A Very Bookish Murder by Dee Macdonald

 

Absolutely idyllic setting. A tiny village in Scotland. Ally is playing host at her guest house to five woman. All writers one of them very famous. The rest of the group are in the posh hotel down the road. The retreat gets under way and on the very first day the famous author is murdered. The manner and circumstances of the killing leaves the field wide open for suspects. In the meantime Detective Rigby in charge, collapses at the scene of the incident and a dashing replacement arrives.

Ally and her partner Ross decide to investigate privately because they feel they are privy to more facts since they have the writers resident with them. Slowly surprises emerge of connections within the group of women, secrets hidden for decades and even more damning evidence against several writers.

The cozy gets complicated with a second murder taking place and the pace hots up, because the murderer is now determined to get away with it. The final denouement was surprising.

Sent by Bookouture for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.