It is my pleasure to welcome Lydia Barron-Smythe from
Murder at a Scottish Castle: A Scottish Cozy Mystery
(A Scottish Shire Mystery) by Traci Hall today.
Heya, I’m Lydia. Go ahead, ask me anything. Well, unless it’s a secret. I would never give up one of Paislee’s confidences. That’s what besties are for!
Profession?
Estate Agent for luxury properties. Are ye in the market?
How long have you known Paislee?
Primary school. She stuck up for me against a bully. I’m tall, which is fine as an adult, but kids were cruel. Called me ostrich and worse. We both turned thirty this year so, it’s a long time.
Married or single?
Married! Joyfully, disgustingly happy about it too, despite his mental family.
Favorite color?
Steel gray, like my eyes.
Kids or no?
None for me and my hubby is fine with that. We get tae spoil Brody and his brothers have procreated enough.
Excerpt from Murder at a Scottish Castle:
Depending on the hour, Brody’s thoughts for his future changed. A doctor, an astronaut, a footballer, or a race car driver. A drummer. He was clear that he didn’t want to own a yarn shop, though he said it was fine for her. Not a teacher, either, like Mrs. Martin or Headmaster McCall.
The two times she and Hamish had gone out for dinner, Brody had been at Edwyn’s overnight. Avoidance was easier than trying to explain.
Grandpa teased her and Lydia steered her toward new clothes that didn’t scream mum. She liked being a mum, but understood what Lydia meant. Her best friend was beyond beautiful, and a loving, married woman now.
“Can I have the home adverts?” Paislee asked.
“Aye.” Grandpa slid them across to Paislee and she scanned them as she ate a bite of sausage. “Lydia having any luck?”
“There’s a place Lydia wants tae show me, so I’m hopeful.”
Lydia had married Corbin Smythe and now both were hyphenated as the Barron-Smythes. She didn’t want children of her own and spoiled Brody. Corbin was content with his army of Smythe nieces and nephews.
Lydia sold real estate and was the best estate agent around. Despite that, she and Corbin couldn’t make a decision on a new home together and were “cramped” in Lydia’s three-bed flat overlooking the Moray Firth.
Corbin wasn’t complaining exactly but he’d made a few remarks about wanting his own office within the apartment. Lydia had offered to share but they didn’t have the same design taste. He owned a successful tech business and rented a small office space, but since he’d already sold his home to buy a shared one, he was feeling the lack of privacy.
The difficulty in finding a new home was because Corbin had grown up loaded. Lydia hadn’t but had worked hard for her money and was also rich. They couldn’t agree on a combined house. She wanted three bedrooms, he wanted four. There were times as she listened to them get heated that Paislee was glad to be unmarried. The mistakes she made (while plenty) were her own.
Paislee eyed Brody over her big mug that said I <3 MUM on the side, a gift from Brody for her last year’s birthday. This November, she’d be the big thirty. Lydia wanted to throw her a party, but Paislee was resistant.
“So. Any thoughts on how we should spend our Sunday Funday?”
Brody concentrated on a second helping of eggs and potatoes, snagging another piece of sausage. And toast. And orange marmalade, his favorite.
“I dunno. Edwyn has tae be with his dad for a comic book conference in Edinburgh. I think it sounds fun, but Edwyn says it’s dull as mud.”
“A comic book conference?” Grandpa lowered the business section of the paper he’d been reading. “Hmm. Is that where you get tae meet the comic book characters?”
“Is it?” Brody looked stricken. “I wanna go! Can we?”
“Maybe it’s not that,” Paislee said. Edinburgh was over three hours away and the Juke needed a tune-up. “I think Edwyn would have told you, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll text him, though. He might not have known.”
Paislee had acquiesced to a penknife for Brody’s P7 graduation, that he loved. She and Grandpa had picked out a top-of-the-line model and had it engraved. She’d also said yes to a shared mobile since when Brody was gone, she wanted him to be able to call her. It wasn’t the top of the line, but Brody was still glad to use it. Grandpa shared with him, not caring about a mobile. It was kept near the landline to be charged and not allowed upstairs at night.
“After breakfast,” Paislee instructed. “And it’s your turn for the dishes.”
“All right,” Brody grumbled but there wasn’t much heat.
“So. I know you have a paper tae write. How long will it take you? Should you get that out of the way before we go do something?”
At that, her son deflated over the table as if she’d stuck him with a pin and he was a balloon. “Mum! That’s the worst.”
Grandpa chuckled. “Mibbe you should be an actor.”
Brody slowly straightened. “Naw. I want tae be a football star. Just like Patterson!” The young up-and-coming footballer Nathan Patterson had just signed with Everton, as a right-back, and it was all Brody could talk about.
“Let’s concentrate on getting through today first.” Paislee sipped her tea, content.
Brody sighed. “I can do my homework in an hour,” he decided.
If he said an hour, Paislee allotted two. “What will you do it on?”
“Is that dead piper in the paper?” He’d been reading the comics. Brody enjoyed The Broons as much as she and Grandpa did.
“As a matter of fact,” Grandpa said, “Jory did make this issue.”
Paislee exchanged her mug for her fork and scooped eggs. “What does it say?”
Grandpa passed it over to Brody. “Why not read it aloud tae all of us?”
“All right.” Brody nibbled his bottom lip as he concentrated.
Paislee smiled at her grandfather. Wily as a fox as he helped Brody with his reading and comprehension. They would talk about the article afterward.
“Jory Baxter, age thirty-two, died at Ramsey Castle during the annual piping event on castle grounds. He was last year’s champion, and many believed he was sure tae win this year as well. He has no kin in the area. His bandmates hope tae hold a mem…memorial service of some sort tae invite the bagpiping community.” Brody looked up from the paper with dismay. “Do we have tae go?”
“Oh, no, I don’t think so.” Paislee had been to far too many funerals.
“Does it say how he died?” Grandpa asked.
Brody read the paragraphs next to a picture of Jory with the two snare drummers he’d been friends with to himself and shook his head. “No.”
“Does it say when they might have the memorial?” Paislee asked.
“It doesnae give a date,” Brody said with more confidence.
Paislee lowered her mug. “Is there anything you can use for a report?”
Brody scratched his nose. “It’s too sad. No family, and no reason for him tae kick the bucket. I’d rather go fishin’ and write aboot that, later.”
Paislee smiled. It was true that Brody was putting off the assignment, but it showed a caring heart and that she very much approved.
Grandpa did too. “Guid choice, lad.”
Within an hour they’d finished breakfast, fed Wallace, and did the dishes. Paislee may have helped a wee bit with a rinse so that Brody could change his clothes for fishing.
Grandpa dried them and Paislee put them away in the cupboard. Paislee had made a rule of no mobile phones while they were eating at the table to keep a semblance of family time. She’d read it in a magazine of Lydia’s and liked the idea.
“So. Fishing.” Paislee shook her head.
“I know it’s not your favorite, lass, but you’re a guid sport aboot it.”
“I’d rather he be outdoors and active than worry about Jory’s death. Do you think Zeffer has it solved yet?”
“Naw,” Grandpa said. “It would be in the paper if he had.”
“You’re right.”
By the time they’d finished in the kitchen, Brody rushed down the stairs, phone in hand. “Mum! Edwyn says they can leave me a ticket at the door! They get tae meet AntMan!”
As much as Paislee wanted to say yes, she knew Brody had homework. He tended to procrastinate when it came to doing his school papers.
He saw the look on her face and scowled. “Mum. I want tae go.”
“You know what I’m going tae say.” Paislee hardened her heart to his pleas. “When are they coming home? Edwyn has school too.”
“He already did his assignment,” Brody said with a pout.
“Well.” She felt like a heel, saying no. This might be a good time to give a lesson on procrastination. “Edwyn completed his work.”
“It’s a three-and-a-half-hour drive tae Edinburgh,” Grandpa said. “There and back will be late.”
“Aye. I know.” Brody brightened. “I could do it in the car! If I write aboot AntMan, I’d get a top mark for sure.”
Paislee thought of the check engine light in the Juke. “I’m sorry, love. I just don’t trust the car right now tae go that far.”
Brody bit his lip and dragged himself woefully up the stairs, carrying all the worries in the world behind him. Wallace barked at her and then joined Brody.
“Well, that was awful,” Paislee said. “Why didn’t Edwyn invite him earlier? Then we could have planned for it, and he wouldn’t have tae be disappointed.”
“Because he’s twelve?” Grandpa replied.
Paislee blinked tears from her eyes. “I feel terrible. Brody loves AntMan.”
“It’s the right thing, lass,” Grandpa said. “We can still go tae the river and fish, and mibbe ice cream wouldnae be amiss?”
“Not a bad plan.” Ice cream was something guaranteed to bring Brody from a blue mood. That and pizza with extra cheese. He’d outgrown his love for cheese sandwiches.
A few minutes later, Brody came downstairs, cheeks red but his shoulders up. Wallace trotted at his side. “Mum, Edwyn said he’d get me an autographed poster, so that’s okay, and then next time it willnae be last minute.”
“Oh, brilliant.” Her heart lightened.
Wallace scratched at the back door and Paislee let the pup out to chase birds and butterflies while marking his territory.
“That red squirrel yesterday was funny,” Brody said, watching Wallace run. “He didnae want Wallace tae find his stash of food.”
“I’ve never seen one with such attitude,” Paislee agreed. “Maybe you could write about that?”
Brody frowned. “I’d rather go fishing and catch a gigantic trout. When me and Grandpa went last time, we didnae get anythin’.”
In other words, not write the paper. Oh well, she’d already said yes. “Some days are like that.”
“You gotta be patient,” Grandpa said. “And you were. Today mibbe we’ll catch two.”
Brody laughed, good humor restored, and she hadn’t had to resort to ice cream at all.
***
After a fun day on the River Nairn, the Shaws returned home with three large fish that Grandpa would filet, and bread for fish and chips. Paislee was on potato peeling duty.
Lydia called to check in about Jory and the event at Ramsey Castle, and the sad death of the piper. After covering the phone with her palm, Paislee asked Grandpa and Brody if she could invite Lydia and Corbin.
“Aye!” they both said. Lydia and Corbin were very well loved.
Paislee extended the invitation for a fresh catch dinner. “If you want tae,” she said. “We have plenty.”
Lydia muted her phone and returned within a minute. “Corbin says yes. Didnae even think twice. I can bake like a dream but my cheffing leaves a little tae be desired.”
About Murder at a Scottish Castle
Murder at a Scottish Castle: A Scottish Cozy Mystery (A Scottish Shire Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Setting – Nairn, Scotland
Kensington Cozies (January 23, 2024)
Paperback : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 1496744373
ISBN-13 : 978-1496744371
Digital ASIN : B0C3WTZYGT
USA Today bestselling author returns with the latest novel in a Scottish seaside cozy knitting mystery series featuring busy single mom Paislee Shaw, owner of a specialty sweater shop, knitting enthusiast, and reluctant sleuth who must untangle another murderous yarn!
With the summer days getting shorter in the seaside village of Nairn, the annual bagpiping competition at Ramsey Castle promises to be quite the end-of-season blowout. Paisley has snagged a special invitation from the Dowager Countess, who wants to showcase her cashmere goods in the castle gift shop, and she’s brought her son Brody, Grandpa, and their black Scottish terrier Wallace.
There’s a fierce rivalry between Robert Grant, the Earl of Lyon, and last year’s winner Jory Baxter, with Grant loudly vowing to show up the blowhard Baxter and claim clan bragging rights. But the reigning champion has barely put the reed to his lips when he turns red and collapses, soon to take his dying breath. DI Zeffer confirms foul play, suspecting the reed may have been poisoned.
With a murderer in their midst, the rest of Nairn won’t breathe easy until Paisley applies her sleuthing skills to make sure justice is served and the killer pays the piper . . .
About Traci Hall
From cozy mysteries to seaside romance, USA Today bestselling author Traci Hall writes stories that captivate her readers. As a hybrid author with over sixty published works, Ms. Hall has a favorite tale for everyone.
Mystery lovers, check out her Scottish Shire series, set in the seaside town of Nairn, or the Salem B&B Mystery series, co-written as Traci Wilton. Her latest project is an Irish Castle cozy as Ellie Brannigan. Whether it’s her ever-popular By the Sea romances, an Appletree Cove sweet romance, or a fun who-done-it, Traci finds her inspiration in sunny South Florida, living right near the ocean.
Traci wants to hear from you!
Traci@TraciHall.com
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The Rest of the Series
TOUR PARTICIPANTS – Please visit all the stops.
January 23 – The Mystery of Writing – CHARACTER GUEST POST WITH EXCERPT
January 23 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST WITH EXCERPT
January 24 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
January 24 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
January 24 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST – WITH EXCERPT
January 25 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
January 25 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 26 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
January 26 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT
January 26 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
January 27 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
January 27 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – CHARACTER GUEST POST – WITH EXCERPT
January 28 – Reading Is My SuperPower – AUTHOR GUEST POST WITH EXCERPT
January 29 – FUONLYKNEW – CHARACTER GUEST POST WITH EXCERPT
January 29 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
January 29 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW
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So glad to be part of this Great Escapes blog tour for Murder at a Scottish Castle!
What an intriguing mystery! Great cover and excerpt. I’d love to read more.