Murder In The Scottish Hills by Lydia Travers

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.

About the author

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.

Review

‘Murder in the Scottish Hills’ is the second book in this entertaining and lively series! I loved it just as must as the first book and thought the development of the characters in particular was done extremely well! You don't need to have read the first book in the series to have to enjoy this one as can easily be picked up as a stand-alone.

When Maud McIntrye and her assistant, Daisy, receive a call from a young maid, Rose asking for their help as she believes something untoward is happening in the house where she works they jump into action and head on up to the Highlands. But when they are changing trains a body of a man falls at their feet and it's clear he has been shot! The police initially believe it is suicide but Maud isn't so sure. When they arrive at Ballater they go uncover to investigate the death and also the goings on at Rose’s work, the house of a local art dealer. Maud and Daisy think the cases might be linked, especially when a local artist is found murdered as well. Will they be able to find the killer before another victim is found…

I loved this book! Ballater and Braemar is an area of Scotland which I love and the descriptions of the area were on point. I'm even staying at the hotel that Maud and Daisy were staying at later this year. Maud and Daisy came across as a much more developed combination of protagonists in this story as it felt to me more authentic and based on equals rather than employer and employee. Plus, some of their antics and disguises were hilarious! It altogether felt a bit more relaxed and fun this time round.

Looking forward to book three in the series! Let me know if you pick this one up.