SCONES AND SCOUNDRELS by Molly MacRae

"THE SCONES WERE SO GOOD THEY KILLED HER!"

Scones and Scoundrels

Posted: February 21, 2018

SCONES AND SCOUNDRELS by Molly MacRae is set in Western Scotland in the small town of Inversgail. It is book two of the Highland Bookshop Mystery series and it is a cozy mystery that will keep you turning the pages until the end.

Janet, a retired librarian, and her daughter, Tallie, a burned out law professor, Christine, caring for her aging parents there, and Summer who attended college in Glasgow, are the new owners of the 99-year-old Yon Bonnie Bookshop, Cakes and Tales, a tearoom, and a B&B. They are awaiting the arrival of Daphne Wood, famous author and icon of ecology. Daphne was selected by the committee and invited to stay for there months where she will be author in residence for the Inversgail schools. Many events are planned for her including a gala book signing at Yon Bonnie Bookshop. A warm welcome is planned for their native citizen. Daphne is a recluse who was born in Inversgail but left over thirty years ago and never returned. She lives in a log cabin that she constructed herself in the wilds of Canada. Her only companion is her Pekinese dog, Rachel Carson, named after the deceased environmentalist, who she takes everywhere, whether welcome or not.

Daphne arrives on a misty evening, earlier than expected. She does not make a good first impression with the Bookshop gals and the next morning Janet goes over to her rental house with freshly baked scones to find Daphne in the middle of the road, doing exercises with a huge sword. Within a week, Daphne antagonizes everyone she meets. She has no social skills, is rude, and her lengthy and ludicrous list of demands begins to get on everyone's nerves. When a young American hiker, Sam Smith, is found dead behind Nev's local pub, Daphne approaches the girls to help them solve the mystery of who killed him? A second murder happens and then Daphne is found poisoned from a scone from the teashop bakery. With a "batch of charming characters," to pick from, the bookstore girls investigate. The killer was a surprise to me which added to my pleasure of this cozy mystery.

Molly MacRae is a sterling story teller. Set in a lovely Scottish village, she even adds some Scottish Gaelic to SCONES AND SCOUNDRELS. I enjoyed the close relationships of the girls and their exchanges were often hilarious. When they agreed "Bampot," a.k.a. idiot, was the perfect nickname for Daphne, I heartily agreed with their choice. The descriptions of Scottish food was so tempting, especially the freshly baked scones. The girls who own Yon Bonnie Bookshop are an interesting bunch of dedicated women, working hard together to make their business enterprises a success in this charming locale. I look forward to the next in the Highland Bookshop Mystery series. Great job, Ms. MacRae. Tapadh leat!

Book Summary

Inversgail, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, welcomes home native daughter and best-selling environmental writer Daphne Wood. Known as the icon of ecology, Daphne will spend three months as the author in residence for the Inversgail schools. Janet Marsh and her business partners at Yon Bonnie Books are looking forward to hosting a gala book signing for her. Daphne, who hasn’t set foot in Scotland in thirty years, is . . . eccentric. She lives in the Canadian wilderness, in a cabin she built herself, with only her dog for a companion, and her people skills have developed a few rough-hewn edges. She and the dog (which she insists on bringing with her) cause problems for the school, the library, and the bookshop even before they get to Inversgail. Then, on the misty night they arrive, a young man—an American who’d spent a night in the B&B above Yon Bonnie Books—is found dead outside a pub.

Daphne did her Inversgail homework and knows that Janet and her partners solved a previous murder. She tries to persuade them to join her in uncovering the killer and the truth. To prove she’s capable, she starts poking and prying. But investigating crimes can be murder, and Daphne ends up dead, poisoned by scones from the tearoom at Yon Bonnie Books. Now, to save the reputation of their business—not to mention the reputation of their scones— Janet and her partners must solve both murders. And Daphne’s dog might be able to help them, if only they can get it to stop howling. . .