X Marks the Scot by Kaitlyn Dunnett

Item: X Marks the Scot
Rating: 4
Author: BaronessMom

Posted July 17, 2023 by BaronessMom in Mystery, Review, Series / 0 Comments

X Marks the Scot

by Kaitlyn Dunnett

Series: Liss MacCrimmon Mysteries #11
Series Rating:

Published by Kensington on November 28, 2017
Setting: Maine
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 304
Format: ebook, Hardcover, Kindle, Paperback
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The old Chadwick mansion on the edge of Moosetookalook, Maine, has been shrouded in mystery for generations—until Scottish Emporium owner Liss MacCrimmon uncovers a forgotten family secret. But she never imagined that a little curiosity would lead her into such deadly territory . . .

While perusing auction items from the Chadwick estate, Liss purchases a painting of a bagpiper to add to her collection. Her interest shifts from art to sleuthing upon a strange discovery—what appears to be a treasure map tucked behind the canvas. She’s even more intrigued when she links the scroll to an early Chadwick who smuggled goods across the Canadian border.

So during a business trip to Canada, Liss arranges a meeting with an archivist in hopes of pinning down the truth about the map and the Chadwick bloodline. Before her quest moves forward, however, she finds the archivist’s murdered body at a local genealogical society. One thing is certain—Liss isn’t alone on this treasure hunt . . .

Liss returns to Moosetookalook, terrified that the killer may have followed her home. With her life in real peril and the map at risk of being stolen, she launches into full-scale investigation mode. But as she deciphers clues and inches toward the dangerous culprit, Liss quickly realizes she’s only a step away from ending up like the Chadwick clan—permanently wiped out.

X Marks the Scot by Kaitlyn Dunnett is incredible. The mystery is top-notch, and the characters are completely realistic. I love it.

Will Liss figure out why all these different things keep happening to her?

Liss MacCrimmon

Our sleuth is Liss MacCrimmon, owner of Moosetookalook Scottish Emporium, wife, and cat mom. Liss goes to an auction at Chadwick House and purchases an oil painting of a man in a kilt playing the bagpipes for her store. However, she finds a treasure map hidden in the frame behind the painting. As this is my first book to read in this series, I wasn’t expecting Liss to be so curious and tenacious. She is like a dog with a bone. Liss must know what is happening, and she is prepared to figure out what is happening and who is behind it, no matter what. This seems to be a family trait, as her aunt is the same.

I did enjoy seeing how Liss worked through the clues. Some of her suspected plots were a bit questionable, but I do appalled her for not going off to search for a potential suspect alone. Taking her husband with her was extremely smart. I also found it funny that she assumed no one would attend one treasure-hunting outing since she hadn’t mentioned it. Moosetookalook is like any other small town, with gossip having a life of its own.

The Mystery

We have the treasure map, a man murdered in Canada, the death of the previous owner of Chadwick House, rooms ransacked, new people staying around for the summer with questionable reasons, break-ins, and Liss’s parents returning to Moosetookalook (I love this town’s name). Are they one mystery or several? That is what Liss, Margaret, and Sherry are trying to figure out. I enjoyed the banter between the characters. However, we didn’t learn why Liss’s parents are returning to Maine. I guess that is the next installment.

Four Stars

My rating for X Marks the Scot by Kaitlyn Dunnett is four stars. I enjoyed the cast, setting, and mystery, but a few things took me out of the story. One example is at first, Liss’s iPad was stolen from her motel room in Canada but is switched to her laptop in the last quarter of the book. I know crazy, but it made me go back to look it up. Then there were a couple of times that Liss made a query or seemed to figure out a clue only to completely forget about it until later when addressing it with someone else. Other than those things, I love the book.

Liss MacCrimmon Mysteries

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of X Marks the Scot by Kaitlyn Dunnett.

Until the next time,

About Kaitlyn Dunnett

Kaitlyn Dunnett is a pseudonym for Kathy Lynn Emerson.

Kathy Lynn Emerson writes in a variety of genres and under several names. She is best known for her historical mysteries. In the Face Down series, featuring Susanna, Lady Appleton, sixteenth-century gentlewoman, herbalist, and sleuth, the most recent entry is Face Down O’er the Border (2007) but there is also a spin-off series featuring Lady Appleton’s late husband’s illegitimate daughter, Rosamond, as the sleuth. They are Murder in the Queen’s Wardrobe, Murder in the Merchant’s Hall and Murder in a Cornish Alehouse.

She is also the author of the Agatha-award-winning nonfiction book, How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries: The Art and Adventure of Sleuthing Through the Past and maintains A Who’s Who of Tudor Women, an online collection of mini-biographies of over 2000 sixteenth-century women.

The Diana Spaulding 1888 Mysteries feature a late nineteenth-century American journalist. Lethal Legend (set in Maine) follows Deadlier than the Pen (set in Maine), Fatal as a Fallen Woman (set in Colorado), and No Mortal Reason (set in rural New York State).

As Kaitlyn Dunnett, Kathy pens the contemporary Liss MacCrimmon Scottish-American Heritage Mysteries, set in the fictional Maine town of Moosetookalook and (starting in 2018) the Deadly Edits Mysteries featuring a retired teacher turned book doctor in a Sullivan County, New York setting.

Kathy and her husband live in Maine with assorted cats.

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