The Scottish Isle Mysteries Book 5
Author: Lucy Connelly
Genre: Mystery
Hardcover; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9798892426459
Crooked Lane Books
272 Pages
$27.90; $14.99 Amazon
August 11. 2026
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When Dr. Emilia McRoy stumbles upon a dead body in a haunted house, she resolves to find the killer before another body can fall.
It's the week of Halloween -- or as they say in Scotland, All Hallows' Eve -- and the town of Sea Isle is full of spooky celebrations. Dr. Emilia McRoy loves being part of her new community and is eager to help out in any way she can. But the festivities are interrupted when she and her assistant, Abigail, find a dead body in a haunted house. A real one. They're too late to save the victim, but they'll do whatever it takes to find the killer.
There's just one problem: There are too many suspects.
Constable Ewan would prefer the good doctor and her friends stay out of the investigations, but that isn't how Dr. Em rolls. As she and her gang investigate, they realize the killer is searching for something -- and has no problem murdering anyone who gets in the way of finding it.
Dr. Em must stay one step ahead if she's to survive this Halloween season alive -- either that or she might just end up the next victim.
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Dr. Emilia McRoy moved to the small Scottish town of Sea Isle for a change from her life in a large American hospital, where she was head of ER. But things weren't as she expected. Not only is she the only doctor around, she's also become the coroner, which means her work is more involved than she expected. She's also become involved in the local traditions, and has made some close friends in the process.
While working in a room in the "haunted house" along with her assistant Abigail, the last thing she expects is to go to the next room and find a dead body. And the very last thing she expects is that her own knife is plunged into the victim's chest. Now she's involved in another murder, and this one is a puzzle.
Which becomes a greater puzzle when the man's wife shows up -- a woman whom the victim's sister exclaims isn't -- and the wife, seeing the body, declares that she thought it was her husband, who has the same name and has been missing. Then things take a turn for the worse, and Dr. Em realizes that there are just too many suspects -- who could be wearing costumes and masks, considering it's near All Hallows' Eve and the town is celebrating with different events.
After a series of incidents, Constable Ewan wants to give Em round the clock security, but she refuses. Which might be a big mistake. Then other incidents occur, and Em wonders who was the real victim: the first man murdered or someone else? And are these cases connected? More importantly, could this get her killed?
This is the fifth book in the series and I love it as much as the others. Ms. Connelly is a talented writer, and she brings you to Sea Isle, Scotland with a touch of her pen. The descriptions of the area around it makes me see it in my mind, and that's the important thing. Because once you have the setting, it's easy to imagine the people. The characters are in turn charming and secretive, open and closed. It's anyone's guess who the killer might be, although Em's friends have their own opinions on who that person is. The question is, are they correct?
While Em uses her skills as a doctor, she also uses her mental skills to figure out the truth. But not without help from her friends, which frustrates Ewan, even though he knows he can't stop her. He just hopes she also uses her common sense enough to stay away from a killer.
While we also have our characters living their own lives -- Tommy and his gardens, Abigail learning her relationship status with Henry, and even Em herself figuring out what she really wants.
When the end comes and everything is finally revealed, it's not what anyone expected to know. (While I knew the murderer long before Em, but only because I read a lot of these) I still thoroughly enjoyed the ending, the catching of the murderer, and everything that we are looking forward to in the next book. Highly recommended.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Lucy Connelly's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/lucy-connelly/
