The Burning Pages
One winter’s night, bookseller Delaney Nichols and her coworker Hamlet are invited to a Burns Night dinner, a traditional Scottish celebration of the poet Robert Burns. She’s perplexed by the invitation but intrigued. The dinner takes place at Burns House itself, a tiny cottage not far from the Cracked Spine bookshop but well hidden. There, it becomes clear that Delaney and Hamlet were summoned in an attempt to make amends between Edwin, Delaney’s boss, and one of the other invitees, who suspected Edwin of burning down his own bookshop twenty years earlier after a professional disagreement.
But after the dinner, there’s another fire. The Burns House itself is burned to the ground, and this time, there’s a body among the ruins. When Hamlet is accused of the crime, Delaney rushes to prove his innocence, only to discover that he might actually have a plausible motive.
The Details
Series: A Scottish Bookshop Mystery – Book #7
Author: Paige Shelton
Genre/Category: Cozy – Amateur Sleuth/Bookshop
Publisher: St Martin’s Press
ISBN: 1250789486
Page Count: 304
Rating: 
The Review
Paige Shelton has always known how to get the reader’s attention. She writes beautiful plots and stories that are hard to ignore, with characters that come alive on the page. In the latest addition to the “A Scottish Bookshop Mystery” series, The Burning Page exemplifies all of the best in writing and cozies.
Robert Burns is Scotland’s most famous poet; long after he died, people still celebrate and obsess over his work. Delaney is unexpectedly invited to a Burns Night dinner at what is known as the Burns House. Feeling as though something is amiss, she enlists the help of Hamlet to accompany her to the dinner. It doesn’t take long after they arrive to find out it is a setup to get to her boss, Edwin. After she and Hamlet abruptly leave, they learn that the Burns House has perished in a fire, along with one of the dinner party members, who it turns out was murdered.
Delaney works quickly to ensure Hamlet, even though he may have a motive, isn’t wrongly accused of the victim’s death. Questioning those who were at the Burns house the night of the dinner and a few people associated with a fire that destroyed a bookshop twenty years earlier, she concludes that the murder is directly related to Burns’ work. Delaney needs to clear her friend of any wrongdoing and solve the murder before history repeats itself.
Characters in this series are always easy to understand and empathize with; they fit into the world of books and Scottish history with no problem. There are twists and turns, red herrings, and strange fires that keep readers guessing until the end. But there are also a few surprises, and these will keep you coming back for the next book in the series. Robert Burns was a real poet and is to this day a symbol for the Scottish people. The Burning Page is a beautiful addition to the series and creates enthusiasm for the next.
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.
Another book in this series readers will enjoy is Deadly Editions. or from the “A Dangerous Type Mystery” series, the intriguing, Bookman Dead Style.
Represented by: Bookends
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