Tuesday, September 14, 2010

The Corpse Wore Tartan-Kaitlyn Dunnett

The Corpse Wore Tartan
Kaitlyn Dunnett
Kensington, Nov 1 2010, $22.00
ISBN: 9780758238795

In Moosetookalook, Maine Liss MacCrimmon owns the Scottish Emporium where she sells items hat are Scottish from her store The Spruces Hotel Gift Shop. Her Aunt Margaret Boyd is the events coordinator for the hotel and currently oversees the annual Burns Night Supper hosted by the Scottish Heritage Appreciation Society at The Spruces. The gala gets off to a bad start when Phil MacMillan complains that someone ransacked his room and stole a brooch.

At the dinner, Phil’s identical twin Phineas insults everyone at their table. Not long after dining, Liss finds Phil’s corpse in a storage room in the basement. Officer Sherri Willet, who already is in charge of the theft case, takes the lead on the homicide because no one can leave or enter the hotel due to a blizzard that cut off power and stranded people at the Spruces. Sherri allows Liss to assist her on her investigation to keep the woman from running off on her own as she has done before (see A Wee Christmas Homicide and Scone Cold Dead).

This is a terrific locked room (locked hotel is more descriptive) mystery due to the horrific snow and ice storm that has stranded everyone at the Spruces. Long simmering resentments are aired and people are confronted for alleged wrongdoing. Although the whodunit is a bit thin, Liss is a great heroine who remains determined to see justice prevails. Kaitlyn Dunnett provides another engaging amateur sleuth cozy starring a quirky cast locked inside an exclusive exquisite hotel during a monster storm.

Harriet Klausner

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