Hooked on Ewe

Scottish Highlands Mystery Series, Book 2

By: Hannah Reed

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's Summary

It's early September in Glenkillen, Scotland, when American expat (and budding romance novelist) Eden Elliott is recruited by the local inspector to act as a special constable. Fortunately it's in name only, since not much happens in Glenkillen. For now Eden has her hands full with other things: preparing for the sheepdog trial on the MacBride farm, a fundraiser for the local hospice, and helping her friend Vicki with her first yarn club skein-of-the-month deliveries. 

Everything seems to be coming together until the head of the welcoming committee is found strangled to death with a club member's yarn. Now Eden feels compelled to honor her commitment as constable and herd together the clues, figure out which ones are dogs, and which ones will lead to a ruthless killer...

©2015 Deb Baker (P)2018 Tantor

Knitting, Sheep Shearing, and Murder in Scotland

The second in the Scottish Highlands series is a fun and interesting listen, finding visitor, Eden Elliott just recently recruited as a special constable by the local law enforcement. Thinking it was in name only, Eden continues her book writing at her table at the back of the Kilt & Thistle (the local pub) and helping by volunteering with the local hospice fundraiser. When the prickly Isla Lindsey falls out of a parked van (dead) while Eden is helping to clean up following the fun raiser, she’s enlisted FOR REAL to help find the killer. Tied around Isla’s neck is the same poppy red yarn that her friend, Vicki sent out in her Poppy Sox Knitting Kit. Vicki had hand-dyed it from the local wool. I love the narration, the quirky, funny sayings of the Scottish people, and I’m intrigued by the budding romance between Eden and the single father, Leith Cameron. Leith, who had never married, but chose to stand by his daughter, raise her and put her first in his life . . . wow! I never figured out who the murdered was, although with the likes of Isla the list of possibilities was endless. I’m definitely going on to the next in the series!

Good, but not as good as the first.

The main character appears to have lost a few IQ points and a significant amount of self control since the first book. It was still an entertaining read, but I had to roll my eyes quite a few times.

I’m loving this series

Hannah Reed has crafted the second book in this series with all the fun and enjoyable characters of the first one. Angela Dawe, as always brings a wonderful performance bringing life to it all. I’m thoroughly enjoying this series and hope there are more to come.

Intrigue in the Highlands

Hooked on Ewe is a fun and entertaining light cozy mystery. I enjoyed the plot and the characters. I look forward to the next book in this series.

such fun

always fun to listen to a good mystery with lots if comic relief. I enjoy the Scottish setting and characters

Really enjoying

Second audible book of this most interesting series has lived up to my expectations. Eden Elliott is a likeable character as are the entire group of Glen Killeen folks. I will be back!

Good, entertainment.

this book was good entertainment. it occupied my time while I was commuting. it was a nice cozy mystery. good depiction of the Scottish lands

Too many characters!

You know, it's funny that I can easily follow these mysteries when I read the paperbacks, but it's an entirely different experience via audio. I don't know if this particular book had just WAY more characters than the previous installment, but boy was this hard to follow! I just couldn't keep up with the dozens of talking heads. By the time Eden closed in on the case, more unfamiliar names kept popping up. While walking dogs around the shelter, I kept saying out loud, "Wait! Who's Andrea? Who's Sean? Who's Harry again?" Toward the end, I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to be surprised by the big reveal.Needless to say, this was a frustrating read, but I soldiered through, despite the many times i had to hit the rewind button to catch myself up to speed. So if you love standard cozy mysteries with dozens of characters and lots of dialogue, this book is for you. As for me, I think it's time to step away from the cozies for a bit and find a book that won't make me crazy!

A charity event gone horribly wrong!

Eden Elliott joins in organizing a fundraiser for the local hospice of a sheepdog trial in <strong>Hooked on Ewe</strong> by Hannah Reed. The charity event takes place in the MacBride fields in Glenkillen, Scotland, where Eden is staying to work on a romance novel. Her friend Vicki, has inherited half the estate of her wealthy father, along with her half- sister Kirstine Derry, who resents Vicki's presence in her lifelong home. Thus Kirstine gets upset when Vicki inaugurates her new Skein of the Month Club on the day of the charity event. This club involves a kit of yarn from wool raised on the MacBride farm, dyed by hand, prepared, and spun by Vicki, along with a set of instructions to make a project with the yarn.

As the set-up progresses, Eden finds herself having to deal with the controlling Ila Linzey, who keeps the books for the hospice and seems to think she is in charge of everything. The woman is so demanding and critical of everyone's actions that Eden eagerly passes over her job to Sean Stevens, the Special Constable, which is a volunteer law enforcement position. As the day progresses, Ila seems to disappear, but no one tries to find her because they are just as happy not to have her looking over their shoulder. However, when everything is over, they go to open the van used to transport the folded up tent, but when Eden opens the side door, the body of Ila tumbles out, with the yarn Vicki made wrapped around her throat.

Eden has become friends with the local detective, Inspector Kevin Jamison, and he asks Eden to consider taking over Sean's position as Special Constable as Sean goes to police college to become a fuil-fledged officer. So Eden gives up her writing for a time to help investigate the case.

<strong>Hooked on Ewe</strong> had a clever plot that kept me fascinated. The mystery had all that one could ask for in a detective story, and the local color adds great flavor to the mystery. The storyline kept me wanting to keep listening without putting the book down. I especially loved the depictions of life in a small town in Scotland. These images are beautifully woven into the plot, so they are not just background but part of the book.

I loved the distinctive characters found in the book, each of whom brings realism to her or his identity. Eden, the first-person narrator, has depth and strength of character. We all become ready to kill Ila, long before someone actually does so. Special Constable Sean is endearing in his own bumbling but sweet way. The many other characters come just as alive as the previously named ones.

Angela Dawe performs the audio edition of this book. She really impresses me with her smooth transitions among the American accent of Eden, the Scottish brogue of the locals, and the London accent of Vicki, who grew up mostly in the British capital. Her performance of Eden's first- person narration effectively conveys Eden's curiosity and resourcefulness.

I had a great time listening to <strong>Hooked on Ewe</strong>, which was exciting in its mystery. It had great characters in whose lives we get invested. Further, the setting serves as another character in the book. I do recommend listening to the first book to get a good introduction to the setting. I give this book five stars!

Enjoyable

I have to listened to several books taking place in Scotland makes me want to visit there.

Good fun

Although the characters are rather ‘cartoon highlanders’ the story is well written and bowls along. The narrator does a reasonable job of a Scottish accent.