Thistles and Thieves: The Highland Bookshop Mystery Series: Book 3

(Hardback)

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Description

The latest entry in the charming Highland Bookshop mystery series finds the women of Yon Bonnie Books embroiled in the death of a local doctor, which sets off a chain of other curiousand deadlyevents.

Out for a bicycle ride in the hills beyond Inversgail, Janet Marsh discovers the body of Dr. Malcolm Murray. The elderly Murray and his own bicycle went off the road and down a steep slopehes sprawled in the burn at the bottom, his damaged bike in a patch of thistles on the bank. Janet calls the Police Scotland emergency number. Tire tracks at the side of the narrow road suggest a vehicle might have been involved. But if it was an accident, the driver hasnt come forward. And if it wasnt an accident. . . . But who would want the well-loved, retired doctor dead

A few days after the death, a box of vintage first editions is left on the doorstep of Yon Bonnie Books with a note: Please look after these books. Thank you. Janet and her crew at the shop are at first delighted, and then mystifiedwhat exactly does look after mean Are they free to sell them And what are the odd notes penciled in the margins With a little digging, the women decide the books might belong to Malcolm Murray or his reclusive brother, Gerald. When Janet and Christine call at Malcolms house, they find his confused, angry sister and evidence of a burglary. When they go to Geralds modest croft house, they find the door ajar and Gerald dead inside, stabbed with a regimental dagger.

While the police try to determine if the Murray brothers deaths are connected and whos responsible, Janet and the bookshop owners try to find out how and why the box of books ended up on their doorstep. The police are interested in those questions, too, and theyre more than a little suspicious. Are the Yon Bonnie women as good with burglar tools as they are with booksand at finding bodies

Reviews

"Enjoyable. The plot steadily gains momentum as it heads toward the satisfying ending. Well-drawn characters enhance the story line. Armchair travelers will have fun." * Publishers Weekly *
"A box full of old books may hold the secret to a mysterious death in a small Scottish town." * Kirkus Reviews *
"Cozy fans are in for a treat." * Publishers Weekly [praise for the Highland Bookshop Mystery Series] *
"Enough motives and suspects to provide plenty of twists and turns." * Kirkus Reviews [praise for the Highland Bookshop Mystery Series] *
"A new cozy mystery series in which the drama is tempered with humor." -- Marilyn Stasio * New York Times [praise for the Highland Bookshop Mystery Series] *
"With its cast of appealing amateur sleuths and quirky town residents, this leisurely paced mystery will attract cozy fans." * Library Journal [praise for the Highland Bookshop Mystery Series] *

Author Bio

Molly MacRaeis the national bestselling author ofPlaid and Plagiarism,Scones and Scoundrels,Thistles and Thieves, andHeather and Homicide, all available from Pegasus Crime.Her short stories have appeared inAlfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazinefor more than twenty years, and she has won the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Molly lives with her family in Champaign, Illinois.