Mystery in the Highlands by Lydia Travers
When members of a choir start dropping dead in the Highlands, Maud McIntyre and her lady’s maid Daisy go undercover to discover the inharmonious culprit. But will they uncover the killer before another murder takes place?
Edinburgh, 1911: When Maud and Daisy receive a letter from Daisy’s cousin, Clara, sharing her fears that two sudden deaths in her local choir weren’t accidental, at first Daisy thinks her cousin is overreacting. But Maud’s detective senses tell her something is afoot, and so they make haste to the Highlands to investigate.
As soon as they arrive, Maud and Daisy go undercover in the choir to find potential suspects. But with one murder deemed a heart attack, and the other declared an unfortunate drowning, Maud and Daisy have their work cut out when it comes to persuading the local police that perhaps the choir isn’t as perfectly in tune as everyone thinks...
But finally they receive a clue in the form of an anonymous letter. Enclosed is a rhyme which they’re certain holds the key to the next murder…
With the clock ticking down to another death, they know they can’t miss a beat - but will Maud and Daisy solve the mysterious rhyming verse before another singer is silenced, or will this case lead to their own untimely swan song?
A gripping and unputdownable 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.
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Review
‘Mystery in the Highlands’ is a charming cosy crime, packed full of intrigue and red herrings. This is the third book in the series but can definitely be read as a standalone as the author gives you all the pertinent details.
This was an easy read and I read it in one day! The mystery of the dying choir members was interesting from the get-go and kept my attention to the final reveal! I did manage to guess the culprit but I was still invested in seeing how it played out! I loved the location as Loch Linnhe is my special place in Scotland. The inclusion of all the history is part of why I really enjoy the books as I am a history buff. We are beginning to see the shadow of WW1 looming and it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the books. I really love Daisy. For me she is the standout character - funny, smart, and not afraid to make fun of herself and plus I like that someone of her station in life is an integral part of the investigations!
There was one issue with the book which really scunnered me. It is when Daisy uses Scots and then Maud translates it for us. Scots is a wide enough recognised language that I believe that most readers will be able to determine what Daisy is meaning and if they don't there is always Google. It just makes me feel as if Scots is seen as being an inferior language that it needs to be either translated or it's Daisy being trained to use the English version. But that’s just my subjective view as I am a passionate campaigner for using Scots in literature!
Let’s see where book four takes us!
