I’d like to tell you about a book I just read
by Fran Stewart called A Wee Murder in my Shop. For the past few years there has been a
constant slate of hard-hitting news stories and sometimes it’s necessary to
escape into a different type of drama, one that is far removed from current
world events, and A Wee Murder in My Shop is just the ticket. Watch the video below or at https://youtu.be/FRDyIhvZo9o or skip below the video to read the review.
I knew I had to read this book when the author
told me that she was inspired to write it by R. A. Dick’s classic, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. That is one of my all-time favorites, but I
always wished that Lucy Muir and Captain Gregg had been able to remain together
and form a deeper relationship. This book reminds me a lot of that but it also
brings us up to date with a more modern and independent protagonist, Peggy
Winn.
Instead of inheriting a ghost with a house as
Lucy Muir did, Peggy gets the ghost when she purchases a Scottish shawl that
turns out to be roughly 700 years old. And while the ghost is also that age,
he's frozen in time as a virile 30-something who is still deeply in love with
the woman who first owned the shawl. Now that the shawl has somehow been
resurrected after all those centuries, the ghost Peggy nicknames Dirk remains
with it as if tethered to it, following Peggy across the Atlantic to Vermont
where she owns a gift shop called The ScotShop.
Soon Peggy and Dirk are pulled into a murder mystery. The victim is none other than Peggy's ex-boyfriend and the crime scene is smack dab in the middle of Peggy's stop. We are introduced to a cast of memorable characters, some of whom seem to have secrets, and we’re left guessing who killed Mason, why, and above all, why he was killed in her shop in the dead of night. The investigator is a modern day love throb, Harper, and I found myself caught between wishing for a magical relationship with Dirk or a more realistic love affair with Harper.
The author reeled me in and I could visualize the quaint Vermont village with its Scottish theme, rows of gift shops and cozy restaurants and steady stream of tourists—so much so, that I wish I knew if there was truly a village the place was based on so I could visit. There are ample clues and red herrings throughout the book, including some twists that take us into the distant past, all woven together so expertly that I really didn't know how the story was going to end.
Soon Peggy and Dirk are pulled into a murder mystery. The victim is none other than Peggy's ex-boyfriend and the crime scene is smack dab in the middle of Peggy's stop. We are introduced to a cast of memorable characters, some of whom seem to have secrets, and we’re left guessing who killed Mason, why, and above all, why he was killed in her shop in the dead of night. The investigator is a modern day love throb, Harper, and I found myself caught between wishing for a magical relationship with Dirk or a more realistic love affair with Harper.
The author reeled me in and I could visualize the quaint Vermont village with its Scottish theme, rows of gift shops and cozy restaurants and steady stream of tourists—so much so, that I wish I knew if there was truly a village the place was based on so I could visit. There are ample clues and red herrings throughout the book, including some twists that take us into the distant past, all woven together so expertly that I really didn't know how the story was going to end.
The book is truly entertaining and a fun read
and escape. We don’t learn exactly why Dirk is tethered to the shawl, which
turns out to be fine because this is only the first in the ScotShop Mystery
Series. I was very happy to discover that Peggy, her ghost and her new love
interest have all been set up nicely for the sequel. It’s rather like wrapping
up some details in a television series but leaving us with a cliffhanger so
we’re eagerly looking forward to the next installment, and in fact, I can
definitely see this series made into a television series complete with the
strong, independent woman, the sexy detective and the very sexy Scottish ghost.
I highly recommend A Wee Murder in my Shop by Fran Stewart.
Visit my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/terrellpm for more book reviews or visit my website at http://pmterrell.com/ for book trailers, the inside story of my writing as well as other authors, excerpts from my books and much more.
