Plaid and Plagiarism: The Highland Bookshop Mystery Series: Book 1 (The Highland Bookshop Mystery Series)

The setting for this book is charming and fits what I remember of my trips to Scotland. The American protagonist’s use of idiom is accurate, as one would expect from an American author. The dialogue, for the most part, sounds natural and authentic, and the author exercises an admirable restraint in using Scottish accents.
This book was supposed to be a cozy mystery, but there is no one assigned to the role of amateur detective. If one looks at the storyline, it fits in with the first half of the Hero’s Journey, in that a lot of things happen to these characters that upset their normal world and get in the way of their goals. Unfortunately, none of the characters crosses the line into active investigation. This may be an artifact of trying to have four amateur investigators, a difficult writing task at best.
The cast of characters is large and repetitious. There are two men with dogs; two young women and two not-so-young women running the store; two couples who have been displaced; and at least three grandmothers (I may be forgetting one). The four women are all described as successful in prior careers, but they are not shown taking ownership of the new business, each playing to her strength and establishing herself as an individual.
There is one clear moment of deduction, but most of whatever leads to the conclusion happens “off camera” so the reader is left out of the process. The protagonist’s repeated venom directed at her ex-husband gives the impression of a less than fully adult personality. Further complicating the reader’s understanding is the rare introduction of screaming and violence, none of which is foreshadowed or sufficiently explained.
Norman, the policeman, is guilty of breaking and entering, many times, and ignoring his promises to the protagonist. Norman’s explanation for why he hid facts was—apparently—that he was sweet on Jess, but I am not sure I understood him correctly. There is no mention of the police tape being taken down and the house being cleaned up by anyone. The smell coming from the kitchen of Janet’s house is described clearly in the opening of the book, but is gone when we discover Norman’s grandmother rocking and knitting inside.
The final scenes leave a lot of questions unanswered. Why was Reddick at the bothy and why did he fall over the cliff? Did someone push him? Why did Ian look ill? Why did he decide to set a trap? Did Pamela go out to the bothy? If so, what did she do there?
Why did Pamela take the letters off Una? When did she put them in the recipe tin? Why did she leave the tin in the kitchen at the bookshop? Why did Rosie (the “psychic”) find them? Why did Lauren blame Janet for her husband being seduced by Una? When did grandmother Maida have time to trash the house? How did she transport that much garbage and deposit in the house without anyone noticing? It is summertime and the light lingers in that part of the world. When did the renters move out? Why didn’t next-door-neighbor Ian notice anything, not even the smell?
Pamela’s motive for killing Una is insufficient. Una wouldn’t help her (Pamela) persuade her husband, Kenneth, to leave the country with her (Pamela), since Kenneth was the father of the bastard child by Emma, who did leave the country and move to Australia.
What has the title to do with the story line? Plagiarism may have happened, but it is not a motive for anything in this narrative. Would a swath of tartan small enough to fit in the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet also be long enough to act as a rope during the cliff side rescue scene?
Summary:
The book is plodding, confused, and lacking a story engine. There are plot holes big enough to drive a Mack truck through. The characters are unconvincing and without motives for their actions, or, if the motives exist, they are neither shared with the reader nor explained at the resolution. I paid full price for this volume. I won’t make that mistake again.

I gave this one star for two reasons. Firstly, the cover art is very nice. About the nicest thing about the book. Secondly, the setting...could have been lovely. There are SO MANY things wrong with this book. 1) way too many protagonists. 2) the writing was confusing and disjointed. 3) parts of the writing was SO bad, that after reading multiple paragraphs, I still didn’t know what the he ll had just happened ! 4) people don’t conversate like that. 5) WAY too much dialogue that went absolutely nowhere. 6) it was boring.

I tried , I really did. I made it 3/4 of the way through, until I got so disgusted & angry about the waste of a few hours of my life, that I skipped ahead to see who done it. Should have done so, HOURS before I did.

I won’t be bothering with the rest of the series. Too many good books out there, to waste time reading bad fiction.

A bit too cutesy for my taste. Lacking is logic and intelligent dialogue. I found myself wanting to abandon the book but did push through to the end. I was disappointed.

Charming cozy mystery set on the coastal edge of the Scottish Highlands. Four women of two generations throw in their U.S. towel, pool their funds and purchase an established Scottish bookshop. Three of this team are American and the 4th is returning to her native home to keep an eye on and assist her aging folks. Divorcée and former librarian, Janet, wrangled ownership of a sweet Scottish cottage from her ex-husband during the settlement. She would welcome the opportunity to settle into that cottage. However, the home has been made "off-limits" upon the discovery of a murdered woman in the shed out back. The investigation team appears to be dragging their feet, forcing Janet and her lawyer daughter to inhabit two of the cozy bedrooms above the bookshop. Well, enough's enough and valiant four decide to do a bit of sleuthing on their own. All this on top of learning the ins and outs of running their new combination bookshop-tea room-b&b establishment.

In spite of the books charm, there is little realism - virtually no real police work, unlikely amount of free snooping time and the excusing of that overreach. But overall, it was an enjoyable read and it laid out the premise for the sweet and charming, "The Highland Bookshop Mystery Series".

The overall plot and setting in Scotland with four appealing female protagonists, starting over in a village with a bookstore and tea shop piques your interest. Lots of “ are you okay”, shaking hands and second guessing by the main characters. If they had a backbone, the series would be a winner.

This book had a great story idea but my goodness it just went on and on and I had to skip to the end to find out who the murder was. I also wasn’t shocked either. I love mystery books but this definitely was not one of them.

I would not recommend this novel to an avid mystery reader. I put it down after getting over half the way through the book. It never really got off the ground. Too much narrative and not enough mystery. Sorry for the poor review, but I think I was drawn to the cover and the title.

In this well-written cozy mystery, the main protagonists are a wonderful team composed of a librarian, a reporter, a lawyer, and a social worker that at times seems to channel Queen Elizabeth II. With such a conglomeration of talents and experience, no crime should go unsolved! They refer to themselves as the “Sisterhood of the Suspicious” and, when a murder occurs in the garden shed of one of the team, they not only create a “murder room” but also are innovative in using the Cloud to keep each other abreast of developments and questions needing investigation. They certainly do a much better job at solving the crime than their neighboring mystery writer.

While setting up their new bookstore, B&B, and tearoom businesses in Iversgail, the new partners are able to assist the local police in solving the murder of the local Agony Aunt and also the mysterious appearance of letters possibly threatening blackmail. The plaid and plagiarism in the title are intriguing components to the final solution.

I echo Janet’s toast at the end: “To friends and books, and friend in books, may our stories be long and our friendships longer.” I look forward to the continuing adventures of the Sisterhood of the Suspicious.