Liss is getting ready for the annual March Madness Mud Season Sale. All that planning takes a back seat when her husband finds a dead body in their backyard. Things get decidedly most complex when the body is identified as her uncle, a man who has been dead for several decades. It seems that Uncle Charlie was involved in researching a water bottling company that was on the verge of buying the water rights from the local community. Liss must sort through the scant clues she manages to unearth, before she or someone else becomes the target. This complex tale is an intriguing one, with more than one mystery needing to be solved. For cozy readers, this novel is real entertainment. ( )

A View to a Kilt by Kaitlyn Dunnett is the 13th A Liss MacCrimmon Scottish Mystery. Liss MacCrimmon Ruskin has trouble saying “no” which is how she finds herself in charge of the Moosetookalook’s March Madness Mud Season Sale. Aunt Margaret will not be around to help because she is taking off for Ireland with the local genealogy group. The day after Aunt Margaret’s departure, Dan Ruskin finds a dead man in their backyard. Since Gordon Tandy was promoted, no-nonsense Detective Kelly Cussler is the lead investigator. Liss is shocked when the victim is identified as her uncle, Charlie MacCrimmon. Charlie had served in the Vietnam war where he had been declared MIA and was never heard from again. Detective Cussler deems Mac MacCrimmon, Liss’ dad, as the prime suspect which has Liss donning her sleuthing cap. A View to a Kilt can be read as a standalone for those new to this series. I always enjoy returning to Moosetookalook, Maine to catch up with Liss, Dan, Aunt Margaret and the other residents. Liss is considering closing the shop and doing online sales only. I hope she reconsiders since she has a unique shop and I like what it adds to the town as well as the series. The mystery was intriguing with an uncle being found dead in Liss’ backyard. They were told Charlie was MIA in Vietnam. Now the family learns he has been alive and living in Florida. Violet, Liss’ mother, drags Liss down to Florida to search for clues. There are several suspects, but one sticks out like a sore thumb. The whodunit was interesting with some unique qualities. Liss did miss a great opportunity to search for clues in the story which surprised me. When an amateur sleuth stumbles upon papers, they really should go through them before summoning the police. I could do with less of Violet MacCrimmon and her overbearing personality (she drives me batty). Liss is trying to get along with her, but I can see why it is a challenge (and why she liked her mother living in a different state). Liss has good relationships with her aunt and father which I find sweet. She is working on her relationship with her mother (it is like riding a bike up a steep hill). A View to a Kilt is a lighthearted cozy mystery with sweet Scotties, missing mud, a disdainful detective, and a wild whodunit. ( )

cozy-mystery, family-dynamics, friendship, small-business, small-town, law-enforcement, murder-investigation, Maine

Despite coming to this long running series totally cold, that didn't leave me in the dust but spurred me into reading others in the series AFTER I read this one in a day. Liss finds out that her dad had a brother only after the man turned out to be the body in her Maine backyard. Oh, and he'd been declared dead/MIA before she was born. It's a good thing that she is a veteran sleuth, because her mother drags her down to Florida under protest to see just what the man has been doing all those years. Good snooping despite the Maine detective figuring her dad for the killer. Excellent read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )