Off Kilter by Hannah Reed: Guest Author, Review & Giveaway

The Call of the Highlands 

By Hannah Reed 

It began as ideas often do, with a small spark out of the blue. Most flashes of insight (also known as moments of insane thinking) sputter and die a quick death. As they should. But sometimes one will ignite and take off, and there’s nothing you can do but go along for the ride. That’s what happened with my new Scottish Highlands mystery series. Once those thoughts came alive and were in motion, I wouldn’t have been able to douse them even if I had an ocean of water. They had to be written.

Mostly, I credit one of my more colorful ancestors, who managed to get thrown out of Scotland in 1685 after his capture and imprisonment in Dunnottar Castle for taking up arms against the king. These days the castle still exists as a ruin, sitting high on a windswept hill beside the sea. This character survived when many didn’t and was shipped to the new world. A real rabble-rouser, that one. Not an uncommon trait in my family line. I believe his adventure was the inspiration for this new series. It fueled my imagination.

And although the weapons have changed in the time that has elapsed between then and now, motives for murder remain the same.

So back to the present and a wee bit about Off Kilter.

Romance writer Eden Elliott arrives in the Highlands only to discover that the local sheep shearer has been clipped with his own shears. She better figure out the motive for his murder and the person behind the deed before she finds herself on the receiving end of more shear terror!

I hope you enjoy your romp through the ‘blades’ of the Highland’s slippery slopes. I know I did.

For more information about the story or about my other tales, visit me at hannahreedbooks.com

Praise for Off Kilter:

“Hannah Reed’s new series will please Scotophiles everywhere…” ~ Miranda James, New York Times bestselling author of the Cat in the Stacks Mysteries.

“A brilliant mystery, rich in charming characters set against lush depictions of the Scottish village of Glenkillen.” ~ Jenn McKinlay, New York Times bestselling author of the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries and the Library Lover’s Mystery.

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Giveaway: Leave a comment by noon eastern on Monday, October 20th for your chance to win a copy of Off Kilter. (US entries only, please.) 

Blurb: National bestselling author Hannah Reed brings mystery lovers the first in a brand-new series, in which a young writer finds herself swept up in a murder amidst the glens and lochs of the Scottish Highlands….

After the recent death of her mother and the dissolution of her marriage, thirty-something Eden Elliott is seriously in need of a fresh start. At the urging of her best friend, bestselling author Ami Pederson, Eden decides to embark on an open-ended trip to the picturesque village of Glenkillen in the Scottish Highlands, to do some hands-on research for a book of her own. But almost as soon as Eden arrives in the quaint town, she gets caught up in a very real drama….

The town’s sheep shearer is found murdered—clipped with his own shears—and the locals suspect Vicki MacBride, an outsider whose father’s recent death left her the surprise heir to his lucrative sheep farm. Eden refuses to believe the affable heiress is a murderer, but can she prove that someone is out to frame her new friend before she finds herself on the receiving end of more shear terror?

Tortie Shorties

Book reviews that are short and sweet...just like Truffles!

You know those extremely popular historical romance novels set in Scotland with sexy men in kilts on the cover? I've never read one. But Eden Elliott, star of the Scottish Highlands Mystery series, is attempting to write one in this delightful debut.

Eden is reeling from her recent divorce and death of her mother. She agrees (thanks to the urging of her best friend, a famous author) to go on an open-ended trip to the village of Glenkillen in the Scottish Highlands to do a little research for her first novel. On the plane she meets Vicki MacBride who is also headed to Glenkillen after inheriting her late father's estate. She's the sole inheritor even though she has two half-siblings. Before they know it the town's sheep shearer and close MacBride family friend is killed with his own sheep shears, and clues point to none other than Vicki! Eden is forced to put her writing on hold in order to clear her new friend of murder.

Eden is a wonderfully fresh character who I enjoyed getting to know. She's much like me with her intense love for animals and independent nature, and her hijinks while learning to drive on the opposite side of the road (in addition to the dreaded standard shift!) had me giggling on more than one occasion.

You don't need a passport to feel like you've visited the majestic Scottish Highlands. Just pick up a copy of Off Kilter and lose yourself in the picturesque village of Glenkillen.