Liss MacCrimmon Books In Order

Publication Order of Liss MacCrimmon Mysteries Books

Liss MacCrimmon was a beautiful dancer in a Scottish dancing troupe. It was a huge passion of hers and something she lived for. There were moves that were physically challenging and sometimes dangerous which thrilled her more. At the age of 27 she makes a small mistake executing one of those moves and lands poorly. She does some major damage to her knee and it puts her out of the dancing career she has built for herself.

Understandably down and out she returns to the small town she grew up in Moosettookalook, Maine and has to start all over. Her aunt is going to be leading a Scottish tour out of the country and needs someone to look after her shop while she is away. The shop is a town staple selling Scottish paraphernalia and an opportunity for Lis to do something to take her mind off her ailing career. Sure it is a monotonous job and it isn’t as exciting as the dance troupe she was with for eight years, but she can make it work.

Once she settles in to taking care of her aunt’s shop while wallowing in self-pity she discovers a body. Back in town for only a little bit she becomes the main suspect and has to turn into a sleuth to clear her name. She got more than she bargained for coming back home, and now using these skills she didn’t know she had might be the only thing to save her. Liss has a strong assertive personality and is not one to take an accusation like this lying down. She thinks things through and makes a point to ask important questions. She cares about people and wants to keep them safe which is one of the reasons she is always getting involved in hunting down the people responsible for killing the people around her.

She’s resilient and doesn’t give up as her return to her hometown isn’t met with much love. There are those around her who wish she would have just stayed where she was which doesn’t make for a very nice homecoming. She is also proactive and always looking for ways to bring more business to the shop and more people to the town. Organizing events in town and helping to bring in tourism is one of her favorite things to do, it’s just too bad a murder always interrupts her good intentions. You will feel like you want to strangle her at times with the situations she gets herself into, but you can’t help but feel a connection with her character and cheer for her to solve the case.

She’s headstrong as exhibited in future books of the series such as A Wee Christmas Homicide when she goes face first into an investigation everyone tells her to stay out of. Her character is also reckless as she proves in the same book breaking and entering to snoop around an acquaintance’s home. She is very detail oriented and makes lots of lists to help her stay organized. She has a list to help open the store each morning and perform tasks throughout the day. Liss doesn’t actively go looking for murder mysteries, but they seem to pop up around her. This is proven in Ho Ho Homicide when she goes away for a relaxing weekend and runs into another murder mystery she has to help solve.

Liss MacCrimmon is the main character in a delightful series of cozy mystery novels set in her small town and giving her purpose after her unfortunate accident. The series is quirky and has been described as a light read. It isn’t bogged down with a lot of sex and violence; it just tells the story and weaves you into the mystery of it all. The characters are believable and they are woven into each story where you feel like they are old friends. For a small tourist town in Maine this place has more secrets then a New York City Street. There are always people acting crazy in Moosetookalook. Maybe it’s the name. Most of the reviewers of the books have to mention the name making them chuckle every time they read it. It’s just part of the charm and humor these books have to give to the readers.

The town still has a lot of small time charm, tourists, a leaf looking season, and all the things you would think you would find in small town, just also there’s a lot of murders. You will be happy to read each book in the series knowing you already feel a connection with the characters and know them well. You might not know what they are going to do, but it’s always fun to read a series that is a continuation of other books.

Kaitlyn Dunnett is also known as Kathy Lunn Emerson. She writes romance novels as well as these lovely mysteries. She borrowed the surname of her pseudonym from one of her favorite author Dorothy Dunnett. She lives on a Christmas tree farm with her husband in Maine so she is definitely writing what she knows. They have a lot of cats and have been associated with all things Scotland in the past. She has a lot of avid fans and writes in a way that helps you envision all of her stories. You can tell she has fun with her Moosetookalook characters and truly cares about them. The pseudonym is simply there to distinguish to her readers the different genres that she writes.

There is a lot of Scottish heritage and history in the stories as well as the author has a great respect and love of all things Scottish. This makes them not only a fun read but one where you can learn things as well. This series has a lot of great puns and humor intertwined with the murder and mayhem. It’s truly an enjoyable read for anyone. The Liss MacCrimmon books are great if you are looking for a cozy mystery with vibrant characters and an entertaining pace.