Hi, I’m Molly MacRae, author of ARGYLES AND ARSENIC, book 5 in the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. The series is about four women from the Midwest, ready for a change, who pool their money, buy a bookshop on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, and move there to run it. It’s Scotland! The Highlands! What could possibly go wrong?
A is for arsenic – King of Poisons, Inheritor’s Powder, the People’s Choice. Did someone put arsenic in Wendy Erskine’s teacup during Violet MacAskill’s party?
R is for red herrings. There are plenty of them. Will the four women of Yon Bonnie Books be able to sort through them before the villain strikes again?
G is for guilty. Someone is guilty. Is it the owner of the Mr. Potato Chef food truck? The unidentified woman at Violet’s party who said she was going for help but apparently didn’t? Surely it can’t be Violet’s granddaughter Isobel.
Y is for Yon Bonnie Books. The four women who own the bookshop and adjoining tearoom are a clever crew of amateur sleuths but, with this villain, have they finally met their match?
L is for the lies being told. Who can the sleuths trust? Who can they believe?
E is for eccentric. Violet, at 93, is somewhat eccentric. So is her son Edward. Also Kyle Burns, one of the competition knitters you’ll hear about in the next A. But does eccentric mean guilty?
S is for secrets. There are even more secrets than red herrings.
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A is for the argyle socks people are knitting for the Rocking the Stocking knitting competition. Participants are following the pattern for traditional Inversgail stockings and knitting in various businesses around town, including Yon Bonnie Books.
N is for Nana Bethia, the constable’s grandmother. She’s a dear wee woman and one of the judges of the knitting competition. But she was at Violet’s party and she has a habit of putting things in people’s tea . . .
D is for decanting and decluttering – that was the theme of Violet’s party. Guests were invited to have a glass of sherry and help her declutter her fantastic manor house by taking home whatever they liked. Did someone take home the arsenic she kept in the potting shed?
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A is for against. Violet’s daughter Teresa was against the party and made sure everyone knew it.
R is for Ranger. Ranger is the Cairn terrier who “works” at Yon Bonnie Books. He spends most of his time napping in one of the chairs near the fireplace, but he has a keen nose for trouble. He doesn’t seem to trust Kyle. And what does he really think of Edward?
S is for S.C.O.N.E.S. – the Shadow Constabulary of Nosy, Eavesdropping Snoops. That’s the name someone gave the women at Yon Bonnie Books. It was supposed to be an insult, but the women embraced it. Despite their unorthodox methods, they’ve helped the police with several murder investigations. And now that his grandmother, is under suspicion, Constable Hobbs calls on the S.C.O.N.E.S. again.
E is for eat. Would you eat food from the Mr. Potato Chef food truck with rumors swirling about food poisoning? And arsenic?
N is for not again! Yes, I’m afraid so. There’s been another . . .
I is for incident. There’s been another incident. The poisoner struck again. Will the S.C.O.N.E.S. solve the crime and save the day?
C is for cozy. Argyles and Arsenic, a cozy mystery, is book 5 in the Highland Bookshop Mystery series. Available in hardback and e-book, look for it at any bookstore or ask for it at your public library. A comfortable chair, a cup of tea, a scone, and a good book – that’s a recipe for a perfect afternoon or evening. Welcome to Scotland and happy reading!
ARGYLES AND ARSENIC by Molly MacRae
In the latest novel in the beloved Highland Bookshop Mystery Series, a murder at a baronial manor leads to a poisonous game of cat and mouse—with the women of Yon Bonnie Books playing to win.
After 93 well-lived years, Violet MacAskill is ready to simplify her life. Her eccentric solution? She’ll throw a decanting and decluttering party at her family home – a Scottish Baronial manor near the seaside town of Inversgail, Scotland. Violet sets aside everything she wants or needs, then she invites her many friends in to sip sherry and help themselves to whatever they want from all that’s left.
Janet Marsh and Christine Robertson, two of the women who own Yon Bonnie Books in Inversgail, enjoy themselves at the party. Not everyone who attends has a good time, though. Wendy Erskine, director of the Inversgail museum, is found dead, and rumors swirl about food poisoning from a local food truck. Then Violet tells Constable Hobbs that a tin of rat poison is missing. And when Hobbs’ own grandmother comes under suspicion for murder, he enlists the women from Yon Bonnie Books, and the race is on to find the murderer.
But where do they begin? Are there clues in the “Shocking Stockings” exhibit at the museum? Will the antique scrapbook pasted full of trivia about arsenic and bygone poisoners offer a solution? Or does the answer lie closer to home – is one of Violet’s friends truly toxic? Poisonous games are afoot in Inversgail and the women of Yon Bonnie Books are playing to win.
Mystery Cozy [Pegasus Crime, On Sale: March 1, 2022, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781643138893 / ]
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About Molly MacRae
Molly MacRae spent twenty years in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Upper East Tennessee, where she managed The Book Place, an independent bookstore; may it rest in peace.
Before the lure of books hooked her, she was curator of the history museum in Jonesborough, Tennessee’s oldest town.
MacRae lives with her family in Champaign, Illinois, where she connects children with books at the public library.
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