Deadly Editions
The Blurb
It’s a quiet, snowy morning at The Cracked Spine bookshop when bookseller Delaney Nichols receives a mysterious visitor, a messenger. He presents her with a perplexing note: an invitation to a meeting with eccentric socialite Shelagh O’Conner, who requests Delaney’s participation in an exclusive treasure hunt. Delaney is intrigued but also cautious: Shelagh, while charming in person, has a reputation for her hijinks as a wealthy young woman in the ’70s. She was even once suspected of the murder of a former boyfriend, though ultimately cleared of all charges.
But Delaney is enticed by the grand prize at the end of the treasure hunt: a highly valuable first edition copy of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. The winner is also to receive the contents of Shelagh’s vast library, and all participants will earn a large sum of cash.
The night after the first meeting of the treasure hunters, however, several homes in Edinburgh are robbed in a manner reminiscent of Shelagh’s old tricks. And when a man connected to Shelagh is killed, suspicion builds. Except, Shelagh herself has disappeared from her home, seemingly kidnapped by the villain. Terror mounts throughout the city as Delaney attempts to solve the mystery while trying to evade the killer’s clutches. But it’s hard to know who to trust when around every corner, a new monster could be lurking.
The Details
Series: A Scottish Bookshop Mystery – Book #6
Author: Paige Shelton
Genre/Category: Cozy – Exotic/Bookshop
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 1250203929
Page Count: 304
Rating: 
The Review
Deadly Editions is an enjoyable, fun read. The characters are lively, inspiring, and entertaining. The bookshop is delightful and in a Scottish setting that will make any reader want to visit.
Delaney is an engaging character. She loves the bookshop and her Scottish home and is often amused and bemused by customers and residents. Spending so much time with books can be tedious, but not for Delaney; she can’t stop putting herself in the middle of murder investigations. This time, the killer is using a treasure hunt for a book, and not just any book, but a first edition of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but could the woman conducting the hunt, Shelagh O’Conner, or the book itself be the cause of murder and intrigue? Delaney isn’t sure, but she is determined to find out.
It doesn’t take long before suspects come out of the woodwork, evidence points its icy fingers at Shelagh, and history starts repeating itself. In and out of the bookshop, with help from all of her Scottish friends, Delaney unravels a duplicitous evil plot and the identity of a killer.
I enjoyed Deadly Editions quite a lot and believe other readers who have yet to pick up this book will too. Readers are taken on an adventure in a Scottish town with great descriptions and a look into the life of an eccentric book lover who will charm even the most stringent cozy lover. The Cracked Spine bookshop will entice readers to explore their local book stores and maybe motivate them to travel to far-off exotic locals.
The Author
Paige Shelton had a nomadic childhood, as her father’s job as a football coach took her family to seven different towns before she was even twelve years old. After college at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, she moved to Salt Lake City. She thought she’d only stay a couple of years, but instead, she fell in love with the mountains and a great guy who became her husband. After many decades in Utah, she and her family moved to Arizona.
Readers may want to check out Paige’s book The Cracked Spine the first installment in the “A Scottish Bookshop Mystery” or the intriguing Bookman Dead Style from the “A Dangerous Type Mystery” series.
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