Fran StewartReseñas

Mystery

I started this one yesterday with all the bad reviews I've recently read in the back of my mind, thinking 'I'll start this one, and DNF it if it's as bad as everyone says' and I'd have another book off the TBR pile.

But it actually wasn't as bad as I'd expected. It's actually not that bad at all. The characters are ok: Peggy, the MC, isn't someone I'd be clamouring for as a BFF in real life, but she's not unlikeable and the secondary characters all have a bit of life to them. Dirk, the ghost, feels real and ghosty enough, although I don't like the name "Dirk" - it's a nickname Peggy gives him because his real name is Macbeth.

The story itself is slow; the author takes her time building up the background, having Peggy find Dirk, and establish the setting before the dead body is ever found in chapter 11. This pace might be too exasperating for some, who prefer the bodies to drop as close to chapter 1 as possible, but I didn't mind; the progression felt more natural and I wasn't subjected to an info-dump.

The mystery was well-plotted and there was just the barest hint of the murderer given if you paid close enough attention. The reveal didn't surprise me, but I wouldn't have been at all surprised if it had been someone else, either. I also really appreciated the lack of amateur sleuthing so popular these days: Peggy wasn't actively trying to find the murderer so much as solve a related puzzle, and I loved this angle.

The author leaves enough small character-related questions left open for me to think she's aiming for a slow building of her 'universe' over time. Questions are left unanswered about Dirk and about the possible romantic interest's past (Harper), and I'll happily read the second book to see how many of those questions are answered.

[PopSugar 2015 Challenge: A book with bad reviews.]½

3 stars even though the author probably deserves a fourth just for writing something outside the cozy box. While I appreciated what she was doing intellectually, emotionally I was just getting irritated.

Being thrust into the modern world hasn’t been easy for Dirk, but Peggy is at her wit’s end trying to keep the ghostie galoot in line...

When the local police chief finds the body of Peggy’s friend Karaline’s college professor in a deserted mountain cabin, everyone is thrown for a loop. It seems the secretive professor may have been killed over his ecological work, an idea that’s only reinforced when Karaline herself is shot.

First, Dirk is a stupid nickname; the ghost has something like 6 middle names and his first name is MacBeath; she couldn't choose a less porn-sounding nickname from one them?

Second, Peggy, isn't a very nice person. She seems a bit emotionally stunted, which makes for a realistic protagonist, but not a likeable one. She admits when she's been impatient or intolerant, but she does it begrudgingly and she acts out like a brat when she's called out on her behaviour. She's not unlikeable, but it's close.

Finally, the ghost. I like him, but - and this is realistic (assuming a 14th century ghost existed) - he questioned everything. Which he would, given that our English and his couldn't be much more different without being separate languages, but it gets really annoying after awhile. Also, he abused wee as an adjective. He called everything wee, including motor vehicles.

The book is told in alternating POV's and the author does it well. It flowed nicely and I don't normally like POV jumping. The story was well-plotted although a clue early on gave away the murderer for me, if not the motivation. It was a subtle clue, I think; readers that aren't a fan of word games might not pick up on it.

Overall, it sounds as though I didn't like the book, but I didn't hate it either. I think the author has a lot of talent, but the balance between realism and like-ability in her main characters was off (and the sheriff just needs to die; near as I can tell, he has no redeeming qualities). There's a lot more to this cozy than it appears from the title and cover and there's a lot of talking points about this one. But it's not as good as it could be. I'm not sure if I'll continue this series or not.

Peggy Winn owns The Scotshop, a Scottish store in the small tourist town of Hamlin, Vermont. When she discovers her boyfriend cheating, she dumps him on the spot. Then she continues with a planned visit to Scotland, where she's visited shops before to find treasures to sell back in America. But this time she finds another shop with the same name as hers -- and inside finds a lovely, ancient shawl that she is urged to purchase by the women at the shop. But when she wears it later on a picnic with the hosts of her B&B, the shawl conjures up the ghost of a fourteenth-century Scotsman, complete with full kilt attire and dagger.

Realizing she's stuck with him, she names him Dirk since she can't pronounce his given names, and once back in America she urges him to keep quiet so people won't think she's talking to herself. But when she finds the body of her ex-boyfriend buried under a bookcase after what appears to be a break-in, there's more than a ghost to worry about. Now her cousin is arrested for the crime, and if she doesn't find out what the burglar was looking for and who really killed her ex, her cousin might be sent away for good...

I really wanted to like this story because I love stories with ghosts in them, and there are several very good ones out there. Unfortunately, this isn't one of them. It started out with promise in Scotland, but when they got back to Vermont it steadily went downhill. More so because of the many unanswered questions throughout the book (and here you're going to have spoilers, so do not read on if you haven't read the book): Why are there spiders all around Dirk? What is the reason for this in the book? Why was the police chief so obnoxious toward Peggy? Do they have a past? Why was Mason killed? This was never explained. Why could women see Dirk but not men? This was just ridiculous. And last, why was Mason blackmailing someone?

I know that there are two more books in this series, but I won't be reading either of them because of this. I abhor cliffhangers and things that aren't explained, it makes me feel cheated as a reader. I just felt that I wasted my time on this book. Sorry.

Orange as Marmalade (Biscuit McKee Mystery #1) by Fran Stewart

Biscuit is the new Librarian in the small town of Matrinsville. A dead body is found inside the library by her cat Marmalade. Biscuit begins investigating the year old crime, she is also reconnecting with her sister and reaching a new stage in her relationship with her boyfriend. Life is busy for Biscuit as the suspect list grows and she comes closer to solving the mystery.

The story moves at a steady pace alternating from past (time of the crime) to present. Also we hear from the perspective of her cat Marmalade, which ads fun to this story. The characters are likable with
twist, turns and splash of romance. Overall I enjoyed Orange Marmalade and recommend to those who enjoy a great cozy murder mystery.

Not as good as the first one. It felt scattered and jumped around too much. A little irritating.

Too wordy, too many exacting descriptions, couldn't find the mystery for the words. Did not bother to finish.

A Wee Murder in My Shop by Fran Stewart falls under the cozy mystery category, which is nice, but sometimes tiresome. Stewart employs many Scottish words and sayings that the reader does not understand. The fact that a very old ghost stands as one of the main characters fall sadly to oblivion. This is not the tale of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, but a sad attempt to bring history into the novel. Plus, the main character, Peggy Winn, has relatives everywhere---working for her and as best friends. Peggy also has a twin brother who is paralyzed from the waist to his legs. The story does not begin with a murder, but with a buying trip to Scotland for Peggy, as she owns a Scotland themed shop. The story missed many elements that were exposed in the beginning, but never came to fruition. The series does not interest me.

Not my normal cozy mystery but good overall. I would have liked a better ending to this story. It just ended abruptly.

Wee Dose Of Death is the second book in the A ScotsShop Mystery series.

Peggy Winn, who owns ScotShop, a Scottish apparel shop in Hamelin, VT., decides to do a little cross country skiing and sets out on her favorite trail. As she nears a cabin where she plans to turn around and head back, she notices an area in snow that looks as if someone has fallen and has dragged their selves to the cabin. As she nears the cabin she hears Mac Campbell swearing and figures that he must be all right. She then turns around and heads back to town. Everything is not all right, as Mac had broken his leg and there is a dead body in the cabin.

A day or two later, Peggy hears that Campbell is supposedly missing and she lets the police know where he is. Soon after Mac is rescued, the body is identified as a biology professor that had gone to the cabin for some solitude and to work on a secret paper.

Peggy and Karaline Logg, a former student of the professor, visit the campus to talk with some of his grad students to gather information as to who might have wanted the professor dead.

Gilda who works in Peggy's store has returned after being in an alcohol abuse center and has returned with an adorable Scottie pup who has set residence in the shop. This is an enjoyable series with interesting and believable characters. Of course her Dirk, her ghost, is back to provide some humor.

Looking forward to the next book in the series to what mischief Dirk and the Scottie, Scamp, will get into and visit with the other residents of Hamelin.

Listened for Review (Tantor)
Overall Rating: 3.50
Story Rating: 3.50
Character Rating: 3.50

Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)

First Thought when Finished: A Wee Murder in My Shop by Fran Stewart was a delightfully fun start to a series. Though this was my first book by Fran--it won't be my last!

Overall Thoughts: This was a solid introduction to a new to me author and series. I really just plain ole had fun. Though I am pretty sure it is not every day someone goes to Scotland, picks up a shawl, and ends up with a helpful(ish) ghost. It totally worked for this story. The mystery starts when she comes home to someone being murdered in her shop. I actually found that the paranormal and case worked well together without being unbelievable. The small blossoming romance is still growing on me and I imagine as the series goes on I will warm up to it. Romance is never the key ingredient to me in a cozy anyway. Great setting, good characters, and solid case have solidly put the ScotShop Murders on my radar.

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated By Tanya Eby/Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins

Tanya is a very solid narrator. She has great pacing, emotion, and timing. I think this is the first time I have heard her doing accents (or at least a major character) and I was impressed. She did a great job especially since it was a male character. I will continue this series on audio.

Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, DONE! Reviews½

Sadly, I was disappointed in this book just as I was with the first book in the series. This book also felt disjointed and was hard to follow, both chronologically and genealogically (since I can't come up with a more accurate word!). It jumped back and forth between the present (1996) and the past (1947) and multiple points in between, with characters who were extremely hard to keep sorted out despite the "cast list" at the front of the book. IF I stumble across the third book I will probably read it, but I will not go out of my way to find it.

What I find amusing is that in her acknowledgments, the author thanks a friend for the advice that "at least a little bit of chronological order would truly help." She seems to have ignored this advice completely, so I don't know why she thanked the friend!½

Mostly this book was enjoyable, but it felt disorganized. I would have liked it better if it had not kept jumping between past and present ("present" being 1996) events, requiring a great deal of effort to keep track of who was doing what, when. I also would have liked it better if the author hadn't suddenly introduced a stalker out of the blue, which really wasn't much of an addition to the story line although it did result in an amusing scene where the heroines believe they have captured the stalker. If I find another book in the series, I will read it in the hope that it's easier to follow; if it isn't, I will probably not continue pursuing this series.½

Good not too predictable. Lively but not written as wel as i would like. Too much jumping around in the time line. Present tense, past too much paying attention to the dates to enjoy the story line.½