Guest Blog--Two Mysteries by Gwen Moffat

During the past few weeks, I have read several mystery novels. This has been definitely a dry spell in my mystery reading. I am a fan of the cozy mystery and am always cautious of current writers who seem to feel that sex and bad language are needed to sell their novels. However, I have hit a low with the recent books I have read. I tried two novels written by Gwen Moffat: Miss Pink at the Edge of the World and Lady with a Cool Eye. Gwen Moffat is an expert mountain climber and her heroine is an older woman who still is spry enough to climb. Both of these novels are set around murders committed with climbing as a background. The stories themselves were not too bad, but I discovered that I simply could not see the setting of the books in my mind. Are the cliffs off Scotland and Cornwall just too unfamiliar to me or is the author just unskilled? I am not sure which. I have read books where I felt I was there and could see everything. All of the elements I usually appreciate in a mystery seem apparent and yet I really did not enjoy either of these works by Ms. Moffat.