Scot and Soda

December 7, 2020
McPherson’s witty third Last Ditch mystery (after 2019’s Scot and Soda) has a line on every page to provoke a smile. Scottish ex-pat Lexie Campbell, a relationship counselor in Cuento, Calif., tries “not to give advice like ‘dump him,’ because it’s bad for repeat business,” and shares a tiny office with her friends Todd, who offers makeovers, and Kathi, a germaphobe who detoxes houses. In an effort to expand their services, the three decide to help the police look into the theft of Mama Cuento, a large bronze statue, from a public park. Meanwhile, Branston Lancer, Lexie’s ex-husband, comes to her with a problem. Branston’s wife, Brandee, has disappeared, and he has received a ransom note that’s eerily similar to the one left at the Mama Cuento scene. McPherson keeps the twists coming as other statues—all of women of color—in neighboring states start to disappear and the search for Brandee becomes ever more bizarrely sinister. Anyone who appreciates a good mystery told with nimble, sure-footed humor will have a ball. Agent: Lisa Moylett, CMM Literary (U.K.).

December 1, 2020
McPherson continues her hilarious series starring a canny Scot struggling to understand America. Once upon a time, Dundee-born Lexy Campbell was living the California dream with her hunky dentist husband. Now she's divorced, living in a down-market houseboat, and struggling to build her counseling practice. Her phobic, zany, wannabe detective friends are determined to find her a new and better man. But when her ex, Branston Lancer, begs her to track down his kidnapped second wife, Brandee, after reading about how well Lexy, anesthesiologist Todd, and laundromat owner Kathi, with help as needed from other friends also living at the Last Ditch Motel, have done solving crimes, she reluctantly consents. While Lexy and her pals ponder the ransom note Branston's received, which is just like the ones sent by whomever's been stealing local statues and parts thereof, Brandee's son, Blaike, escapes from a boot camp in Idaho to discover that his trust fund is missing and the father he thought dead is very much alive. As for Brandee, she'd been acting out of character lately and may be involved with a patriarchal cult. Could she be on the lam with Blaike's money, or worse yet dead? The sleuths carom from one crazy situation to another in their search for Brandee and those missing statues. A compendium of unusual characters and odd circumstances guaranteed to make you laugh out loud.

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February 15, 2021
Scottish-born counselor Lexy Campbell lives on a houseboat moored near the Last Ditch Motel in Cuento, California. The motel is home to her friends and business partners, including Todd, a man who is terrified of insects; germophobe Kathi; student Devin; and single-mom Della. Lexy's ex-husband, Branston Lancer, contacts her, frantic because his current wife, Brandee, has disappeared, and he has received a threatening note along with one of her artificial nails. This note's wording is the same as one found along with the toe of the recently heisted Mama Cuento statue. Are the two cases connected? Soon the group hears of other defaced statues, and they begin to connect the dots, taking a road trip to solve both cases. Complicating matters, the happy couples in the group are determined to find Lexy a man, with often disastrous results. Lexy's unfamiliarity with Americanisms and the geography of her adopted country add humor, and the story is enhanced by its large cast of eccentric characters with their close family-like relationships.

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