by Carly Reid
As was Jessica. If everything had gone according to plan with Mike, they would have been moving in together right now and Jessica would be about to start her graduate degree in journalism. Instead, she already had two months experience of real community journalism, a firmer idea of her own skills, and a new life in a place that was fully becoming home.
Jessica carried the replenished snacks out to the garden, and placed them on the picnic table. People milled about, both inside and out. The early September day was pleasant, but the sky held that peculiarly Scottish luminescence and Jessica was sure that she could detect a slight hint of chill, the earliest signs of fall. She scanned the horizon, still thrilling at the rolling Perthshire hills and swathes of thick lush forest in the distance. As summer drew to its close, Jessica felt more deeply rooted, more part of the local rhythms. She couldn’t wait to see the changing seasons and experience a whole year in Dalkinchie.
She turned and moved back towards the house, and experienced a moment of deja vu. Surely she had done this before? No – she had visited Patricia on a couple of occasions, but this was the first time she had spent any time in the garden. From this angle though, the house, the wide gable, the old tree looked oddly familiar.
Patricia joined her. “Are you OK Jessica? Can I get you another drink? You’ve been running around helping, as usual. Make sure you have a snack yourself!”
Jessica smiled. “I’m fine. I was just admiring your house. I don’t think I had ever taken it in properly before. Is it old?”
“Older than the neighbouring ones,” Patricia replied. “It would have been the old farmhouse at one time. The farmer sold the land to developers, and they built the other houses in a similar style, although it’s never quite the same of course. It is a lovely house, and I have had some happy times over the years. I hope to have quite a few more.”
Jessica followed Patricia’s line of sight. She was once again watching her daughter and granddaughter, now throwing a ball between them. It squeaked every time it landed on the ground, which it did often, making the little girl giggle.
“Helen would have been not much older than Evie when we first moved here. It was such a big move, from the other end of the country, and leaving behind friends and connections. Desmond got the job, so we did it. And I always loved the house, even although it needed a lot of work when we arrived. Whoever lived here before us had the most horrendous taste, clashing patterns and colours everywhere, and the whole place carpeted in the most putrid mustard yellow.” Patricia smiled at the memory.
“We changed a lot. Desmond, he…he was never one to put up with anything he didn’t like! To his credit, the whole place was done within a year. We changed the name, too. It had the original farm name when we moved in, what was it now, something beginning with A…”
Jessica looked at Patricia, eyes wide. She didn’t need the confirmation, but it came anyway.
“Abbotsford, that was it. Abbotsford Farm.”
Author's Note
Thank you for reading Death in Dalkinchie! It’s the first full-length novel in a series which will span at least ten books. If you enjoyed it, you can pick up the prequel novella Murder in Bloom which covers Jessica’s move to Dalkinchie and the first mystery she has to solve there. All you have to do is join my mailing list, where I send regular snippets about my writing life, news about book releases, and my Scots Dictionary Corner which introduces and explains some of the vocabulary my characters use.
I wrote the majority of Death in Dalkinchie over the summer of 2019. As I complete it, the first hints of autumn are detectable in the air, just as they are for Jessica in the final chapter. I do have a loose aim of either writing or publishing the Dalkinchie books during the season in which they are set. The next book will be a Christmas mystery, published in December of 2019. I start preparing for Christmas early, so it is a positive pleasure to already be writing about it.
All of the crafts described at the Show are real Scottish crafts. Personally I don’t have any skills for lacemaking, weaving, knitting or woodcarving (although I wish I did!). I have many close friends who do have these skills and I have been lucky enough to watch them in action, and, in some cases, become the proud owner of their work. I don’t have an Orkney chair though. It’s on my wish-list!
Dalkinchie and Drummond are both fictional villages, and so therefore is Castle Drummond (although it is very closely based on castles I know well.) The real historic MacNaughton Clan seat is Dunderave Castle in Argyll.
The Howff in Dundee is a real graveyard, and you can wander through it (I have) just as Jessica and Murdo did. While there are archives in Dundee, the Dundee City Archives as I described them are fictional. I placed them roughly in the location of the famous D.C. Thomson headquarters. Whether or not you are trying to find out the identity of an anonymous letter-writer, I would always recommend Dundee for a visit. It’s a wonderful city, and unlike Jessica, you should definitely make time for the V&A.
With all best wishes,
Carly R.
About the Author
Carly Reid is the author of the Dalkinchie Mystery series. She is an avid reader who has loved books and stories since childhood, her favourites being cozy mysteries and Golden Age crime. After a career working in all aspects of the book trade, Carly decided it was time to write her own stories. The Dalkinchie Mystery series is the result.
Carly lives in Scotland with her family, although not in Dalkinchie!
You can connect with me on:
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Also by Carly Reid
Murder in Bloom
A Dalkinchie Mysteries Novella
A bad breakup, a new business…
…and a body in the cellar.
Jessica’s future might be temporarily on hold, but her Aunt Reenie’s could be over. Has Jessica got what it takes to solve the mystery before Reenie runs out of time?
When Jessica Greer comes to Scotland to help Aunt Reenie set up a new flower shop, she plans to get over her ex-boyfriend and find some comfort in her ancestral home - as well as help Reenie get ready for opening day. But when the local estate agent turns up dead in the new shop cellar, and the locals seems keen to pin the crime on an outsider, Jessica finds herself drawn in to the events, secrets and drama of a not-so-sleepy Scottish village.
Join my mailing list for a FREE digital copy of Murder in Bloom - a prequel novella that introduces Jessica as she solves her first mystery.
Mince Pies and Murder - coming December 2019
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZXG5V3X
Dalkinchie Mysteries Book 2
The perfect Scottish Christmas…
…if it wasn’t for the body.
It’s Jessica Greer’s first Christmas in Dalkinchie and she is determined that everyone should have the celebration that they deserve, down to the last detail. When the Yule Night festivities end in a mysterious death, and it’s looking like DI Gordon’s Christmas will be more red tape than gift wrap - can Jessica solve the case in time to get everyone back home for their turkey dinner?
If you like twinkly lights, mince pies and murder, you’ll love the next instalment of the Dalkinchie Mysteries.