The Poison Pen Murders - Dee Macdonald

 Anonymous letters, a years-old mystery and… a dead body? Ally McKinley is on the case!

Ally McKinley might be the owner of the cosiest little guesthouse in the Scottish Highlands, but she also has a reputation as an amateur detective! So when a threatening note drops through her elderly neighbour Juliet Munro’s door, Ally is called in to investigate. But what first seems like a nasty prank soon proves lethal, when the very next day, Juliet is found murdered…

Her faithful dog Flora by her side, Ally soon learns that more than one woman in Locharran has received a poison pen letter. And though locals’ lips are sealed over coffee and cake, Ally skilfully unlocks the old Locharran mystery that connects the recipients: they were all rumoured to be involved in the death of a young woman called Marie McKay. Is someone trying to stamp out Marie’s killer? And if so, who in Locharran is not who they seem?

A faded photo of a little blond boy with pale eyes has Ally on the right track, but when a woman’s scream shatters the village’s gentle calm, can Ally sort through the secrets before the post delivers another murder?

Fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Clare Chase will love this totally addictive and cozy mystery set in the beautiful Scottish Highlands from bestselling author Dee MacDonald.

My Review

I always think it sounds strange saying that I really enjoyed a book about murder, but strange or not, I do enjoy them and this one in particular. I've read a few of the Ally McKinley series now (this is book 5) and each one of them has been really entertaining and a good read.

This time, Ally finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation again when a series of women seem to be being attacked and drowned in their baths. As Ally investigates further, she finds out why this might be happening and who might be behind it from their past, without knowing who that might be today.
I didn't solve this one before Ally, I had a few ideas, but I hadn't got it quite right. I didn't really matter though, as this was an entertaining read in any case and I wasn't millions of miles away from the solution.
I'm sure we'll be back with Ally again before much longer and I'm looking forward to reading more about her adventures.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

Not Home Alone - Kayley Loring

 She just walked into her dream Christmas rental… and found her worst enemy already unpacked.

Eternal optimist Merrily Tucker is excited to spend Christmas in the most beautiful house in town; a twinkly, tinsel-lined rental that’s just hers for the holidays. But inside is one big problem… the man who once turned her down in front of the whole of Holly Grove, irritatingly handsome, certified Grinch Grant Moody. He says he’s the owner. And he’s planning to spend Christmas here too.

The town might think he’s a playboy, but Grant Moody is determined to spend his Christmas nights alone. Zero decorations, a ban on baked goods, and definitely no holiday spirit. A mix-up with the rental company isn’t going to get in his way. Even if the woman at his door is the irresistibly gorgeous one-who-got-away Merrily Tucker…

Merrily and Grant are both too stubborn to leave.

Battling for control over what music plays on the speakers and heaving Christmas trees in and out of the house, they find themselves all tangled in tinsel. But Merrily’s “when I think about you, I touch my elf” t-shirt has Grant’s candy cane tingling in a way that begs the question…

Secretly, do they actually want to be home alone together this Christmas…?

An enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity Christmas romance perfect for fans of Meghan Quinn, Lucy Score and Ali Hazelwood. Holiday cheer in female fo

rm + the six-foot grump she loves to hate = the perfect festive read.

TROPES:
Forced proximity

Enemies-to-lovers

Fake dating
Spice levels 🌶️ 🌶️

My Review

I was worried when I started this that it might be just a bit too much 'Christmas' after all; our heroine's name is Merrily! Fortunately, as soon as I got into the story and the blossoming relationship between Merrily and Grant, I really didn't care. Merrily loves Christmas; her father owns a Christmas shop in the small town she grew up in and coming back to visit after years away, she rents a house very much like the famous Home Alone house from the film to stay in, as she can't stay with her Dad. Her plans are to have some time to herself there, but she finds herself sharing it with her nemesis, Grant Moody. He's the man who humiliated her when she was in her late teens in front of the whole town and the reason she has stayed away since.

I loved the chemistry between this pair and how they came to eventually accept one another as they understood more about each other. When the humiliation is revealed, I have to admit, I thought she was being a bit dramatic, but it worked for the plot. They make a great couple and although there are some things to work through, there isn't the big misunderstanding you often get with books like this.

This IS a Christmas story; it would be great to read curled in front of a fire with a mulled wine and snow falling softly outside the window. Sadly for me, when I read it yesterday, it was an unseasonably hot October day and not at all festive. I still really enjoyed it, though. 

A Wedding Date with Death - Maeve Haran

 Something old, something new, something borrowed… someone dead?!

When Sadie Sutton swapped four walls for the four wheels of her trusty orange VW campervan, she didn’t realise that it would come with a new career as a super sleuth! But when a wedding at local beauty spot Winching Priory Hotel is halted because the father of the groom has been found fatally poisoned, Sadie drops everything to take on her next case!

As the wedding grinds to a halt, Sadie soon learns that the victim, gifted local artist Benedict Lawrence, also had a talent for making enemies, from the snooty hotel owners to his long-suffering ex-wife. With an ever-growing list of possible suspects, Sadie is stumped. Until she finds a crumpled, threatening note sent to Benedict hours before he died.

The note leads Sadie deep into Benedict’s past, to a secret love affair, a bitter feud and a long-buried grudge. And when she finds a faded newspaper article about him and his artist friends in their youth, she’s stunned at who else she recognises in the photo…

With secrets and lies at every turn, Sadie knows no guests are safe. Can she crack the case before the nearly wed become newly dead?

My Review

A Wedding Date with Death is the second book in the campervan detective series. This time Sadie and her gang of campervan-living detectives find themselves investigating the murder of a famous artist, who may have been popular for his art, but doesn't seem to be popular in person. 

I do enjoy the way in this series we have a whole cast of people who get involved in solving the mystery, each bringing their own skills. Being the second book, I'm starting to get my head around who is who, as much as I like having a few people involved, it was confusing at first as to who was who.

This was an entertaining read (always feels funny to say about a murder story) and one that kept me turning the pages until the end.