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Highland Bookshop Mystery #5
Argyles and Arsenic
In the latest novel in the beloved Highland Bookshop Mystery Series, a murder at a baronial manor leads to a poisonous game of cat and mouse—with the women of Yon Bonnie Books playing to win.
After 93 well-lived years, Violet MacAskill is ready to simplify her life. Her eccentric solution? She’ll throw a decanting and decluttering party at her family home—a Scottish Baronial manor near the seaside town of Inversgail, Scotland. Violet sets aside everything she wants or needs, then she invites her many friends in to sip sherry and help themselves to whatever they want from all that’s left.
Janet Marsh and Christine Robertson, two of the women who own Yon Bonnie Books in Inversgail, enjoy themselves at the party. Not everyone who attends has a good time, though. Wendy Erskine, director of the Inversgail museum, is found dead, and rumors swirl about food poisoning from a local food truck. Then Violet tells Constable Hobbs that a tin of rat poison is missing. And when Hobbs’ own grandmother comes under suspicion for murder, he enlists the women from Yon Bonnie Books, and the race is on to find the murderer.
But where do they begin? Are there clues in the “Shocking Stockings” exhibit at the museum? Will the antique scrapbook pasted full of trivia about arsenic and bygone poisoners offer a solution? Or does the answer lie closer to home—is one of Violet’s friends truly toxic? Poisonous games are afoot in Inversgail and the women of Yon Bonnie Books are playing to win.
After 93 well-lived years, Violet MacAskill is ready to simplify her life. Her eccentric solution? She’ll throw a decanting and decluttering party at her family home—a Scottish Baronial manor near the seaside town of Inversgail, Scotland. Violet sets aside everything she wants or needs, then she invites her many friends in to sip sherry and help themselves to whatever they want from all that’s left.
Janet Marsh and Christine Robertson, two of the women who own Yon Bonnie Books in Inversgail, enjoy themselves at the party. Not everyone who attends has a good time, though. Wendy Erskine, director of the Inversgail museum, is found dead, and rumors swirl about food poisoning from a local food truck. Then Violet tells Constable Hobbs that a tin of rat poison is missing. And when Hobbs’ own grandmother comes under suspicion for murder, he enlists the women from Yon Bonnie Books, and the race is on to find the murderer.
But where do they begin? Are there clues in the “Shocking Stockings” exhibit at the museum? Will the antique scrapbook pasted full of trivia about arsenic and bygone poisoners offer a solution? Or does the answer lie closer to home—is one of Violet’s friends truly toxic? Poisonous games are afoot in Inversgail and the women of Yon Bonnie Books are playing to win.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2022
About the author
Molly MacRae
23 books791 followersMolly MacRae spent twenty years in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Upper East Tennessee, where she managed The Book Place, an independent bookstore; may it rest in peace.
Before the lure of books hooked her, she was curator of the history museum in Jonesborough, Tennessee’s oldest town.
MacRae lives with her family in Champaign, Illinois, where she connects children with books at the public library.
Before the lure of books hooked her, she was curator of the history museum in Jonesborough, Tennessee’s oldest town.
MacRae lives with her family in Champaign, Illinois, where she connects children with books at the public library.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
April 6, 2022
This book just didn't have the flair that the others had. The plot felt a bit disconnected and the ending felt rushed and incomplete. The lovely interaction between characters was lacking and there was no growth in any of them. Hopefully, the author turns it around.
June 11, 2023
Dreich! Underwritten, as far as dialogue goes, assuming the reader knows what they are talking about or not saying. Choppy. Tho I did learn some fascinating history about ganseys, socks and arsenic AND a few more words/phrases in Scottish.
March 9, 2022
The description on the front inside cover of Argyles and Arsenic by Molly MacRae gives readers a very detailed and accuate description of the story but I will try to give you some more insight of my own findings.
Argyles and Arsenic is the fifth book in the Highland Bookshop Mystery series and follows four women and their lives. They have all moved to Inversgail, Scotland and own and run a bookstore and tearoom. These women are Janet and Tallie Marsh, mother and daughter, and they run the bookstore while Christine Robertson and Summer Jacob run the tearoom. Christine grew up in Scotland, moved away but returned to take care of her parents. She brought the other three back with her for reasons of their own and have been working together in the business as well as amatuer sleuthing on the side.
In Argyles and Arsenic people are invited to a rather curious party. Violet MacAskill is looking to declutter her big mansion, Fairy Flax Hall, and decides to invite people over to take whatever they like that is out in the designated areas. Unfortunately during the party Christine and her mother Helen go into an unauthorized room and find a dead body. When the body is confirmed to be the woman who ran the museum, Wendy, there are a lot of questions as to her death and why she was in a locked room that was off limits to the party goers.
Readers will enjoy the storyline and the Scottish words thrown in here and there causing you to stop and look up the word to add to your vocabulary. And the way that MacRae draws the reader in will have you on the edge of your seat. You will feel like you are right there with the fabulous four as they discuss the case and add notes and comments to the documents that they draw up to keep track of the list of suspects. And when their normal police contact is taken off the case, they dig in deeper to try to bring justice to their town. Unfortunately every time they think that they are ahead of the murderer something happens to make them go back to the drawing board and start all over again.
Argyles and Arsenic is the fifth book in the Highland Bookshop Mystery series and follows four women and their lives. They have all moved to Inversgail, Scotland and own and run a bookstore and tearoom. These women are Janet and Tallie Marsh, mother and daughter, and they run the bookstore while Christine Robertson and Summer Jacob run the tearoom. Christine grew up in Scotland, moved away but returned to take care of her parents. She brought the other three back with her for reasons of their own and have been working together in the business as well as amatuer sleuthing on the side.
In Argyles and Arsenic people are invited to a rather curious party. Violet MacAskill is looking to declutter her big mansion, Fairy Flax Hall, and decides to invite people over to take whatever they like that is out in the designated areas. Unfortunately during the party Christine and her mother Helen go into an unauthorized room and find a dead body. When the body is confirmed to be the woman who ran the museum, Wendy, there are a lot of questions as to her death and why she was in a locked room that was off limits to the party goers.
Readers will enjoy the storyline and the Scottish words thrown in here and there causing you to stop and look up the word to add to your vocabulary. And the way that MacRae draws the reader in will have you on the edge of your seat. You will feel like you are right there with the fabulous four as they discuss the case and add notes and comments to the documents that they draw up to keep track of the list of suspects. And when their normal police contact is taken off the case, they dig in deeper to try to bring justice to their town. Unfortunately every time they think that they are ahead of the murderer something happens to make them go back to the drawing board and start all over again.
February 24, 2023
Terrible. So contrived. Nothing made any sense. All the characters were virtually interchangeable. Why are the four sleuths? I literally could not tell one from another.
Also, this has got to be the most boring format for a mystery that I’ve ever encountered. Actually, scratch that. The most boring was Dorothy Sayers’ mystery, The Five Red Herrings, which involved reading excruciating detail about railway time tables. This is the second most boring, as it only involves reading files from a shared Google drive where the four investigators write down every absurd idea they have.
And to top it all off, the sleuths don’t actually solve the mystery. They just happen to be there when And the solution makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. You want me to believe that This is the most weaksauce motive for murder that I've ever read. Even worse than that Sayers' mystery.
This was painfully dumb. Absolutely head-spinning.
Also, this has got to be the most boring format for a mystery that I’ve ever encountered. Actually, scratch that. The most boring was Dorothy Sayers’ mystery, The Five Red Herrings, which involved reading excruciating detail about railway time tables. This is the second most boring, as it only involves reading files from a shared Google drive where the four investigators write down every absurd idea they have.
And to top it all off, the sleuths don’t actually solve the mystery. They just happen to be there when And the solution makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. You want me to believe that This is the most weaksauce motive for murder that I've ever read. Even worse than that Sayers' mystery.
This was painfully dumb. Absolutely head-spinning.
May 27, 2022
Challenges: Get Serious about Series - Option 1 (staying current with series); Reading Goal Posts/Stacking the Series - Priority One/Tier One. A nice series to always come back to. The bantering is high among Janet Marsh, her daughter and two friends, who have collaborated in joint businesses in Scotland. Although the bantering sometimes can be a distraction from the story, it adds to the personalities of the four main characters and to the Scottish dialect. This book stands out in the series as it includes the historical significance of the argyle pattern, the dyes used, and the consequences of the latter. A museum exhibit, an unusual way to clear a home of one's possessions, a knitting contest, and a man who is trying to make a go to turn his life around mix together in this mystery of misdirection and quirky characters in a bookshop setting.
March 27, 2022
This series continues to get better and deeper into its Scottish village setting. The team is working better together, and though its premise that local police would lean on a team of outsiders to help with crimes is rather far-fetched, within the book it works. The named music playing in the bookstore is a nice touch. Although there really wasn't a good reason to keep us waiting for several chapters to find out who a victim was . . . .
March 26, 2022
Interesting mystery
August 31, 2022
Clever dialogue, great use of Scottish words and phrases -- the cozy Scottish feel is prevalent throughout this series. And since this is the fifth book, I definitely think it would be best to have read a few others before jumping into this one. That's because we have quite a few main characters -- four female sleuths and a posse of quirky series regulars.
And, of course, there's the SCONES -- the Shadow Constablulary of Nosy, Eavesdropping Snoops. :-) That would be Janet and Christine (in their sixties) and Tallie (Janet's daughter) and Summer (Tallie's friend) both in their thirties. While not overseeing Yon Bonnie Books and adjoining tea room, they bring a unique skillset to their mystery solving. Former Social worker, librarian, lawyer and journalist makes for some keen minds and ninja research skills. How they all left their chosen professions for a trek across the ocean to set up shop in the highlands of Scotland is definitely worth the read so at least grab the first book before tackling this one.
A great mystery with a plethora of suspects and all kinds of intriguing twists and turns made this an entertaining read. Love the friendships and the banter and the literary references that show up from time to time. Just all kinds of bibliophile fun.
And, of course, there's the SCONES -- the Shadow Constablulary of Nosy, Eavesdropping Snoops. :-) That would be Janet and Christine (in their sixties) and Tallie (Janet's daughter) and Summer (Tallie's friend) both in their thirties. While not overseeing Yon Bonnie Books and adjoining tea room, they bring a unique skillset to their mystery solving. Former Social worker, librarian, lawyer and journalist makes for some keen minds and ninja research skills. How they all left their chosen professions for a trek across the ocean to set up shop in the highlands of Scotland is definitely worth the read so at least grab the first book before tackling this one.
A great mystery with a plethora of suspects and all kinds of intriguing twists and turns made this an entertaining read. Love the friendships and the banter and the literary references that show up from time to time. Just all kinds of bibliophile fun.
March 15, 2022
In this fifth book of the Highland Bookshop Mysteries transplanted Americans Janet, Tallie and Summer are continuing to enjoy their new life in the small Highland town of Inversgail running their bookshop along with Scottish-born friend Christine. Christine and Janet receive a rather intriguing invitation from 90-plus year old Violet to a “decanting and decluttering” party at her manor home, Fairy Flax Hall. Guests are invited for drinks and to browse the many rooms and take home whatever catches their fancy - save for a few rooms that are locked. The evening seems to be a success - until the body of Wendy Erskine, director of the Inversgail Museum (and the boss of Violet's daughter, Isobel) is found dead in one of the rooms that was supposed to have been out of bounds.
Was the death accidental? Rumours of food poisoning from a new catering truck abound in Inversgail. Violet is worried that an old tin of rat poison that was to be donated to the museum has gone missing. And who took the “Shocking Stockings” from their museum display?
Was the death accidental? Rumours of food poisoning from a new catering truck abound in Inversgail. Violet is worried that an old tin of rat poison that was to be donated to the museum has gone missing. And who took the “Shocking Stockings” from their museum display?
March 30, 2023
I always enjoy the books in this series (and the coordinating covers look super on the shelf). The repartee between the members of SCONES (the Shadow Constabulary of Nosy, Eavesdropping Snoops) and their friends and family (who both help and hinder their investigations) is delightful. I especially like their use of The Cloud to keep each other informed through their process of crime solving.
“The problem is we don’t know who the killer is, so we don’t know their story. And we don’t know their story, so we can’t know who the killer is. I’ve been thinking it’s a tangle of yarn, but I was wrong. It’s a circle, an eddy.”
“It’s the Corryvreckan,” Rab said.
“Sorry?” Janet said.
“Great whirlpool between Jura and Scarba. Dangerous for the unaware.”
“But for those who are wary there are clues,” Christine said. “That’s true with the Corryvreckan and killers. So, we make our way carefully and we keep asking questions.”
May 5, 2024
Please, please Molly MacRae write book 6 of the Highland Bookshop mysteries. I've just finished "Argyles and Arsenic" and am bereft without my favorite bookshop sleuths next adventure.
This outing is a tangled, twisty cat and mouse problem for Janet, Christine, Tallie and Summer. Violet MacAskill, a ninety three year old Grand Dame invites her friends to her mansion for a decluttering and decanting party. During the party, Wendy Erskine, the director of a local museum is found dead, poisoned by arsenic. The suspects are many - Edward or Teresa, Violet's son and daughter, Isobel, her granddaughter and Wendy's second in command, Kyle Bryne, an atrocious knitter and maybe a shoplifter, and even Constable Hobbs, Nana Bethia. I so enjoy these lovely books and their quartet of sleuths. The characters are well drawn and the mysteries are clever. Perfect with a plate of shortbread and a hot cup of tea.
This outing is a tangled, twisty cat and mouse problem for Janet, Christine, Tallie and Summer. Violet MacAskill, a ninety three year old Grand Dame invites her friends to her mansion for a decluttering and decanting party. During the party, Wendy Erskine, the director of a local museum is found dead, poisoned by arsenic. The suspects are many - Edward or Teresa, Violet's son and daughter, Isobel, her granddaughter and Wendy's second in command, Kyle Bryne, an atrocious knitter and maybe a shoplifter, and even Constable Hobbs, Nana Bethia. I so enjoy these lovely books and their quartet of sleuths. The characters are well drawn and the mysteries are clever. Perfect with a plate of shortbread and a hot cup of tea.
April 1, 2022
#5 in the Highland Bookshop Mystery series. This 2022 series entry by author Molly MacRae suffers from the same wordiness as its predecessors. Nonagenarian Violet MacAskill throws a decluttering party, after identifying everything she wants or needs, she invites friends and acquaintances to come for sherry and to pick over her remaining possessions. Wendy Erskine, the director of the Inversgail Museum is found dead in a closed off room. The bookstore partners look into the murder. Red herrings abound - a missing tin of rat poison, food poisoning from The Potato Chef food truck, and a missing pair of stockings colored with arsenical green dye are among the possible instruments of death. Christine's aged parents and Constable Hobbs grandmother Nana Bethia are possible suspects.
June 1, 2022
I am sorry to say that this book was just awful. I would strongly suggest that the whole “adding to the documents” concept has run its course and should be permanently retired. It just takes away from the story. Also, the additions to the beginning of each chapter in that almost unreadable font added absolutely nothing to the book. The reader basically has to slog through all of this to get to the mystery. I am hopeful that the next chapter in this story will be much better.
April 16, 2023
Violet MacAskill is having a decluttering party at her villa and Wendy the
Director of the Inversgail museum is found dead and believed to have been
Poisoned. Then Violet found a tin of rat poison missing .This is a tail of
A knitting contest, quacky people and a man trying to find himself. It moves
Along at a good speed. It was not my favorite tale as I found it hard to follow at
Times and the characters were fighting among themselves.
Director of the Inversgail museum is found dead and believed to have been
Poisoned. Then Violet found a tin of rat poison missing .This is a tail of
A knitting contest, quacky people and a man trying to find himself. It moves
Along at a good speed. It was not my favorite tale as I found it hard to follow at
Times and the characters were fighting among themselves.
July 9, 2024
“Something poisonous is going on.”
I’ve been a fan of this series from the beginning and my lukewarm response to this one surprised me. Maybe my brain is on summer vacation...but this time around it seemed like there were so many characters to keep track of and our four sleuths kept talking in circles until out of no where, bam, the case was wrapped up and we got answers for all of the mysteries spun in this tale even if our main characters didn’t. Still, a solid outing.
I’ve been a fan of this series from the beginning and my lukewarm response to this one surprised me. Maybe my brain is on summer vacation...but this time around it seemed like there were so many characters to keep track of and our four sleuths kept talking in circles until out of no where, bam, the case was wrapped up and we got answers for all of the mysteries spun in this tale even if our main characters didn’t. Still, a solid outing.
September 13, 2024
I really, really, really wanted to like this book. It kept me guessing as to "who done it," and was structured well right up until the last 10 pages. The ending ruined it for me. It was rather a clusterf*ck. And who the H*ll is Kyle Byrne? He wrote the Arsenic Diary and stole the stockings and the scrapbook, but had literally nothing to do with anything else. I guess I completely missed the point of his function.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2022
This was a great book. It took only a few moments to reacquaint myself with the main characters ( I read a lot of books) and remembered I like this bunch quite a lot. The plot is easily followed and the characters (most of them) were fun to read about. The ending was especially enticing. I highly recommend this book!
April 2, 2022
This is the fifth entry in the Highland Bookshop. Janet Marsh, her daughter, Tallie, Summer, and Christine Robertson, are involved in another mystery in Inversgail, Scotland. Janet and Christine are at a decluttering party at the home of a wealthy resident and there is another dead body and mystery to solve.
August 15, 2022
I read this without reading any of the others in the series. I just felt it dragged a bit. The conversations between some of the characters seemed like filler instead of adding to the story. I did just read a book that just flew the story so that may have been part of the issue. So I liked it but I wouldnt say it was one I couldnt put down.
June 20, 2022
I've enjoyed the previous books in this series but was disappointed in this one. The setting and the reoccurring characters got me through the first two-thirds of the book but I scanned the rest because I couldn't make sense of the plot and the epigraphs in italics were unreadable and useless.
July 2, 2022
Slower paced, with less good character development that other entries in this series. It is still good, but just a bit off-putting and many of the characters seem to be off kilter from what has come before.
February 27, 2023
Maybe more of a 2.75. I have in general liked this series. This one seemed to have a different vibe. We never get to know the victims. Even the group doesn't really know them. The motive was unbelievable (not in a good way). I was just disappointed.
July 22, 2023
Number and 5 and the last. All have had some good parts but also not so good. Characters have improved a bit but not enough to read anymore. And several series set in Scotland are just better reads.
February 10, 2024
This is such a cosy series. I love the idea of either owning a bookstore or yarn shop. This book in the series was about a village-wide knitting competition and some of the competitors knit in the bookstore. I want to go there!
March 6, 2022
High marks for setting and characters!
March 16, 2022
I love this series, but had a very difficult time getting into this issue
Read
March 29, 2022DNF
April 10, 2022
A good cozy mystery. Perfect for a chilly Saturday/Sunday afternoon. Get lost in the occasional Scots verbiage and the host of characters as the mystery is solved.
May 3, 2022
Hmmm... continue to be a bit underwhelmed by the character development of the lead women.
May 7, 2022
Bored.
oh .so. bored.
SO bored I quit before they even went to the event.
SO bird couldn't care less to even skim rhe ending like I sometimes do
oh .so. bored.
SO bored I quit before they even went to the event.
SO bird couldn't care less to even skim rhe ending like I sometimes do
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews