The Laird Of Drumlychtoun by Hilary Pugh

August 20, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Laird Of Drumlychtoun by Hilary Pugh
Publisher: Housemouse Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A simple case of a missing sister. Or is it?

When Ian Skair is invited to an ancient castle perched on a rocky promontory of the Angus coast, he expects to find a routine missing person case. Little does he know, the Laird of Drumlychtoun and his family have more secrets and black sheep than Ian could have ever anticipated.
As Ian uncovers secrets and intrigues, thefts and legends, he finds himself and the family in a dangerous situation. Can he reunite the laird with his sister and discover the truth behind her disappearance? Or will the family’s secrets be too much for them to handle?

Ian Skair is hired by the current Laird on the Angus coast to investigate the whereabouts of his long-missing elder sister. Alexander Lyton was a very young boy when his much older sister left the castle in her late teens in the late 1960s. Having never got along well with their father, Ailish had left with her boyfriend, London in her sights and never been in touch again. Can Ian navigate this investigation and reunite the laird with his estranged family?

I have enjoyed other books by this author and was curious to see if this – the first in a different series – would be equally good to my mind. I was very pleased to find the tone and prose similar and one I connected well with. I found Ian to be an interesting and relatable character and I found myself quickly caught up in the story and characters.

While I admit the pace of the story is a little slow – readers looking for an action-orientated or spy kind of thriller might not be happy with this – I thought the story wove really well together and the various plots and interesting characters kept my attention throughout the story. With quite a strong cast of primary and secondary characters there were a few interweaving storylines here and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I’m pleased there are a few more in this series already published.

Readers who enjoy an atmospheric Scottish private eye mystery should find this a fun and interesting read and I can easily recommend both the author and this series.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Death In The Long Walk by Hilary Pugh

February 19, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Death In The Long Walk by Hilary Pugh
Publisher: Housemouse Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Is it ever too late to be a detective?

Jonny Cardew is bored. He’s worked hard all his life at a financially rewarding but dull job when all he ever wanted to do was to solve murders. Now he has retired he has a chance to fulfil his ambition. A meeting over breakfast with three quirky characters and a dog in need of rehoming will change his life.

When a body is found at a nearby beauty spot the police believe it to be a case of death by natural causes. Jonny and his friends think differently and set out to discover the truth. On the way they meet some decidedly suspicious people all with motives to kill.

The Breakfast Cub detectives are on the case but will they solve it?

Jonny Cardew has worked his whole adult life in a financially stable and reliable job, but has been deadly bored. He’s always had a secret desire to solve a murder, and now he’s finally retired he’s eager to do so – just unsure how to go about it. When a body is found locally and the police think it’s natural causes, Jonny is determined to investigate. With some newly acquired friends and a bunch of enthusiasm, can Jonny and his Breakfast club friends really become detectives?

I’d never heard of this author nor the series, but it sounded deeply intriguing and so I bought this on a whim. I found the murder-mystery to be highly enjoyable with a strong cast of secondary characters and a realistic and relatable main character with Jonny. I thought this was a slower burn kind of mystery, while the plot and pacing was good it definitely wasn’t an action-oriented kind of story and readers should be happy to settle in for the gradual build up.

As the mystery unfolds there were a few good scenes where the action did move at a good clip, but overall, this had more the feel of “amateur sleuth’ rather than spy or espionage action heavy adventure. I thought the mystery itself was well plotted and I particularly enjoyed that there were a few red herrings – as Jonny and his crew tried to put everything together.

I found this to be an enjoyable and strongly relatable story about normal people working together and building friendships and coming together to solve a murder. A fun and well written story I’m eager to read the next in the series. Recommended.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,