Publication Date: December 5, 2023

Book #6 in the Last Ditch Mystery Series

Summary

Lexy and her friends head back to Scotland for Christmas with her parents. Everything is great. In fact, a little too great for Lexy’s taste. She is annoyed that her friends like Scotland and her parents as much as they do. Nevertheless, her mother and father are determined to roll out a grand Christmas for everyone, and it looks like they will until a falling branch in the night ultimately leads to the discovery of a hidden room with a skeleton. She and two of her friends are hired by the neighbors to find out how that skeleton got where it did. 

My Thoughts

This was an exceptionally funny story with great Christmas atmosphere and an interesting mystery. 

The book relies very heavily on dialogue which, on occasion, it made it tricky to know what was going on in a scene. At the same time, the author is very skillful at writing humorous dialogue.

The characters were diverse which I very much appreciated, but because it was the sixth book in the series and because of the intensive use of dialogue, it wasn’t until the end of the book that I began to figure out who anyone was. I’m still not sure of specifics – like who had the germ phobia and who had the insect issue. Because I recognized the new characters from Scotland  more easily,  I think the problem was that the dialogue driven approach didn’t give much space to make introductions to pre-established characters. 

Of the characters, the lawyer, Mr. K, was my absolute favorite. He had so much personality! I would love to see him in further books in the series or with a series of his own. 

However, it was harder to develop much feeling for the characters from the previous books because they all, including Lexy, seemed pretty self-absorbed. Perhaps going back and trying earlier books would help with that.

The mystery had a limited suspect pool because the crime had taken place years prior to the story, and as a result there were fewer clues to follow, but it was a well-crafted and an enjoyable mystery with some entertaining twists. 

What Else I Liked

• As a Christmas mystery it excelled. There was a really fabulous Christmas atmosphere. The food, weather, decor, carols and shopping experiences created a perfect Christmas package.

• The flight attendant on the private flight had a minor role, but there was something very entertaining about her efficiency. However, I found that the idea of a pediatrician being able to afford a private flight called for some serious suspension of disbelief. Once I got past that, it added to the fairy tale quality of the Christmas mystery experience.

My Rating 3/5

Subscribe to keep up to date with my reviews.

About the Author

Photo credit: Elizabeth Crowens

Catriona (she/her) was born in Scotland and lived there until 2010, then immigrated to California where she lives on Patwin ancestral land. A former academic linguist, she now writes full-time. Her multi-award-winning and national best-selling work includes: the DANDY GILVER historical detective stories, the LAST DITCH mysteries, set in California, and a strand of contemporary standalone novels including Edgar-finalist THE DAY SHE DIED and Mary Higgins Clark finalist STRANGERS AT THE GATE. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, The Crimewriters’ Association, The Society of Authors and Sisters in Crime, of which she is a former national president.