The Burning Pages by Paige Shelton

 

First Line: "I love the hat," I said, trying to ease my way into this unexpected conversation.

 

Forewarned that her surprising invitation to a Burns Night dinner may have more to do with her employer than it does with her, Delaney Nichols and her coworker Hamlet attend the traditional Scottish celebration of poet Robert Burns at tiny Burns House, not far from the Cracked Spine Bookshop.

 

Once there, it becomes clear that Delaney was summoned in an attempt to make amends between Delaney's boss and one of the members of the club, who suspected Edwin of burning down his bookshop twenty years ago after a disagreement. 

But after the dinner, there's another fire. Burns House is burned to the ground, and there's a body in the ruins. When Hamlet is accused of the crime, Delaney rushes to prove his innocence.

~

 

I've often considered Paige Shelton's Scottish Bookshop cozy series to be a bit of wish fulfillment. After all, how many American readers would jump at the chance to move to Edinburgh, Scotland, for a dream job in a bookshop? (I would!) Now in book seven, Delaney's life has changed in ways that she never would have imagined while living in Kansas. 

 

The Burning Pages brings readers to another Scottish staple, the Burns Night dinner, and introduces us to high-profile defense attorney Clarinda Creston. We also learn more about Edwin's past, which is a slowly evolving process since it would be hard to imagine anyone else who has more secrets squirreled away than he. But while we're learning about Edwin, we're also getting a chance to find out about young Hamlet's background. I was happy to see another member of the cast become more fully fleshed.

Due to some excellent misdirection, it wasn't easy to deduce the identity of the pyromaniac, and I always appreciate the extra work for my little grey cells. Now all I have to do is wait to see what Delaney gets up to next.

The Burning Pages by Paige Shelton

eISBN: 9781250789495

Minotaur Books © 2022

eBook, 304 pages

 

Cozy Mystery, #7 Scottish Bookshop mystery

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley

Deadly Editions by Paige Shelton

 

First Line: The bell above the bookshop's front door jingled.

 

Shelagh O'Conner is a wealthy woman known for her eccentric behavior as a young woman in the 1970s-- and for her vast library focusing on her passion for Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When Delaney Nichols receives an invitation from Shelagh to participate in a treasure hunt, she's thrilled. The object of the hunt is an extremely rare edition of Stevenson's novel, and the person who finds the book not only wins the book but the entire contents of her personal library.

However, as Delaney and the other participants begin to search for clues, panic grips the city. Someone is breaking into houses and robbing the owners, someone close to Shelagh O'Conner is murdered, and then Shelagh herself vanishes. As much as she'd like to win, newlywed Delaney begins to wonder if the books are worth the risk.

~

This sixth book in Paige Shelton's Scottish Bookshop cozy series continues to charm readers. What's not to like about a treasure hunt in Edinburgh, Scotland with a rare library as the prize? Shelton likes to weave in a bit of Scottish legend and lore into each book. Previous topics have been as varied as Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Loch Ness monster. In Deadly Editions, it's Robert Louis Stevenson's groundbreaking The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The mystery is a good one, aided by treasure hunt clues and the erratic behavior of Shelagh O'Conner. In fact, O'Conner is so eccentric that she keeps readers off-balance, which is certainly a good thing for leading armchair sleuths astray.

As is true in any good cozy series, the focus of the story is on the main character. Kansas transplant Delaney Nichols continues to lead the charmed life that any reader could envy, with her perfect job at the Cracked Spine Bookshop, her perfect circle of friends and co-workers, and her perfect soulmate. While I'm living a little fantasy of my own as I read about her, one of the things I do love about Delaney is the fact that she never fails to contact Detective Inspector Winter whenever she has any new information. She's not the type of amateur sleuth who automatically assumes she knows more than all the trained professionals. I would imagine that this is the main reason why Winter seems content to let her do her thing.

If you're in the mood for something light and fun, filled with nuggets of information, a mysterious treasure hunt, and the stuff some fantasies are made of, be sure to pick up Paige Shelton's Deadly Editions. Then all you have to do is sit back and enjoy.

Deadly Editions by Paige Shelton

eISBN: 9781250203915

Minotaur Books © 2021

eBook, 304 pages

 

Cozy Mystery, #6 Scottish Bookshop mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

The Stolen Letter by Paige Shelton

First Line: I must really love my job.

One day after returning from her European honeymoon, Delaney Nichols is headed right back to work at The Cracked Spine, a bookshop right in the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland. As she hurries to get into the shop, she and another woman run into each other, and they're both in for a surprise. The other woman's name is Mary and both women can't help but see that they look a lot alike. Mary thinks they both look like Mary, Queen of Scots, the monarch that Mary believes she is the reincarnation of.

Delaney doesn't have time to ponder the strange encounter because when she enters the bookshop, she learns that the Edinburgh city council has cited The Cracked Spine with code violations and wants to shut the business down. Delaney is determined to stop them, and when Mary's husband is killed by a car bomb, she finds out that he was the member of the city council who began the entire process of closing the bookshop. Was her meeting with Mary an accident or planned? Delaney will not rest until she gets to the bottom of the mystery and saves her beloved bookshop.

Paige Shelton weaves the history of Mary, Queen of Scots cleverly into a very puzzling mystery in The Stolen Letter, the fifth in her Scottish Bookshop cozy series. The mystery is particularly strong in this book, and I really enjoyed myself trying to figure out what was going on and the identity of the people responsible. I was a bit disappointed when the mystery shifted focus to Henry and Mary's past life was rather abruptly abandoned, but then I thought about it and realized that there was really nowhere for that particular plotline to go.

I do have to admit to a chuckle or two when it became blindingly obvious that Delaney was much more interested in saving the bookshop than she was in finding the dead man's killer, but-- as most readers will realize-- the two are connected and the tie between the two is one of the things that makes the mystery in The Stolen Letter so good. Shelton has a winning combination with her characters, setting, and stories, and I certainly look forward to Delaney's next adventure.

The Stolen Letter by Paige Shelton

eISBN: 9781250203885

Minotaur Books © 2020

eBook, 304 pages

Cozy Mystery, #5 Scottish Bookshop mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

  

The Loch Ness Papers by Paige Shelton

First Line: The rain fell in sheets and the clouds grumbled angrily.

In less than two weeks, Delaney Nichols will be getting married. Her parents and her brother are flying in early from Kansas for a bit of sightseeing in and around Edinburgh as well as some much-needed quality time together. What Delaney does not need are complications-- and that's exactly what she gets. When the pastor who was meant to perform the wedding ceremony dies, she searches for another, and that's when she stumbles across Norval Fraser, an elderly man who is absolutely obsessed with the Loch Ness monster. She befriends Norval and goes back to her to-do list.

But the complications aren't through with her. A Texan comes into The Cracked Spine where Delaney works and hands over an extremely valuable rare book, and then Norval is accused of murder. With the police satisfied that Norval is a nutter whose obsession led to murder, Delaney sets out to learn the truth. If there's one thing this transplanted American takes seriously, it's loyalty to friends, no matter how new they are.

It's always a pleasure to visit with Delaney Nichols in Edinburgh and to wander the aisles (and the storeroom) of The Cracked Spine Bookshop, and this certainly holds true for The Loch Ness Papers. There's a lot going on in this book: wedding preparations, trips to Loch Ness, rare books, visiting family, and-- of course-- murder. In Shelton's capable hands, the plot does not seem overburdened, although I would be less than honest if I didn't admit that I had a problem or two with the book. At least I can say that I think the problem lies more with the reader (me) than the book. Let me explain.

There's a glitch in the driving time to Loch Ness that had me scratching my head for a second, and I thought the identity of the killer was very easy to deduce. But that's technical stuff and not what bothered this reader the most.

The pastor scheduled to conduct the wedding ceremony dies. Delaney asks for suggestions for a replacement from her friends and doesn't break a sweat. Another decidedly major part of the wedding goes horribly awry, and Delaney sheds a tear or two and goes back to helping Norval, the elderly man accused of murder. Her family arrives, horribly jetlagged, and she bundles them in a car to take them to Loch Ness because she has to interview someone about Norval. Once her family has finally recuperated from their flight, Delaney keeps on investigating and lets her friends show them around Edinburgh. Huh?

Quite frankly, if that were me, Norval could find another savior. I would be working harder on the bits of my wedding that have gone wrong (and probably ripping out a handful or two of my hair along the way). And I would definitely be taking charge of showing my family around as much of Scotland as I could. I could not understand Delaney's laissez-faire attitude. Then two things dawned on me. One, this entire series has a fairy tale quality to it. Delaney walks into her dream job with perfect co-workers. She falls into the perfect place to live-- and it's complete with a built-in chauffeur. She finds her dream man. Good things happen to good people, and who doesn't like to read about that once in a while? The second thing that occurred to me was that I've never had the kind of support group that Delaney has. Between family and friends whom she trusts completely, she can hand over those wedding disasters and know that they are going to be taken care of. Makes me a bit jealous, that does, but personal relationships, loyalty, and trust certainly add to the heart-warming feeling of this entire series.

Now all I want to know is...what's Delaney's next adventure going to be?
  

The Loch Ness Papers by Paige Shelton

eISBN: 9781250218858

Minotaur Books © 2019

eBook, 320 pages

Cozy Mystery, #4 Scottish Bookshop mystery

Rating: B

Source: NetGalley


 

Lost Books and Old Bones by Paige Shelton

First Line: The cold liquid splashed the back of my neck before it rolled down and underneath my shirt.

Delaney Nichols may be a long way from her native Kansas, but she's feeling right at home in Edinburgh, Scotland. She has a job at the Cracked Spine Bookshop that she loves; she has a boyfriend who looks amazing in a kilt, and she's made all sorts of friends.

Two of her newest friends, in need of money for medical school, came to the Cracked Spine with a set of antique medical books. Delaney's boss immediately agrees to purchase the books. A few days later, the friends meet for drinks, but when one of them is found murdered in the alley behind the bookshop, Delaney has to wonder if there's a connection between the young woman's death and that set of old books. Taking it upon herself to bring the killer to justice, Delaney finds ties to the infamous Burke and Hare-- two nineteenth-century men who went to unusual lengths to supply a doctor with bodies for his anatomy classes. She's going to have to work fast to avoid becoming old bones herself.

Paige Shelton's Delaney Nichols is living one of my dreams-- working in a bookstore in Scotland. The series has shown her slowly making a comfortable life for herself. At first, there were new friendships with the people who own the house she rents as well as with the people she works with; then there was the delectable boyfriend, and in Lost Books and Old Bones, she's made friends outside of work and home. As she becomes more comfortable, so do I as a reader.

There are a couple of things I really enjoy about this series: one, the grownups act like grownups, and two, Delaney never acts like the Lone Ranger (minus Tonto). Whenever she learns something, she immediately shares it with two detective inspectors. Of course, it helps that the police don't behave like idiots, but it's still good to see a total amateur who doesn't automatically feel as though she's miles better than trained professionals.

The graverobbing/murder angle brought into the story was a good addition, and Delaney's work was cut out for her because several of the characters believed that, if they shared all they knew, they'd look guilty. Naturally, their omissions made the police look at them even closer. (Can't beat human nature, eh?)

Lost Books and Old Bones is a very enjoyable read, and if you haven't read any of the books in the series, I suggest you begin with the first book, The Cracked Spine.

Lost Books and Old Bones by Paige Shelton

eISBN: 9781250127808

Minotaur Books © 2018

eBook, 320 pages

Cozy Mystery, #3 Scottish Bookshop mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley


 

Of Books and Bagpipes by Paige Shelton

First Line: He took a drag on the cigarette as he watched the bookshop.

Delaney Nichols has adapted well to her new home in Edinburgh, Scotland, even though it's so completely different from where she grew up in Kansas. She loves her job at The Cracked Spine, a bookshop that specializes in rare manuscripts and other valuable historical objects, and she's gathered several good friends around her. Her employer Edwin MacAlister is entrusting her with bigger and bigger jobs. Her newest one is going to Castle Doune to obtain a hard-to-find edition of an old Scottish comic, although she does think that the transaction that Edwin has devised is more than a bit cloak and dagger.

Unfortunately, Delaney finds a body on the castle ramparts, and from the William Wallace costume he's wearing, he's a perfect match for the man who was supposed to give her the comic. When Delaney runs to call the police, she finds the copy of the comic, its pages battered and fluttering in the breeze. Instinct tells her to take the pages, hide them under her jacket, and take them back to the bookshop. Doing so ensures that she must solve this very complicated mystery.

Paige Shelton has crafted an excellent puzzle of a mystery filled with plenty of misdirection to keep readers guessing. Her main character has just the right amount of budding romance with the handsome Tom, and she furthers her Scottish education by traveling by train and visiting Sterling and the Wallace Monument. 

If you overlook her tendency to trip over dead bodies, you have to admit that Delaney is having the perfect adventure in Scotland. She's not faced with too much culture shock because she's surrounded by a buffer of friends consisting of her co-workers, Tom, and her landlords Elias and Aggie. She doesn't even have to brave public transportation all that much because Elias has a taxi and insists on driving her to many of the places she needs to go, just like an overprotective father. 

I do have to admit to one small grievance (other than Delaney keeping evidence from the police): Edwin MacAlister himself. All his secrets, all his being unable to be reached by telephone or any other means, not only makes him a rather puzzling sort of businessman, it makes him downright annoying. He needs to show more trust in his employees/chosen family. I'd also like to know more about the treasures in that warehouse of his, but it may be a bit premature to ask him for a guided tour, especially since I've just filed a complaint.

I'm ready... Bring on Delaney's next adventure in Scotland!   
 

Of Books and Bagpipes by Paige Shelton

ISBN: 9781250057495

Minotaur Books © 2017

Hardcover, 320 pages

Cozy Mystery, #2 Scottish Bookshop mystery

Rating: B+

Source: the publisher


   

A Christmas Tartan by Paige Shelton

First Line: I had a holiday dinner this evening and presents to wrap, but something else had suddenly become more important.

Paige Shelton's lovely little short story tells us about Delaney Nichols' first Christmas in Scotland. She's been working at The Cracked Spine in Edinburgh long enough to feel comfortable, and she's really looking forward to celebrating a Scottish Christmas with her new friends. 

But just when holiday plans begin to pile up, Delaney's boss Edwin puts her in charge of tracing the owner of a mysterious box of items, and she finds herself being drawn into an otherworldly sort of cold case dating back to the 1960s. 

Shelton shows a Dickensian flair in writing this Christmas tale. Not only is it just the thing to read during the holiday season, it's a perfect addition to her new Scottish Bookshop series. Read it with a smile!

A Christmas Tartan by Paige Shelton

eISBN: 9781250132659

Minotaur Books © 2016

Digital Short Story, 85 pages

Short Story, #1.5 Scottish Bookshop

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon  

The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton

First Line: It was perhaps fortuitous.

With master's degrees in literature and history and her walking papers from the small museum in which she used to work, Delaney Nichols grabs the opportunity of a lifetime. She packs her bags and moves from Kansas to Edinburgh, Scotland to work in Edwin MacAlister's bookshop The Cracked Spine.

Delaney knows scarcely a thing about what she's gotten herself into, but the work sounds exciting, and her new boss has promised that she'll be working at a desk "that has seen the likes of kings and queens, paupers and princes." Delaney can't wait to get started.

Her new bookshop family is very welcoming, and Tom the bartender from the pub across the street looks mighty fine in a kilt. But before she can settle into her new life and her new job, a previously undiscovered First Folio of Shakespeare's plays goes missing, and Edwin's sister is murdered. Delaney wants to help Edwin, so she starts doing a bit of sleuthing. What's the real story behind the priceless folio, and how is it connected to Edwin's sister?

Author Paige Shelton takes many a book lover's dream-- moving to the UK and working in a bookshop-- and weaves it into a first-rate beginning of a new series. Through Delaney, she does an excellent job of portraying an American's culture shock in the ancient city of Edinburgh: driving on the "wrong" side of the road, the narrow streets, the incredibly old buildings everywhere, and the accents and friendliness of the Scottish people.

But the cultural differences aren't the only reason to devour The Cracked Spine. Delaney is an intriguing blend of intelligence and naïveté, and she's surrounded by an excellent secondary cast. The scarf-wearing Rosie with her little dog Hector always in tow. Handsome and charming Tom from across the street. Her landlords Elias and his wife. Detective Inspector Winters. And with all the treasures he's collected in The Cracked Spine's storeroom and his disorganized, mad professorish ways, Edwin MacAlister should be the source for many a future mystery.

Speaking of mysteries, the one in The Cracked Spine is a good'un. I didn't have a clue to the killer's identity, which always gives me a thrill. There were a couple of tiny things that made me raise an eyebrow: Delaney's finding her cottage was a bit too fortuitous, and I didn't quite believe her willingness to investigate Jenny's death, but they in no way ruined my enjoyment of the book. On the contrary-- I can't wait for the next installment!
  

The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton

ISBN:9781250057488

Minotaur Books © 2016

Hardcover, 320 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Scottish Bookshop mystery

Rating: A

Source: the author