I came to this series late and have only read this and the one immediately before, but I am already fond of the characters and I enjoy the strong sense of place and the central place that sailing has both in the life of our heroine and the novels.

The mystery is a real whodunnit and I didn’t guess the murderer before the final reveal. Set as it is over Christmas this is a perfect holiday read.

A great read with a strong female lead character.
The writing is descriptive in its nature and is easy to read .
Cass the protagonist is a sailor / part time sleuth, pranks are played and teenagers are missing can Cass get to the truth?
The characters are strong and the story draws the reader in. The writing makes it easy to immerse yourself in the story and great for a winter read with a mug of hot chocolate in your favourite armchair.
Thanks to NetGalley and Headline .

An absolutely riveting read,with a main character who is fiesty,spirited and gutsy.
A dramatic storyline with a cast of characters which I comletely engaged with,even the 'bad' person I found I could sympathise with.
Definately parrells with what is happening today and loved the setting with descriptions of the land and animals
Excellent!

Not taking to this one at all so abandoning. Perhaps it would have helped if I’d read others in the series?

A book set in Shetland was always going to grab my attention as I love the area. This is the first book by this author that I’ve read but it won’t be the last. I found myself pulled into it from the first page, although it took a bit longer to get attuned to the Shetlan way of talking. I love the idea of the trows and mystic people in the Isles, and usually these folklore ideas are based on things that have been handed down through the years. The description of Shetland, its people and traditions show how the author feels about it. A really good murder mystery, with a well thought out story and an ending I hadn’t guessed. I look forward to see where these characters go next.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A Shetland winter mystery by Marsali Taylor.
The Shetland Sailing Mysteries Book 10.
It's the dark nights in the run up to Christmas, and sailing sleuth Cass Lynch's first night on dry land is disturbed by strange noises outside her isolated cottage. Tiny footprints in the moonlit snow trail from her front door before mysteriously disappearing. Soon Cass learns others were visited by the same tiny feet in the night.
A good read with good characters. Likeable story. 4*.

This is a new author to me. It is a book quite a way into the series. I enjoyed the weather and the bleakness. I wasn’t sure about the mythical business but did finish the book. My advice is to let it roll over you and if you are a water fan you will love it.

This book gives beautiful descriptions of life on Shetland but ultimately I was disappointed with it. I didn’t like the mythical creatures aspect, and there was a lot of sailing vocabulary that I found annoying.

Marsali Taylor's writing is pitch perfect. Shetland is much more than just a location. It is a plot device: the place where her characters live, and crime is committed to create the latest mystery. The beauty of Shetland and the author's love of it permeates every single page. The writing is evocative and compelling and there's real passion in the prose.
In the same way as the late Ruth Rendell used her Inspector Wexford novels to address statements about cultural differences and often environmental wrongdoings, here Marsali Taylor makes a statement for the conservation of her homeland and the islands she loves.
I love the mingling of myth and reality, the Norse mythology and the Trows, and the tantalizing glimpses of life on Shetland - and Cat and Kitten are superstars!

I have been a fan of Marsali’s work for a little while now. I haven’t caught up with all the books in ‘The Shetland Sailing Series’ but I am getting there. ‘A Shetland Winter Mystery’ is the fourteenth book in the series and what a story it is. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘A Shetland Winter Mystery’ but more about that in a bit.
I was drawn into this story from the very beginning. The synopsis grabbed my attention and the story within the book’s covers sealed the deal as it were. I found it nigh on impossible to put the book to one side for any length of time. I loved the characters, I loved where the story was set and I loved the traditions and folklore I found the mystery to be rather intriguing and I had my own suspicions as to how the story was going to turn out. Of course I had to keep reading to see if I was anywhere near the truth or if I had got the wrong end of the stick entirely. The more of the book that I read, the more I wanted to read and the quicker the pages seemed to turn. All too quickly I reached the end of the story. I found ‘A Shetland Winter Mystery’ to be a gripping and dramatic read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘A Shetland Winter Mystery’ is well written. The author certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and draw them into what proves to be one hell of a compelling story. I love the way in which Marsali sets the scene so realistically and describes events so vividly that if I were to close my eyes it would be easy to imagine that I was there on Shetland with life carrying on all around me. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fairly fast pace throughout. Reading ‘A Shetland Winter Mystery’ felt like being on an at times scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride throughout with many twists and turns along the way. I love the way in which Marsali makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story and at the heart of all the action.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘A Shetland Winter Mystery’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Marsali’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Cass Lynch's first night on dry land is disturbed by noises she hears coming from outside,what she finds are small footprints in the snow that lead away from her door then vanish.An entertaining book for a cold winter night 4*

I would like to thank Netgalley and Headline for an advance copy of A Shetland Winter Mystery, the fourteenth novel to feature sailor Cass Lynch.

Cass Lynch is home on Mainland, Shetland for Christmas and plagued by trows, mystical creatures who are leaving their footprints all over the island. She suspects it is the work of the local kids, but when one of her main suspects disappears she is determined to investigate.

I enjoyed A Shetland Winter Mystery to a point. I like the local colour and the setting, but I found the plot slow and laborious and I totally disagreed with her final decision, as actions should have consequences. I feel that she let me down.

The scenes involving the trows and their antics are imaginative, inventive and ingenious in their execution. I was enchanted and laughing at the same time. I like the sense of community the author evokes and the fact that while it is scattered and widespread there is always someone there to help. I was interested by the social issues raised as the island setting puts a new slant on them.

The crime element in the novel seems a bit haphazard with Cass in danger from more than one opponent, but with no real explanation as to why. I don’t think it slotted together smoothly and it took a long time to gain any traction.

A Shetland Winter Mystery is a solid read.

Thank you for NetGallery for providing me with this arc for review.

I really enjoyed the descriptive language used in this book, I felt like I was in Shetland watching the drama unfolding. The added glossary was particularly engaging.

Definitely one to read wrapped in a blanket with an hot chocolate.

Only downloaded this book because stupidly thought may have been similar to Ann Cleeves Shetland series,how wrong can one be.Did finish the story not a good read for me but did get an insight to life in the Shetlands.

Wonderfully Atmospheric…
The fourteenth in the Shetland Sailing Mystery series and the run up to Christmas appears anything but festive for Cass Lynch who is at last on dry land. Footprints in the snow lead to another compelling investigation for the sleuth in this beautifully described and wonderfully atmospheric addition to this series. A perfect Winter mystery.

It is always a delight to see another Cass Lynch book appear. I have enjoyed this series from the beginning and it has been a joy watching the characters develop & meet more interesting characters. This time the story takes place just before Christmas. The locals wake up to find lots of tiny footprints in the snow around their houses. The prints are unusual & seem to disappear into thin air. Rumours are that it's the trows & when a teenagers clothes are found it seems the trows may have taken him. Cass suspects this is a prank played by the local teens but when the lad doesn't reappear, others in on the joke start to get worried- then a body is found...

Having lived in Shetland for many years I love trying to place the locations & add to my vocabulary. The authors descriptions are vivid- made me long for the snow & frost instead of the damp & dreich! And as always the characters are believable & engaging. The books in this series are excellent murder mysteries but the style & sailing references put them in a class of their own. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book- I'm already looking forward to next one.

Thanks to Marsali and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Shetland Winter Mystery before publication date.
A major project to build a windfarm on Shetland is dividing opinion. Some see it as a good financial prospect whilst others are unhappy at the amount of destruction which the project is causing to the centuries old peat lands.

Cass Lynch returns from her latest trip on the training ship Sorlandet, to the home she shares with the somewhat unconventional DI Gavin Macrae, in Shetland. Her return on 16th December coincides with Tulya’s E’en, the day when the trows started their Yule patrol and the local children get into mischief.

The following day, 2 muscle men arrive at Cass’s door and advise her to retract her testimony, before realising that they have the wrong person.

When a teenage boy, Berwin, goes missing, Gavin must decide whether this is a teenage prank.
With only 6 hours of daylight and snow on the ground, teams are organised to search the hills and small boats are launched to search along the coastline.
As the story unfolds, family secrets are revealed and Cass finds herself with a moral dilemma.

Marsali has woven a tale with Norse folklore, a smidgen of history and a smattering of the Shetland dialect. ( For anyone who has not heard a native Shetlander speak, I highly recommend that you listen to a Shetland documentary because it will add to your enjoyment of the book.)

Reference is made to the mysoginistic GP in Brae, who it might be inferred is at best, greedy, incompetent and lazy and at worst, on the payroll of big pharma. I suspect we will hear more about him in later books.
Whilst the first introduction of the 2 ‘muscle men’ was serious, it conjured up an hilarious image of the 2 gangsters in Kiss Me, Kate.
The very topical issue of windfarms gave me pause to consider just how environmentally friendly they are.

I loved the description of the ‘pelagic boats floating on a mirror image of themselves’.
This book is superbly written.

A Shetland Winter Mystery by Marsali Taylor

It's the dark nights in the run up to Christmas, and sailing sleuth Cass Lynch's first night on dry land is disturbed by strange noises outside her isolated cottage. Tiny footprints in the moonlit snow trail from her front door before mysteriously disappearing. Soon Cass learns others were visited by the same tiny feet in the night.
First time read by this author and from this book , it was a great read and I will look out for her others.
The Shetlands have become very popular in books and tv of late and I think this would make a great tv series.
Brilliant.