Death at a Scottish Halloween

This is the fifth Scottish Isle Mystery by Lucy Connelly. It was just published on August 11, 2026 and features Dr. Emilia McRoy as the "amateur" sleuth. Amateur is in quotes because Em is a physician who also functions as the town coroner. These jobs give her access to alot of information she normally wouldn't have, making her sleuthing much easier. In this Halloween themed story, Em finds a dead body in a haunted house.

The publisher's summary:

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 his 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.

The story opened with the Haunted House Festival in full swing. Em and Abigail created a spooky autopsy room with a knife stuck in a fake dead body. Em used a knife from her kitchen and when the event was over for the day she looked for her knife. It was gone. By the end of the night a dead body was discovered; the body of Duncan Craig. The festival continued the next day but when Em arrived back home she found another dead body propped up against her door. His name was also Duncan Craig. 

The investigation began with the autopsies that Em performed. She also was able to obtain information at the local pub where the residents of Sea Isle imbibe most days and evenings. Nothing is a secret in this small village. Her first priority was to determine whether the deaths were connected. Usually Constable Ewen is a source of at least some information but in this installment of the series he primarily provided security at the public events as well as at Em's house. The locals continued to inquire whether the two of them were in a romance.

The story moved along at a nice pace with all of the twists and turns that I have come to expect from this author. It was a fun read. 5 out of 5 stars.