Title: Murder at Stirling Castle
Author: Sophia Adams
Date: 2023
Quote: "Her blonde hair, with not a strand out of place, was up in a loose bun like many of the ladies wore."
To have "not a strand out of place," wouldn't hair have to be described as up in a tight bun? I think it's possible that parts of this novel were written by ChatGPT.
Then there's the old feudal spirit.
There's a real Stirling Castle. It belongs to the royal family of the United Kingdom, none of whom currently live there. It's not owned by a mere earl or baron.
In the fictive world of this novelette, however, Stirling Castle belongs to a "lord and lady" who live there with their son, and the villagers who are invited up to help with a special dinner party, like Aggie the baker, are terribly feudal about showing due respect for their beloved local aristocrats. In view of how the plot develops, Adams' intention may have been to say that this love for the relics of the feudal system is misplaced. To this American reader it just seems bizarre...how can people respect the wholly fictional owners of a place that's not actually owned by such people?
So I found it hard to suspend disbelief in this one, but Aggie and her pet magpie put an unusual twist on the trope of the female sleuth who's attracted to the real police detective. There is that.
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