The Scottie Barked at Midnight
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4.5 • 11 Ratings
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
A cozy mystery “full of local color, suspicious characters, and adorable fur-babies. What’s not to like?” (Kirkus).
Spring is just a few weeks away, but winter is still digging its claws into Moosetookalook, Maine. With business at the Scottish Emporium frozen up, Liss MacCrimmon is cautiously optimistic when a twist of fate lands her on a reality competition show—until the contest gets a little too cutthroat . . .
While driving on an icy road one night, Liss swerves her car when something darts out in front of it. The Scottish terrier she finds shivering in the snow turns out to be a reality TV star. But when the pooch’s owner is murdered, her daughter asks Liss to take her place on the show. Before Liss can tell her she’s barking up the wrong tree, she finds herself ensnarled in the strange world of reality competitions and hot on the trail of a deadly competitor. And just as she starts pawing at the truth, Liss realizes she could be next on the murderer’s list . . .
“The small-town Maine setting works well…A good choice for readers of Susan Wittig Albert’s China Bayles series.” —Booklist
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Dunnett's uneven ninth Liss MacCrimmon mystery (after 2014's Ho Ho Homicide), Liss, the owner of the Scottish Emporium in Moosetookalook, Maine, becomes a contestant on Variety Live, a national TV show. One stormy night on an icy mountain road, Liss rescues a Scottish terrier, which she succeeds in reuniting with its owner, Deidre Amendole, who's scheduled to compete on Variety Live with her dog act. When elderly Deirde dies suddenly of unknown causes, her daughter persuades Liss to fill in. During the show's filming at an upscale ski resort, destroyed props and other acts of sabotage suggest that someone will go to any lengths to win. Dunnett (the pseudonym of Kathy Lynn Emerson) deftly sketches the secondary characters, though they're an unpleasant lot, full of petty jealousies and given to backbiting. The mischief fails to generate much tension, and the action builds to a contrived denouement. Still, readers should enjoy the behind-the-scenes look at the TV show.
