Murder At The Loch
(An Ally McKinley Mystery #2)
by Dee MacDonald

Amazon / B&N / BB

Meet Ally dog lover, guesthouse owner, and accidental detective, as she tackles her next case in the beautiful Scottish Highlands!

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 enquiries 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 rumour 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…

Determined to uncover the truth and clear her name, Ally finds poison at the home of one of her suspects and thinks she might be on the right path to solving both murders. But with a killer on the loose in the Scottish Highlands, can Ally unravel the clues before the next person in a watery grave is her?

A completely addictive Scottish cosy mystery from bestselling author Dee MacDonald. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Clare Chase.

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

He was in his seventies now and still had an eye for the ladies, including Ally when she first arrived in Locharran. Age might have withered him (Ally had declined to find out), but it certainly hadn’t dulled the roguish twinkle in his eye.

My Review:

Book two was even more fun to read than the first installment, as the old biddy/village gossip mill was in hyperdrive for this one. I continued to enjoy Ms. MacDonald’s smooth storytelling and entertaining prose. Her humorous descriptions danced through my gray matter with ease and kept an amused smirk on my face. We got a two-fer for murder mysteries with this one, and both were well-nuanced and smartly paced.

About the Author

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The Runaway Wife was Dee’s first (published) novel, but she wrote her very first book – at around seven years of age! This was a love story which she duly illustrated before sewing all the pages together up one side. Writing was what she ‘was good at’ in school and she won several essay competitions, but then life got in the way and she didn’t pick up a pen again until after retirement.

At the beginning of the swinging ’60s, Dee left Scotland and headed for London. After typing her way around the West End, she became an air stewardess on long-haul routes with BA (then BOAC) for eight years. After that, she did market research at Heathrow for both government statistics and BA, became a sales rep, and was the receptionist at the Thames Television Studios in Teddington when they had the franchise.

She then ran a small B&B for ten years in Cornwall, where she lives with her husband. Dee has one son and two grandsons who live locally.