Scot on the Rocks

February 11, 2019
In McPherson’s imaginative, frightfully funny follow-up to 2018’s Scot Free, marriage counselor Lexy Campbell, a Scot who’s settled in Cuento, Calif., must find out who anchored a man’s dead body to her house boat, Creek House, which is moored in the slough right behind the Last Ditch Motel. It certainly puts a damper on her Halloween party and her counseling practice. Lexy and her friends, who reside at the Last Ditch, can’t help sticking their noses in the case, much to the chagrin of Det. Molly “Mike” Rankinson. A series of highly strange events point Lexy to the Scottish poem “Tam O’Shanter,” and an unusual ring provides a vital clue to the dead man’s identity, but Lexy and company must stay out of the perennially cranky Mike’s way or pay the price. Peppered with clever red herrings, the mystery gleefully revels in the absurd, but it’s Lexy’s friendships with the Last Ditch’s unusual residents that give this series its big heart. Those who enjoy the Stephanie Plum mysteries will find plenty to like. Agent: Lisa Moylett, Coombs Moylett Literary.

Starred review from March 1, 2019

It's Halloween, and Scottish-born therapist Lexy Campbell is hosting her first American holiday for her friends at the Last Ditch Motel. It's a fun time until they try to lift the keg that's chilling in the water in the slough where Lexy's houseboat is anchored. Instead of beer, they pull up a dead body. Because he's dressed as a Scot, everyone assumes the death is associated with Lexy. But all bets are off in this convoluted mystery that finds Lexy and her friends driving around Cuento, CA, hunting for clues related to the ghost story "Tam O'Shanter." Only a Scottish therapist with a shaky grasp of American colloquialisms could manage to tangle up a ghost story, a 50th class reunion, and a search for a cat groomer. VERDICT McPherson stands apart in her ability to tell a hilarious tale while balancing the ramifications of crime. The author follows up Scot Free with another riveting cozy starring Lexy and her quirky yet fiercely loyal friends. This time, however, the deadpan humor is countered by a somber resolution and a story about consequences.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2019
What seems like a Halloween prank is a cover for murder.After meeting and marrying a wealthy dentist in haste, Scottish clinical psychologist Lexy Campbell has divorced and retreated to the southern California town of Cuento. She lives on a tiny houseboat moored in a slough behind the Last Ditch Motel, which houses her odd but lovable friends. Owner Noleen's wife, Kathi, is a germaphobe who keeps the place spotless. To accommodate married doctors Roger and Todd, she keeps the bugs down with illegal imported pesticides, since Todd has a severe case of cleptoparasitosis. All seems well until they pull up the beer Lexy's been cooling in the slough for their Halloween party and a dead body comes with it. Detective Molly "Mike" Rankinson shows up to investigate the bloated corpse, which is wearing an orange wig topped by a tartan tammy. Only Lexy notices the dead man's ring, which has vanished by the time the divers pull the anonymous victim from the water, but it turns into the clue that will identify him. Mike brushes off Lexy when she urges her to read Robert Burns' poem "Tam O'Shanter," which seems to predict other odd occurrences, like someone cutting off a horse's tail. Despite this discouragement, the motley crew can't ignore the mystery and finally ID the body as an unpopular high school student who left town for 50 years until a recent class reunion. Another member of the class vanished decades ago after their graduation party, and her mother has never given up the search for her. The missing girl's classmates seem spooked when Lexy and her friends visit to chat them up and fish for clues. The secret's clearly hidden in the past, though not too deeply for the intrepid amateur sleuths.The second in this new series from veteran McPherson (Scot Free, 2018, etc.) is a hilarious romp that's dead serious when it comes to the tricky mystery and an unexpected denouement.

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February 15, 2021
Scottish-born counselor Lexy Campbell lives on a houseboat moored near the Last Ditch Motel in Cuento, California. The motel is home to her friends and business partners, including Todd, a man who is terrified of insects; germophobe Kathi; student Devin; and single-mom Della. Lexy's ex-husband, Branston Lancer, contacts her, frantic because his current wife, Brandee, has disappeared, and he has received a threatening note along with one of her artificial nails. This note's wording is the same as one found along with the toe of the recently heisted Mama Cuento statue. Are the two cases connected? Soon the group hears of other defaced statues, and they begin to connect the dots, taking a road trip to solve both cases. Complicating matters, the happy couples in the group are determined to find Lexy a man, with often disastrous results. Lexy's unfamiliarity with Americanisms and the geography of her adopted country add humor, and the story is enhanced by its large cast of eccentric characters with their close family-like relationships.

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