Who can resist a cozy mystery with a title like this? Author Molly MacRae is known to readers for her Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery series, as well as books like LAWN ORDER, WILDER RUMORS and numerous short stories. What those previous credits might foretell --- and what this novel delivers --- is surefooted storytelling that keeps readers turning the pages.

We meet our protagonists at the very beginning of the book, when Janet Marsh (the main character) is beginning her new life. An ex-librarian from the Midwest who has vacationed in Scotland for years, she decides to abandon what’s left of her old life to move there when her husband leaves her for another woman. She buys the local bookstore in the charming touristy town of Inversgail, and her daughter, Tallie, decides to chuck her legal career and join her there.

"For those who enjoy well-plotted stories set in charming locales (think 'Murder, She Wrote' with a brogue) and likable main characters, this looks to be a fun series in the making."

Part of their incentive is that Janet’s son, daughter-in-law and children live in Edinburgh, so visiting with them can become a regular part of their lives. The other incentive is that Janet’s good friend, Christine, a local resident who had lived for a time in the US, is going in on the bookstore purchase with them. Christine’s ex-journalist daughter, Summer, will be the fourth owner. Christine and Summer plan to concentrate on the tea shop that adjoins the bookstore, while Janet and Tallie will focus on the books.

But of course, everyone is soon fixated on the murder of Una Graham, the advice columnist of the local newspaper, Inversgail Guardian. Una makes an early appearance in the book and stays long enough to drop some clues as to the motives for her subsequent murder --- and to justify her nickname, which is Ug.

Because this is a well-executed mystery, there is barely a person in Inversgail who is not a suspect at one point or another --- including our four fearless protagonists. They decide to help the local policeman solve the crime, and set out to interview suspects, research the alibis of the locals, withhold critical evidence (until they’ve figured out its relevance), and spend endless hours discussing everyone’s motives. Not surprisingly, given that PLAID AND PLAGIARISM is the first in a series, they solve the murder just in time to avert a second one. In the meantime, there are numerous red herrings strewn in the reader’s path, but that makes it more fun, if not always entirely plausible.

For those who enjoy well-plotted stories set in charming locales (think “Murder, She Wrote” with a brogue) and likable main characters, this looks to be a fun series in the making.