Murder, She Edited (A Deadly Edits Book 4)

Author:    Kaitlyn Dunnett

Genre:     Mystery

Hardcover, Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496726896

Kensington Publishing

288 Pages

$26.00; $13.26 Amazon

July 27, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When Mikki inherits a nearby farm from a woman she hasn't seen in two decades, the unexpected arrangement comes with a big catch: forgotten diaries hidden in the neglected house must be recovered, edited, and published across the internet within one month.  The lonely locale is like an untouched time capsule from the 1950s, and it was left behind for good reason.

While searching for the mysterious memoirs and clues about the former owners, Mikki discovers that the once peaceful place was punctuated by an unsolved homicide and other rumored crimes.  Worse, suspicious activity in the creepy, dilapidated barn suggests it really hasn't been abandoned at all...

In a remote farmhouse with only her observant calico cat, Calpurnia, keeping her company, Mikki must swiftly crack an eerie cold case from the past and stop a clever culprit from leaving red markups on anything other than pages of revised copy...

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Mikki Lincoln is a retired teacher who now edits manuscripts for others from her home in Lenape Hollow in the Catskills.  When she receives a call from an attorney who tells her that she's been left a bequest, she can't imagine what her mother's old friend might have done.  But when she learns she now owns an old farmhouse, barn, and the land surrounding it, she's more than surprised.  But not as much as learning that she needs to find some old diaries that are hidden somewhere in the house, edit them, and publish them on the internet.  

When Mikki visits the place, it's like stepping back into the 1950s.  No one has lived there for decades, and everything has been left just as it was -- along with the ravages of time.  But Mikki is determined to find the diaries, because she's curious to know what's in them, and what is so important that the woman wants them published.  Unfortunately, someone else is looking for them, too...and they won't stop even if it takes murder to find them...

I have to be honest and say that I really tried to get through the first in this series but just could not.  I found it boring.  However, first in a series aren't easy to write because you're still figuring our your characters and your places.  I will say that I am glad I decided to pick up this one and try again.  It was delightful.

I love mysteries that have old cold cases within them, so this one was right up my alley.  You don't even need to read the first in the series to figure everything out; the author has crafted her characters well and you can enjoy the story from the first page without feeling lost along the way.

Mikki is determined to find out the truth of why the house was abandoned so many years ago, even if she's not getting any help from the attorney or his assistant in doing so.  But she's driven, and she's got the help of her friend Darlene who's more than willing.  

Unfortunately, she's also being stalked by a woman who blames her for something trivial, and she's having to constantly dodge the woman.  Life is not a bowl of cherries for Mikki, and she's got a lot on her plate to handle.  Hopefully, she'll be able to find the diaries and get rid of the woman all at the same time.  But when she finds out there's more at stake than that  -- meaning her life -- will she be able to figure it all out in time?

I loved the book enough to finish it in one sitting, and I loved the plot.  There are a few more subplots thrown in, but you will have to read the book to find out.  I will say that the ending took me by complete surprise, and when Mikki put it all together, it was definitely a dropped bomb.  This alone made it worth reading.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JVRJHCV?ref_

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4053238165

More on Kaitlyn Dunnett's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/kaitlyn-dunnett/

X Marks the Scot (A Liss MacCrimmon Mystery #11)

Author:  Kaitlyn Dunnett
Genre:  Mystery

Hardcover; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496712592
Kensington Publishing
$17.19; $11.99 Amazon
304 Pages
November 28, 2017

✮✮✮✮

The old Chadwick Mansion on the edge of Moosetookalook, Maine, has been shrouded in mystery for generations - until Scottish Emporium owner Liss MacCrimmon uncovers a forgotten family secret.  But she never imagined that a little curiosity would lead her into such deadly territory...

While perusing auction items from the Chadwick estate, Liss purchases a painting of a bagpiper to add to her collection.  Her interest shifts from art to sleuthing upon a strange discovery - what appears to be a treasure map tucked behind the canvas.  She's even more intrigued when she links the scroll to an early Chadwick who smuggled goods across the Canadian border.

So during a business trip to Canada, Liss arranges a meeting with an archivist in hopes of pinning down the truth about the map and the Chadwick bloodline.  Before her quest moves forward, however, she finds the archivist's murdered body at a local genealogical society.  One thing is certain - Liss isn't alone on this treasure hunt...

Liss returns to Moosetookalook, terrified that the killer may have followed her home.  With her life in real peril and the map at risk of being stolen, she launches into full-scale investigation mode.  But as she deciphers clues and inches toward the dangerous culprit, Liss quickly realizes she's only a step away from ending up like the Chadwick clan -- permanently wiped out.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

When Liss Ruskin attends an estate auction, she doesn't expect the picture she bought to be so much trouble...Liss was taken by a painting of the Piper to the Laird of Grant, and successfully bid against two others.  But when she accidentally dropped it, the frame broke and revealed what appeared to be a treasure map underneath.  The problem was that it had no distinctive markings, so she didn't know where or what it was actually for.

All she could surmise was that it had something to do with the Chadwick family, and that there must be some sort of treasure on the estate grounds.  It was her Aunt Margaret who suggested they make a trip to Canada to see if they could discover anything about the family that would lead them to find the truth.  And that was her first mistake...

Upon arriving at her destination, the Chadwick Historical and Genealogical Society in Canada, Liss and Margaret entered the building and called out for Orson Bailey, the man they were supposed to meet.  And meet him they did, but not in the way they expected, for Orson was dead, underneath a table.  It didn't help when she discovered their hotel room had been ransacked, yet the only two items stolen were an iPad and brooch.

So when Liss eventually returned to her home in Moosetookalook, Maine, she was more curious than ever about the map, and Orson's murder.  She wondered if they were connected, especially since other things were occurring - things she knew were connected to the map.  And if there was a treasure involved, how many people were interested in it, and which one was interested enough to kill someone to get it?

This, as always, is another enjoyable book in the Liss MacCrimmon mystery series.  The author does a commendable job of keeping the plot moving along nicely, and the characters are well-drawn and vivid.  It says much for a book when you want to punch a character for being smug and self-satisfied.  It was an entertaining read, and the mystery itself was threaded nicely throughout, giving subtle clues along the way.

Although I pretty much had the murderer figured out early (I read a lot of these), it was still quite nice to see how everything was connected, and how Liss began to put it all together.  I did feel that this book probably wasn't actually suited to be read as a stand-alone since there are references to other books, it was still easy enough to read, and it will be interesting to see how the return of Liss's parents affect her life in Mooosetookalook.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Marks-Scot-Liss-MacCrimmon-Mystery/dp/1496712595/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2244758281

More on Kaitlyn Dunnett's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/kaitlyn-dunnett/

Kilt at the Highland Games (A Liss MacCrimmon Mystery Book 9)

Author:  Kaitlyn Dunnett
Genre:  Mystery

Hardcover; Ebook; Audio CD
ISBN #: 9780758292919
Kensington Publishing
304 Pages
$19.07; $11.99; $22.19 Amazon
July 26, 2016

Five Stars

It's July in Moosetookalook, Maine, and Scottish Emporium proprietress Liss MacCrimmon Ruskin is prepping her wares for the annual Celtic heritage festival.  But as a sinister crime wave washes over the quiet town, this year's celebration might prove a wee bit more eventful -- and deadly -- than tartans and bagpipes...

When a fire ravages the local bookstore late one evening, Liss immediately fears the worst for owner Angie Hogencamp and the two young children who live above the shop.  After the terrible blaze dies down, however, the family is nowhere to be found among the ruins.  It's as if the three just vanished into smoke.  Or even stranger -- like they never existed at all.

Disturbed by Angie's disappearance and suspecting arson, Liss counts on the weekend-long Western Maine Highland Games -- complete with a parade and fireworks display -- to offer a temporary distraction from the countless questions filling her head.  But when the sound of a gunshot leads Liss to selectman Jason Graye's dead body on opening day, she's drawn into a full-blown homicide investigation like a moth to a flame.

Is Moosetookalook suffering from a streak of bad luck, or are the two grim incidents connected?  Unable to shake the notion that new victims are being targeted around town -- and despite her worried husband's best protests -- Liss races to nab the killer.  And with her own life on the line, she'll need to act swifly.  Because when it comes to this kind of game, somebody has to lose...

********

Arson, murder, vandalism...Moosetookalook is having an unusual crime wave this summer...

Liss MacCrimmon and her husband Dan are sleeping one night when they are awakened by a siren in the middle of the night and the smell of smoke.  Running to the window, she sees that it is the bookstore across the square, the one owned by her friend Angie Hogencamp.  Once the fire is extinguished and it is determined that Angie and her children, Beth and Bradley, were not in the building when it went up in flames, it leaves another question:  where are they?

Their car is also missing, yet when Liss questions anyone nearby Angie's home/bookstore, it seems none of them remember her leaving, nor has she been seen since at least the day before the fire.  Once it's pretty well decided that the fire was arson, Liss is more than ever determined to find Angie, refusing to believe that she would torch her own business for any reason.

But she also has other things on her mind:  Jason Graye, a local real estate agent/selectman, wants to use eminent domain to take (what's left of) Angie's property for the town, and is also determined to shut down the local library.  The local librarian is resolved to see him removed from the board, and is enlisting Liss's help; a tourist is making her miserable by questioning the authenticity of her shop's wares and running off customers; and her young cousin Boxer is worried about Angie's daughter Beth, who is also his girlfriend.  

But things start to get really ugly when Jason is found dead in his home - by Liss and Dan no less - and there's an act of vandalism that, on the surface, appears to be random and the act of bored kids.  But it isn't long before she starts getting suspicious that these things might be linked and calls in her own private investigator to see if he can locate Angie, believing she's the key to all that's been happening.  But it's a final act of violence that sets Liss off in the right direction; but putting it all together may put more than her life in danger....

I truly enjoyed this book, it is an easy read and a clever one.  There are enough twists and turns to please even the most die hard cozy mystery fans, and suffice it to say that All is Not What it Seems.  The most innocuous conversations can have hidden meanings, hidden secrets turn out to be both good and bad, and sometimes even people we thought we knew turn out to be someone else entirely.

The characters are well-defined and believable; there is a mashup of people who are interesting, humorous, and, in one case, downright intimidating.  Ms. Dunnett creates a town that we all might not want to live in (being a Big City girl myself), but we would probably want to visit at least once in our lifetime.  This was a truly delightful read, and I was sorry to see it end.

This is the ninth book in the Liss MacCrimmon mysteries, but it can be read as a stand alone, there is enough information given throughout the book so that you don't feel like you've missed something by not reading the others.  When we finally come to the end of the book, we realize that sometimes what doesn't seem like evil can be anywhere around us, and we get the satisfaction of having finished a very good book indeed.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Kilt-Highland-Games-MacCrimmon-Mystery-ebook/dp/B017G7HD0O/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1719190581

More on Kaitlyn Dunnett's books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/kaitlyn-dunnett/                                     .