Thistles and Thieves

De: Molly MacRae

Narrado por: Lucy Paterson

Out for a bicycle ride in the hills beyond Inversgail, Janet Marsh discovers the body of Dr. Malcolm Murray. The elderly Murray and his own bicycle went off the road and down a steep slope - he’s sprawled in the burn at the bottom, his damaged bike in a patch of thistles on the bank. Tire tracks at the side of the narrow road suggest a vehicle might have been involved. But who would want the well-loved retired doctor dead?

A few days after the death, a box of vintage first editions is left on the doorstep of Yon Bonnie Books with a note: “Please look after these books. Thank you.” Janet and her crew at the shop are at first delighted, and then mystified - what exactly does “look after” mean? Are they free to sell them? And what are the odd notes penciled in the margins?

With a little digging, the women decide the books might belong to Malcolm Murray or his reclusive brother, Gerald. When Janet and Christine call at Malcolm’s house, they find his confused, angry sister and evidence of a burglary. When they go to Gerald’s modest croft house, they find the door ajar and Gerald dead inside, stabbed with a regimental dagger. While the police try to determine if the Murray brothers’ deaths are connected and who’s responsible, Janet and the bookshop owners try to find out how and why the box of books ended up on their doorstep. The police are interested in those questions, too, and they’re more than a little suspicious. Are the Yon Bonnie women as good with burglar tools as they are with books - and at finding bodies?

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fun story

I did not care for a heavy southern accent as the voice of a character from Illinois. poor taste on the narrator's part

Pretty good

Thistles and Thieves is a pretty good cozy mystery with engaging characters and a well written plot. I look forward to the next one in this series

Not bad, but ok

I cranked up the speed as the scenes seemed to go on longer than my ADHD could handle. Average score feels appropriate. I enjoyed the 1st two books more. Maybe this one is an outlier?

This series is getting worse with each book

The mother, Janet. She literally ruins the books for me, and I struggle through because I hate not finishing things. But after listening to Chapter 9 five or six times, I quit. Her actions are inane and hard to listen to. Made worse by the weird accent the narrator chose.

Really disappointed

because it has an interesting sounding plot and characters -- but the characters' eccentricities are so exaggerated they are inane! I couldn't listen to the whole thing. I LIKE cozies and I had every expectation of liking this one but this was . . . embarrassingly dumb.