An Ally McKinley Mystery #2

Published March 3, 2025 by Bookouture

About the book:

Recent retiree Ally McKinley has stepped out with her puppy Flora for a walk by the loch in the tiny village of Locharran, taking a break from running the cosiest little guesthouse in the Highlands. But Ally’s peace and quiet is sunk when she and Flora find the body of a mysterious woman floating in the water…

Before she knows it, Ally finds herself wading into the middle of a new investigation. Who was the mystery woman and why was she killed? Her inquiries take her all over the from the corner shop and the nearby hotel to the turreted castle, home of local earl Hamish Sinclair where preparations are underway for his upcoming – and much gossiped about – wedding.

The body in the loch soon has the rumor mills buzzing. But then Elena, the earl’s new bride, is also found poisoned to death the morning after her marriage! With two deaths to investigate, the police appear to suspect almost everyone in Locharran, even Ally herself…

My thoughts:

Despite my enjoyment in cozy mysteries, they tend to be hit or miss with me. I’ve noticed that writers sometimes push the envelope-if you will-with this subgenre. What I like most about this genre is that you don’t have the usual run-of- the- mill graphic violence, profanity (kept to a minimum) or sex that a lot of mystery thrillers include. I love the idea of the murder happening off stage and how the story is written to reveal or discovery of the homicide. In this story, there are two murders that have taken place and we follow Ally McKinley in solving the case. I really enjoy her process of elimination of suspects and discovering motives for these crimes.

Murder at the Loch is an absorbing and entertaining mystery with an atmospheric setting and fantastic character development. Whenever a crime story takes place in a small village in the Highlands, I can’t wait to get my hands on the book. I love stories such as this one and Dee MacDonald certainly knows how to weave a captivating mystery. I will be on the lookout for more stories by this author.

My thanks to the publishers for providing me a review copy through NetGalley.

Stephanie