Search - Paying the Piper (Elizabeth MacPherson, Bk 4)

This was another fun Elizabeth MacPherson mystery by Sharon McCrumb. It takes place in Scotland, mostly on a small deserted island. Several people, including her heroine Elizabeth MacPherson, are there participating in an archaeological dig. Unfortunately, accidents happen and they start to die.

I admit to being proud of myself, in that I figured out who the killer was before McCrumb started laying out the clues. I even figured out how the killer killed. But this was only because McCrumb borrowed a plot twist from the very first Agatha Christie book (and mystery) that I ever read as a young boy. I won't tell you the title of the Christie book, but I did give you a clue above.

Anthropologist Elizabeth MacPherson joins a crew in Scotland, but finds the living conditions rough and wet. Then an American is found dead in his tent, and death seems to follow them to their archeological search.

Fourth book in the Elizabeth MacPherson series but no prior knowledge needed. Smart, funny, mystery read.

I recently re-read this book and enjoyed it thoroughly. I really like the Elizabeth McPherson stories. She's an anthropologist, not a detective, but she can add two and two.
This time she joins an archeological group on a remote Scottish island, and her companions are quite diverse. You never know quite where anyone stands, and when people start dying of some unknown cause, it doesn't occur to anyone that it might be murder.

Ms. McCrumb has a wonderful sense of humor and uses it appropriately in her stories.