Friday, July 22, 2016

Book Review - A Wee Dose of Death by Fran Stewart

While business is booming at the ScotShop in Hamelin, Vermont, proprietor Peggy Winn doesn’t have time to toast her good fortune thanks to her hot-tempered, fourteenth-century Scottish companion. Being thrust into the modern world hasn’t been easy for Dirk, but Peggy is at her wit’s end trying to keep the ghostie galoot in line. 

But when the local police chief finds the body of Peggy’s friend Karaline’s college professor in a deserted mountain cabin, everyone is thrown for a loop. It seems the secretive professor may have been killed over his ecological work, an idea that’s only reinforced when Karaline herself is shot. Now Peggy and Dirk must set aside their differences to put the cold-blooded killer under loch and key... [summary via Goodreads]

I enjoyed the first book in this series, A Wee Murder in My Shop, and I was looking forward to reading another adventure with Peggy, her friends and her ghost, Dirk. 

In this second story Peggy, Karoline and Dirk get embroiled in a murder investigation, when the body of Karoline's old professor is found. With the help of Dirk, Peggy's 14th century ghost, Peggy and Karoline set out to find the murderer, before they strike again.

I like the realism in this series. Even though it features a ghost, Fran Stewart has created a sense of realism with her characters and how they react to situations. Peggy is a bit fed up with Dirk. After all he is a 14th century ghost, who has no idea about anything to do with the 21st century. He literally asks a million and one questions, which gets on Peggy's nerves. What would you do with a 14th century ghost after the novelty wore off? I'm pretty sure most of us might feel the same way as Peggy does. However, Peggy and Dirk are tied together, and I like that she realizes that she needs Dirk in her life. 

I read a lot of cozy mysteries, and I mean A LOT, and while I always enjoy the mystery and try to untangle the clues, it is the characters and the author's style of writing that set each series apart. For me, the characters and Fran Stewart's style of writing are both captivating, and for these two reasons this series is fast becoming a favorite of mine, and I hope a favorite of other readers.

Fran Stewart switches POVs (point of views) and I love when authors do this. We get a glimpse at the victim, before he's murdered, and the grieving widow, the police officers investigating the case, and even the hardened police chief, Mac. By doing this I feel like I've gotten to know the characters a lot more than I usually would. For me, this provided such a well rounded reading experience and contributed to the feeling that I didn't want to put the book down, even for a second!

I love this series, and I absolutely can't wait for the third book in the series, A Wee Homicide in the Hotel, to come out next February. For fans of paranormal mysteries with a twist, then this series is for you. If you like mysteries set in a interesting locale, then this series is definitely for you too! 

No comments:

Post a Comment