This promising first in a new series from the pseudonymous Dunnett, aka Kathy Lynn Emerson (Face Down Beside St. Anne's Well
), introduces spunky Liss MacCrimmon, a 20-something dancer forced into early retirement by a knee injury. Adrift and depressed, Liss returns home to Moosetookalook, Maine, to help her aunt run a small store specializing in Scottish kitsch. Soon after she learns that the Scottish Emporium is in precarious financial shape, she discovers one of her former schoolteachers dead in the shop. Suspicions that Liss did the deed herself only grow when, much to Liss's shock, she turns out to be the woman's sole heir. Meanwhile, her first cousin is telling fibs about his job, neighbors gossip about sparks flying between Liss and her old buddy Dan, and a shady real estate developer may be using underhanded tricks to snap up local properties. Strong local color and a surprise ending will make this a hit with the cozy crowd. (Aug.)
