A Wee Murder in My Shop by Fran Stewart

Publication date: March 3, 2015

Number of pages: 304

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Series: A ScotShop Mystery #1

Synopsis:

Hamelin, Vermont, isn’t the most likely place for bagpipes and tartan, but at Peggy Winn’s ScotShop, business is booming…

While on a transatlantic hunt for some authentic wares to sell at her shop, Peggy is looking to forget her troubles by digging through the hidden treasures of the Scottish Highlands. With so many enchanting items on sale, Peggy can’t resist buying a beautiful old tartan shawl. But once she wraps it around her shoulders, she discovers that her purchase comes with a hidden fee: the specter of a fourteenth-century Scotsman.

Unsure if her Highland fling was real or a product of an overactive imagination, Peggy returns home to Vermont—only to find the dead body of her ex-boyfriend on the floor of her shop. When the police chief arrests Peggy’s cousin based on some incriminating evidence, Peggy decides to ask her haunting Scottish companion to help figure out who really committed the crime—before anyone else gets kilt…

What did I think about the story:

I loved this first book in this new series. For me it was the Scottish aspect that drew me in first then the ghost part was an added bonus. I liked that part of the book took part in Scotland and wished a little more of it was there but the fact that the Scotsman ghost comes back with Peggy is pretty fun. Poor Peggy trying to talk to her ghost without people really knowing what she was doing - it was kind of fun to listen to but I did feel bad for her. I love all things Scottish so all the little tidbits were great for me. The author did a very good job with the mystery as you had no idea right up until the last few pages.  I am anxious to read the next book as I can't wait to see what is up with Gilda and the twins and what happens next with Peggy and her ghost. A great start to a new series. 

What did I think of the cover:

I thought the cover was cute. It showed the inside of a Scottish shop which fits this series perfectly as that is where most of the story takes place. 

My rating:

5 stars

About the author:

Fran Stewart is the author of the Biscuit McKee Mysteries. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, the Atlanta Writers Club, and the National League of American Pen Women, and lives simply in a quiet house beside a creek on the backside of Hog Mountain, Georgia, with various rescued cats. She sings (alto) with the Gwinnett Choral Guild, knits, reads, gardens, volunteers in her grandchildren’s school libraries, and manages quite happily without a television set.