Scots on the Rocks LP (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries) [Large Print] [Paperback]

Mary Daheim (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries | Publication Date: July 31, 2007

When Judith and her cousin Renie go on vacation in a remote and possibly haunted Scottish castle owned by a rich whiskey distillery baron strange things start occurring. They meet Harry Gibbs, a dissolute young man who is estranged from his wife and is found smothered to death shortly after Judith and Renie arrive. His widow, Moira, is suspect No. 1, of course, but there are plenty to go around since Harry was a real jerk and wanted to run the petrol company Moira inherited from dear old dad. Suspects include Moira's bastard half-brother, Blackwell Petroleum's sleazy CEO, the wily comptroller, an even wilier corporate attorney, the whisky baron, Moira's former mother-in-law who mixes delicious jams along with her not-so-delicious poisons, Moira's apparent lover, and, last but not least, Chuckie, the dwarfish epileptic who runs around castle. There's a ghost, some goofy villagers, and enough suspects to overwhelm any police force, but no challenge is too daunting for the cousins.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Daheim's enjoyable 23rd B&B mystery (after 2006's Saks and Violins) takes Judith McMonigle Flynn, her cousin Serena Renie Jones and their husbands to a remote town in Scotland. The idea is to get away from the stresses of running an inn, and from Judith's pesky habit of stumbling over corpses and solving murders, but when a new Scottish acquaintance mysteriously dies, Judith can't help poking around. Why would anyone kill Harry Gibbs? Perhaps his wife, now twice widowed, had developed a romantic relationship with someone else, or perhaps a complex business deal lies behind Harry's demise. The tight-knit locals aren't always willing to open up to Judith, and soon more people die. The many eccentric Scottish characters aren't especially well developed, but the local color—fine wool, romantic castles, freely flowing whiskey and tea—is charming. This cozy makes a good vacation read, whether or not your destination is Scotland. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

In this twenty-third Bed-and-Breakfast novel, cousins Judith Flynn and Renie Jones travel to a restored castle in Scotland for a vacation with their husbands, who promptly go fishing. Harry Gibbs, grandson of the castle's caretakers, promptly dies in a fiery explosion, leaving his wife as the chief suspect. Judith, never one to let anyone get away with murder, decides to find the killer and, with Renie's reluctant assistance, begins investigating. Daheim describes the setting effectively and does a good job developing the cousins' characters, especially the feisty Renie, but the other players, not so well delineated, are often difficult to keep straight. Only for longtime fans of the series. O'Brien, Sue --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 516 pages
• Publisher: HarperLuxe; Lgr edition (July 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061260398
• ISBN-13: 978-0061260391
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,346,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Series moves to Scotland and it is a hit!, September 6, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scots on the Rocks: A Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This is 23rd in the series of Bed and Breakfast mysteries featuring Judith McMonigle Flynn and her cousin Renie, this one is set not in Judith's Seattle Hillside Manor B & B, but in Scotland.

Judith is aging, her hip replacement surgery has slowed her down. Her husband Joe, a retired police detective, and her cousin Renie and her husband Bill conspire to set up Judith with a surprise vacation. Her B & B is staffed with substitute innkeepers, and they are off. Judith is sure the locale is southern California, and packs accordingly.

Unfortunately it is Scotland, a stay in remote Grimloch castle due Joe's police connection, with a promise of some great fishing. The men skip off soon after arrival to fish, leaving Judith and Renie to get to know the Gibbses, the surly and unhappy couple running the castle. They venture into town to get Judith some warm clothing and meet many more eccentric and dysfunctional people, including Moira Gibbs, her husband Harry (grandson of the Gibbses working in the castle); and cranky Mrs. Gunn. Wealthy Moira Gibbs has inherited a large petroleum company, and Mrs. Gunn is running her husband's transport firm and believes in the supernatural.

Soon Philip Fordyce and his young wife Beth, owners of the castle, return early from an island vacation to stay in the private wing. Fordyce runs a company making Scotch whiskey and has a very strange young son, Chuckie, who skulks around the castle being obtuse and nasty.

An explosion on the beach signals the death of Harry Gibbs. Who could have wanted him dead? Was he meddling in his wife's Blackwell Petroleum company too much? The accidental death months ago of Moira's personal assistant, the dashing Italian Davey, is suddenly questioned when his bloodstained coat is found with a note. Then Chuckie begins hinting he knows who killed Harry. Judith and Renie have sporadic and sketchy phone contacts with their fishing spouses, until suddenly they seem to have disappeared.

Judith is her usual kind and inquisitive self; Renie as usual, is always hungry, argumentative and pushy. There are several truly hilarious episodes as they careen around the village of St. Fergna trying to ferret out the facts.

Armchair Interviews says: 23rd in series, and still doing just fine, thank you.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Confusing and just OK, November 14, 2007

By 

Bookworm Carolyn (Phoenixville, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scots on the Rocks: A Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I generally like Mary Daheim and her B&B novels, but this one was just OK. The plot was confusing with a lot of superfluous characters, nonessential subplots, holes, and murders that made no sense, even after everything was explained. It still is not quite clear to me, in fact, exactly why the main murder was committed. The motivation behind some of the other deaths is even murkier. The quirkiness of some of the characters, and the interesting setting -- as well as hopes for a real surprise ending -- kept me reading, but in the end, I was dissatisfied.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too Long, November 2, 2009

By 

Middle-aged Reader (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scots on the Rocks: A Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

About 100 pages TOO LONG! 360 pages for a mystery? Ridiculous. After 250 pages I couldn't follow it and could not care less.