The Cracked Spine

A mysterious bookshop, an even more mysterious shop owner,  is at the center of a murder investigation in author Paige Shelton’s new “A Scottish Bookshop Mystery” series.

Delaney Nichols is tired of Kansas after losing her job, so she embarks on an adventure when she accepts a job across the globe in Scotland without asking a single question about the job, the owner, or anything else. The Cracked Spine bookshop is filled with special editions and rare manuscripts and has a secret room filled with other items so old she is afraid to look at them. Upon arrival, Delaney meets Rosie, and her bite-size dog, Hector, a young actor named Hamlet, and Edwin, the shop owner, her new boss. She also meets, Tom, an attractive pub owner who catches her eye dressed in a kilt and his manly knees

On her first official day at work, Delaney learns of the existence of a rare and valuable manuscript that is missing from where her new boss left it, with his drug-addicted murdered sister, Jenny. How did Edwin get his hands on the manuscript, there were only 100 of them ever printed, and they are all accounted for? Why did he leave it with his sister, who, by all accounts, is not trustworthy?

Delaney wanted adventure, excitement, but she never thought she would find herself in the middle of a murder mystery caught between being loyal to her new family, or helping solve a murder one of them may have committed. The clock is ticking, and her heart tells her she has to keep digging until she finds the missing manuscript and the killer.

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Series: A Scottish Bookshop Mystery – Book #1
Author: Paige Shelton
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Page Count: 305

Rating:

The characters were a delight to explore. Edwin, the eccentric shop owner, along with Rosie and Hamlet, feel like people you might run into and have a long conversation with at a local pub. The Scottish setting is developed in full color to the point you can envision the streets and shops. The plot is helped by the interactions of the characters with each other and their determination to stick together through thick and thin. Delaney may not know anything about Scotland, and she is quite often butting in where she shouldn’t, but this trait makes her lovable, honest, and exciting.

There is a bit of a crimp in the investigation when Edwin asks everyone not to tell the police about the missing manuscript. Is he protecting himself, or someone else? Why is there so much secrecy surrounding the acquisition of the book, or all of Edwin’s treasures for that matter? Delaney worries that he is buying his collection illegally, and protecting his contacts is more important than solving his sister’s murder.

She finds a torn note in the dead girl’s apartment, then finds herself along with her new landlords, Aggie and Elias putting the pieces back together just like a jigsaw puzzle. When she catches one of her co-workers hiding part of the torn note, she knows it holds the key to finding Jenny’s killer, maybe even the missing manuscript. She has to work fast before someone else finds the book, or someone else gets hurt or killed.

The plot throws a few twists and turns that keep you coming back for more, and the ending is not what you expect.  This is a good read. However, if you are looking for something fast, you will want to hold out reading this on until you have time to sit back, relax, and devote some time.