Scones and Scoundrels

I would like to thank NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Co. for providing a copy of this book for review. Thirty years ago Daphne Wood left Inversgail and became an author and environmentalist, living by herself in a cabin in the woods. Now she has returned for three months for an author in residence program. Before she even arrives she sends an unreasonable list of demands that cause problems for the locals managing the program.

Shortly before Daphne’s arrival, the body of a young American hiker is found behind the local pub. Janet Marsh and her friends, owners of Yon Bonnie Books had been involved in an investigation in the past, but are determined to stay away from this one. Daphne, on the other hand, thinks they should look into it and spreads the word that they are investigating. When Daphne’s body is found, Janet and her friends fear they may also become targets and decide that the easiest way to stay safe is to find the killer.

Molly MacRae has created a highlands bookshop and village that you can get lost in. Yon Bonnie Books, the attached cafe with its’ fresh baked scones and the local pub where villagers gather at the end of the day make the reader comfortable, yet when Daphne arrives you can feel a change in the atmosphere. The four women who own the bookshop/cafe are close and supportive of each other. As they interact with various villagers, who can be quirky and occasionally annoying, they search for motives and a possible killer among people they have come to know. Like Stella Cameron’s Folly series, once you visit Yon Bonnie Books you will look forward to future visits.

I usually don't get into a book quite so much that I want to kill off one of the characters myself! However, I did enjoy the mystery solving by Janet and her friends. The whisky society was fun running gag throughout the book and you do finally get to the bottom of it by the end of the book.