Kilt Dead

by: Kaitlyn Dunnett

Published by: Kensington Books

Reviewed by Kathy Perschmann

Scottish dancer Liss MacCrimmon injures her knee while dancing on tour with the group Strathspey. She then returns home to Moosetookalook, Maine, to keep open her aunt’s Scottish Emporium while she is away on a trip, to give her knee time to heal and give herself time to figure out what she will do with her life. Touring and dancing was her only dream.

Liss and part-time shop assistant Sherri Willett are working at a booth at the local Highland Games when a pushy real estate developer and his girlfriend/secretary stop by and ask about a kilt–a special order kilt, and they need to get into the store immediately to check out the fabric. Of course Liss refuses to loan them the key; and they stomp off.

When Liss returns home later that night, exhausted, she discovers the body of ex-school teacher and nosy neighbor, Mrs. Norris, in the Emporium’s storeroom, dead from a head wound. Dan Ruskin, who had a crush on Liss back in high school, lives next door to the Emporium in Liss’ old family home, and he is there right after she finds the body and takes her back to his place.

It is obvious from the start that the state police have fingered Liss as the chief suspect, so she and Sherri and Dan decide to investigate on their own. There are suspects galore–including Sherri’s angry estranged father, the real estate developer, and possibly even Ned, Liss’ shifty cousin. Liss also discovers Aunt Margaret had invested a lot of money with Dan’s father in renovating an old hotel, and the Emporium is not doing well financially. Does even Dan have secrets?

Dunnett is actually writer Kathy Lynn Emerson, and this is the first in a series of Liss MacCrimmon tales.

Armchair Interviews says: The appealing locale, plot twists, and likeable characters make this a series you will want to pursue.

Author’s Web site: http://www.KaitlynDunnett.com