into!!

An absolutely explosive start to a promising new series Lydia!! Congratulations and welcome to my favourite cozy mystery author list! A page turning and unputdownable success! Here's to looking forward to your next book 🥂

Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the first two chapters of Lydia's 'Murder In The Scottish Hills' which is the second book in this series and promises to be just as addictive as this book!! Keep your eyes peeled for my review of it coming soon!!

Overall a fun and easy to read page turning cozy murder mystery with the perfect amount of crime and humour that will keep you turning the pages.

Genres covered in this novel include Historical Mysteries, Romantic Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Thriller, Murder, Mysteries, Suspense, Historical Romance, Cozy Crafts & Hobbies Mystery, Cozy Culinary Mystery, Romantic Suspense, 20th Century Historical Romance, Women's Detective Fiction, Cozy Animal Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Romance and Crime amongst others.

I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of T E Kinsey, Agatha Christie, Verity Bright, Helena Dixon, Catherine Coles, Lee Strauss and anyone looking for a very easy, addictive, page turning and fun read.

306 pages/ 9 hours 37 minutes This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle, free on kindle unlimited, £8.99 in paperback and £16 for the audiobook at time of review via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!! Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook. Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews #TheScottishLadiesDetectiveAgency #LydiaTravers #ScottishLadiesDetectiveAgency #Bookouture #BookoutureAnonymous #BookReview #BlogTour #BooksOnTour #Goodreads #NetGalley #Amazon #AmazonKindle #Bookstagram #Bookblogger #KindleUnlimited #Audible #Audiobook @TheScottishLadiesDetectiveAgency @LydiaTravers @ScottishLadiesDetectiveAgency @Bookouture @BookoutureAnonymous @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86 @Goodreads @Netgalley @Amazon @AmazonKindle @KindleUnlimited @Bookstagram @BookBlogger @KindleUnlimited @Audible @Audiobook https://kcmw86.wixsite.com/bookworm86 https://m.facebook.com/Bookworm1986/?ref=bookmarks https://m.facebook.com/Bookwork86/?__tn__=%2As-R

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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.