Murder in the Scottish Hills

I am positively enchanted by this series!

In this installment, Maud and Daisy are contacted by a maid who works for an art dealer. She fears the gallery is dealing in forged art and engages the agency's services. They travel to the village of Braemar to investigate, and on the way, Maud literally has a man's dead body drop into her lap.

They don't intend to get involved in the murder investigation. But as they dig into the possible forgeries, there's another murder, this time of the artist who may have been creating the fake works of art. Maud and Daisy realize that all three crimes may be interconnected.

I just love the relationship between Maud and Daisy! They aren't superior and servant, they're friends. And I like Maud, but Daisy seems like someone I would really enjoy hanging out with. I also appreciate the way Travers incorporates Daisy's accent into the story. It isn't written in such a way that it's distracting to read, but it does help me “hear” it in my head. I had to look up a couple of the words she used, and “sweetiewife” may have just added itself to my vocabulary.

The mystery wasn't extremely convoluted, and as I read through the story, the big reveal of the murderer's identity wasn't a tremendous surprise. The village of Braemar is small, and the cast of suspects was limited. But the reveal itself was clever, and it's fun to see our lady detectives learn and work to improve their skills. I certainly don't think I'd have the pluck to set myself out as a private investigator!

The hints of potential romance between Maud and Lord Hamish Urquhart are a treat, too. Maud really twists herself in knots trying to avoid admitting even an inkling of feelings for him, while he's much clearer about his feelings for her. I hope we see more developments between them in future books.

And I loved the detail about Maud learning to work out with Indian clubs! My husband uses them to strengthen his arms and shoulders. I'm glad to know Maud won't be a shrinking violet if she finds herself in a sticky situation. Maybe Daisy should quit poking fun at Maud over them and try them herself.

Kudos to Lydia Travers for an engaging series. Hopefully one day I'll get to see Scotland for myself. Until then, I'll live vicariously through our lady detectives.