A Wee Christmas Homicide

The bagpipes are blaring at Moosetookalook's finest hotel, reopened just in time to host an annual celebration of Scotland's most beloved poet. But when the Scottish Heritage Appreciation Society arrives on the scene, they bring more than a hunger for haggis and a passion for plaid. The quarrelsome group harbors their share of long held grudges, and the animosity only grows as the whiskey flows. Then a fierce blizzard hits, trapping everyoneangry Scotsmen, hapless hotel staff, and Liss herselfindoors.

Praise for the Liss MacCrimmon Mysteries!

"Enjoyable. . .vivid descriptions of Maine during mud season and a quirky cast of characters lift this cozy." --Publishers Weekly on Scone Cold Dead

Switching to life without footlights or greasepaint has been easier than Liss MacCrimmon expected. After seven months in her hometown of Moosetookalook Maine, she's been able to keep her feet in the dance world by offering lessons to a few of the local children. Running the town's Scottish Emporium with her aunt, working on her physical therapy for her knee injury, and starting a budding romance with Dan Ruskin, a neighbor and former high school classmate, has kept her more than busy.

Still, she misses the life of a professional dancer with Strathspey, the Scottish dance company she belonged to before her knee injury forced her into early retirement. When the company goes on tour, Liss is instrumental in bringing the show to her hometown. Overjoyed at the prospect of seeing her old friends again, even if she can't dance with them, Liss arranges a reception for the troupe complete with a Scottish theme that includes a new spin on the classic Scottish Scone, her very own recipe for "cocktail scones."

Liss soon realizes that life in the group isn't all happy jigs and fancy stepping. Victor Owens, the company manager, has been making life miserable for every member of the company. She has no idea how miserable until Victor bites into one of Liss's prized cocktail scones, collapses and dies.

When the police set their sights on Liss and her best friends, it's up to Liss to find out whodunit before the killer makes an encore. With a missing ingénue, potential embezzlement, several secret romantic relationships, and a murderer in the mix, she'll have to work fast to uncover what is really going on backstage when the curtain falls on Strathspey.

Even if Liss MacCrimmon, soon to be Mrs. Dan Ruskin, spends her days running the Moosetookalook Scottish Emporium, all she wants is a simple white wedding as she walks down the aisle accompanied by her father. When it comes to weddings, however, her mother, Vi, has another idea about tradition. Instead of white, Vi sees tartan, tartan, and more tartan.

What bonnie luck then that Liss and Dan's wedding is scheduled on the same weekend as the Western Maine Highland Games. What could make a nuptial weekend more memorable than a hammer throw or medieval reenactment group to go along with the tossing of the bouquet? How about a charming college professor found slashed to death by his own reproduction of a broadsword?

But who'd go medieval on a professor, no matter how nutty? Turns out the deceased had plenty of enemies, including a line of female conquests stretching back to the dark ages, a band of picketers protesting his historically questionable theories, and a strapping collegiate with a howdy-doody smile. And topping the suspect list is Liss's own father, Donald "Mac" MacCrimmon!

It seems the woman who had everything also had her share of enemies. In fact, Annabel was cheating, blackmailing, or backstabbing most everyone she knew--including Trudy's trainer and kennel owner. With so many suspects, sniffing out the truth is a risky proposition. Bernie and Libby had better close the oven on this case fast--before they get burned...

"Fans of Diane Mott Davidson and Joanne Fluke will enjoy the investigative and culinary antics of the nosey sisters." Library Journal

"Enjoyable and entertaining." Romantic Times

Visions of sugar plums are most decidedly not dancing in Libby's head--especially since she and her sister are set to appear on the Hortense Calabash Cooking Show. The premise is to give six professional caterers random ingredients and have them whip up a holiday meal. The icing on the fruitcake is that Hortense Calabash is a grinch of year-round proportions. And the other contestants are some of the most demanding--and difficult--chefs in the business.

Bernie and Libby are thrown into the mix as arguments and accusations simmer on the set. Holiday spirit has left the building--and leaves a body--when Hortense, all dressed up as Santa Claus for the opening sequence, is killed by an exploding oven.

With the holiday rush in full swing and a killer still on the loose, Bernie and Libby have no choice but to wrap up the mystery before their geese are well and fully cooked. . .

Putting their preparations on hold, Bernie and Libby attend the funeral, only to be recruited to help solve a mystery. In an old cemetery-turned-lover's-lane, the body of Ted Gorman has been found in someone else's grave. The same Ted Gorman who supposedly died in a fiery car crash weeks earlier.

Ted was the ownerwith his wifeof Just Chocolate. So now, as Bernie and Libby continue working with the grieving widow, they open up a mixed box of dark financial scandal, sticky family ties, bittersweet passion, and just desserts.