Lethal Laybys: A Scottish Camping Cosy Mystery - Paperback

NC 500 Memories Last A Lifetime. Unfortunately, Some Campers Don't.

Joana and Brian turn up in Inverness for what is, on paper, a simple job: take a few photos and pretend to enjoy camping along the North Coast 500. The catch is: sharing a campervan with nowhere to hide from each other, the weather, or the midges, which, frankly, belong on any suspect list.

In a layby near Wick, they find themselves behind a police cordon. One of the campers is dead in his van, and the police are already blaming a dodgy heater. Joana, being stubbornly Joana, keeps asking the questions nobody wants her to ask, starting with what happened to the victim's black Labrador.

From there, they're dragged into the full NC 500 circus: dog shows, Highland Games, a cake stall selling 'special' biscuits, and a campervan rally that has attracted every eccentric north of Perth. Joana marches off in pursuit of the murderer. Brian is less keen on marching; he prefers to let his drone do the legwork, even if it is only tracking down the chippy van for his tea. But then it films something he was never meant to see, and the bodies begin to mount.

A Highland Mystery, Book 3, but easily read as a standalone. As much comedy as cosy crime, with a sleuthing pair who don't take themselves too seriously. Their friendship has outlasted most marriages, possibly because they can never agree on anything, though they're firmly on the same side when it matters. A proper whodunit with a fast, page-turning plot and the kind of dry British humour that can bite. And, as ever, Scotland steals the show.

Perfect for fans of Midsomer Murders and Agatha Raisin.