Plaid and Plagiarism a charming debut cozy
Plaid and Plagiarism
by Molly MacRae
WW Norton
Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths
Pub Date 6 December 2016
Review
Plaid and Plagiarism, the debut novel of Molly MacRae’s newest mystery series, offers readers a cozy with more than a wee bit of Scottish flair. Janet Marsh, her daughter and two of their friends have bought a bookshop in Inversgail, a charming village in the Highlands. The transfer of the bookshop is going well, but someone has been vandalizing Janet’s cottage making it impossible for her to move in. Then, Una Graham, the suspected vandal, a reporter known for her agony column, nosiness and ability to keep a grudge, is found murdered in the shed behind the cottage. Janet and her friends naturally feel it is in their best interest to find the killer.
It is a bit of a challenge keeping track of the four main characters. Janet is well developed, but the others are more two dimensional. I hope that will improve as the series progresses, especially as some of the secondary characters were more developed than three of the four central ones. The mystery itself is competently done, and the setting is charming. On the whole, I liked Plaid and Plagiarism and believe that the series shows a lot of promise. I look forward to seeing what comes next.
4/5
I received a copy of Plaid and Plagiarism from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
—Crittermom
Description
A murder in a garden turns the four new owners of Yon Bonnie Books into amateur detectives, in a captivating new cozy mystery novel from Molly MacRae.
Set in the weeks before the annual Inversgail Literature Festival in Scotland, Plaid and Plagiarism begins on a morning shortly after the four women take possession of their bookshop in the Highlands. Unfortunately, the move to Inversgail hasn’t gone as smoothly as they’d planned.
First, Janet Marsh is told she’ll have to wait before moving into her new home. Then she finds out the house has been vandalized. Again. The chief suspect? Una Graham, an advice columnist for the local paper—who’s trying to make a name for herself as an investigative reporter. When Janet and her business partners go looking for clues at the house, they find a body—it’s Una, in the garden shed, with a sickle in her neck. Janet never did like that garden shed.
Who wanted Una dead? After discovering a cache of nasty letters, Janet and her friends are beginning to wonder who didn’t, including Janet’s ex-husband. Surrounded by a cast of characters with whom readers will fall in love, the new owners of Yon Bonnie Books set out to solve Una’s murder so they can get back to business.
A delightful and deadly new novel about recognizing one’s strengths and weakness—while also trying to open a new book shop—Plaid and Plagiarism is the start of an entertaining new Scottish mystery series.
