Thistles and Thieves (MacRae)

Thistles and Thieves by Molly MacRae is the second of my recent Scotland-set mysteries (the first was The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton). It was also one of the contemporary "cozy" novels I was sampling.

First, it was an enjoyable read. The mystery worked (even if I did guess the killer before the end of the book), and the characters were believable. The writing was smooth, though the constant sprinkling of Scottish words and phrases sometimes got annoying. I can imagine reading more of MacRae's books.

But it had the misfortune of being the second of the Scottish books. In The Cracked Spine, I had a sense the author was a fan of the Outlander series. In this book, Outlander was alluded to, with a slightly ironic edge. I suspect both of these books - parts of Scotland-set series - owe their existence to the interest in Scotland engendered by Outlander.

As I was reading this one, and recalling the previous one, it became clear that as cozies go these books are written for women readers. The constant talking among female friends, the interests of the characters, the setting details were all women-oriented. There were also elements in this one that reminded me of the Aurora Teagarden mysteries - also women-oriented. There's even a"club" of sleuths the more formal Real Murders Club in the Teagarden stories, and the informal SCONES (Shadow Constabulary of Nosy Eavesdropping Snoops). There's nothing wrong with that; there's an audience for such books, and the two authors are shrewd enough to write for a market that will buy their books.

Still, I need to seek out some cozy mysteries with male protagonists.   

Pax et bonum