May 19, 2025
Cozy Mystery
Length: 350 pages
Series: Lady Poppy Proudfoot
Book description courtesy of Goodreads
Scotland, 1924: When Lady Poppy Proudfoot travels to the Highlands for a midsummer party, the last thing she and her fellow guests expect is for a body to wash up beside the loch.
Despite protests that it could have been an accident, Poppy is convinced it’s murder and decides to dust off her law degree and hunt for clues. But when the police arrive, the grumpy Inspector MacKenzie dismisses her evidence, insisting a crime scene is no place for a Lady. The nerve!
With the help of her trusted Labrador, Major, Poppy begins to unpick the case. But she soon has two mysteries to solve, as her host Lady Constance Balfour claims a diamond and emerald bracelet has been stolen. Could the two cases be linked? Was it Freddy the footman, a favorite of her ladyship? Or American actress Miss Cornett, with a keen eye for jewels? Or with such a dazzling guest list, was someone from the local village tempted into the grounds by the party?
When a woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Poppy is attacked, she realizes that someone wants her off the case. Someone connected to Balfour House is a murderer and a thief, but who? And can Poppy solve the mystery before she, too, washes up beside the loch?
My Thoughts:
This is the first book in the series and I'm grateful Net Galley let me read it early. I am always excited to get ARC's approved. It's the first in her new series so I wanted to read it to be in on it from the beginning. I've read some of her other one called The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency, and it was cute.
This story picks up with new characters, Lady Poppy and her love interest, Inspector MacKenzie. Poppy is attending a get together in the Highlands and of course encounters a murder. They don't even know who it is at first and when Inspector MacKenzie arrives on the scene sparks fly between them in many ways. He considers her to be an interfering busybody who has no business involving herself in crime detection and she considers him to be an insufferable know it all. You can guess where this goes as the book moves on....predictable, tried and true plot but cute nonetheless.
As the two begin to trust each other and work together a little more they each find different avenues to explore. Poppy takes the lead on some missing jewelry that might lead to clues to finding the murderer and the Inspector works to identify the body and work out yet another attempted murder.
Along with all the drama of the case is a colorful slate of characters including American actors who think a lot of themselves and friends of Poppy who are loving and loyal. I thought the actors were a fun addition to the story line and added to the red herrings that pop up. The story had a lot of twists that kept me guessing and while the plot wasn't super involved it was enough to keep you engaged. A strong start to a new series and I'll look for book two soon!
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