Liss MacCrimmon Ruskin, proprietor of Moosetookalook, Maine's only Scottish emporium, knows her pipers. So when the painting of the Piper to the Laird of Grant came up for auction at the Chadwick mansion, she was willing to fight to the end for it. Or at least, until $400. Fortunately, that was enough, and the painting was hers. It didn't occur to her that there might be more to the painting than what meets the eye, until she accidentally dropped it trying to get it into the car. That's how she found the treasure map that had been hidden in the back of the painting.

That discovery leads Liss and her family to start digging. Her aunt, Margaret, puts her recently minted skills in genealogy to work to build a Chadwick family tree. Liss, meanwhile, goes to see her best friend Sherri, the chief of police, to look into the two other people who bid on the piper. One is a well-known local, but the other is a tall, dark-haired stranger who bought a bunch of other paintings and mirrors. Could he be looking for the map that was hidden in Liss's frame? And how far is he willing to go to get his hands on it?

X Marks the Scot is a charming cozy set in a small town in Maine but with a hearty helping of Scottish love. It's the eleventh book in Kaitlyn Dunnet's Liss MacCrimmon series, and it's a lot of fun. I love the characters and the town of Moosetookalook. But for this one, I did find the mystery a little lackluster. There didn't seem to be much on the line for Liss and her family, so there was not the tension you find in other cozies. That being said, I will definitely give this series another chance as X Marks the Scot was entertaining, very well written, and filled with interesting characters in a lovely town.

I recommend this series, just maybe don't start with this book.

Galleys for X Marks the Scot were provided by Kensington through NetGalley, with many thanks.