Tag: @AuthorPaige

Fateful Words by Paige Shelton

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery, Part of a Series, Scottish/HighlanderLeave a comment

Fateful Words (Scottish Bookshop Mystery, #8)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Scottish Bookshop Mystery #8
Publication Date: 4/4/23
Period: Contemporary Edinburgh, Scotland
Number of Pages: 304

Delaney, originally from Kansas, has loved Scotland from the first day her feet touched the soil. Since she came to live in Edinburgh, she has made many wonderful friends and married the love of her life. She loves the town, she loves the people, she loves the books, she loves her job and she cannot imagine living anywhere else on earth.

As she arrives at the bookstore, Delaney immediately knows something is amiss from the look on Rosie’s face. Every year their boss, Edwin, conducts a multi-day book-related tour for four winners who have sent him the best reasons why they should be chosen. The tour includes various locations in Edinburg that are mentioned in books and Edwin always looks forward to the tours and conducts them personally. Delaney quickly learns that this year’s tour will be different because she will be leading it. What! She’s an American, she can’t be leading the tour and telling all of the stories and legends. It needs Edwin’s charm, wit, and beautiful Scottish accent to do justice to those stories. Delaney is alarmed – more for Edwin than herself. She’ll do the tour, but Edwin has left no word of why he is missing the tour or even where he has gone.

Delaney has hardly met the tour participants – Meera Murphy from Ireland, Kevin Moore from London, Luka King from Australia, and Gunter from Germany – when the manager of the hotel in which they are staying jumps or is thrown from the roof of the hotel. Oh! What an auspicious welcome to the tour group.

Something strange is going on at the hotel. One of the employees was struck down and hospitalized with a concussion, there was never any staff visible when you entered or left the hotel, and the one clerk who made an occasional appearance was free with information about odd things around the hotel.

Of course, Delaney decides to help her friend Inspector Winters solve the case. However, her investigations put her in danger. Will she be rescued? Can she save herself? Can she help bring the villain to justice?

I always enjoy the books in this series, but this is my least favorite so far. The entire scenario feels contorted and unreal, but the characters are so likable that you can live with the rest of it. So, while I mostly enjoyed the book, I wouldn’t read this one a second time.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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The Loch Ness Papers by Paige Shelton

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, MysteryLeave a comment

The Loch Ness Papers (Scottish Bookshop Mystery #4)The Loch Ness Papers by Paige Shelton

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Scottish Bookshop Mysteries #4
Publication Date: 4/2/19
Number of Pages: 320

Delaney Nichols is one very, very busy young lady. A bit over a year ago, she was laid off from her job at the museum and had decided that what she really needed was an adventure. When she saw the advertisement from Edinburgh, Scotland – someone wanted to hire someone with just her skills – she was ready to pack up and leave Kansas. She’s now been in Edinburgh for a year, she’s acquired a wonderful set of friends she calls her ‘Scottish family’ and she will be getting married in a few days. Her family, mother, father, and brother will even be in Edinburgh in just a few days. On top of all that, the officiant that was to perform the wedding ceremony has died and she has to find another one – with only a week left until the wedding.

It is raining cats and dogs and Delaney is heading into the church to speak to an officiant recommend by her future father-in-law. As she dashes in toward the red door, she smacks into an old man, Norval Fraser. For some reason, she feels drawn to Norval as she helps him right himself. Then, after he departs, she notices something lying on the ground – obviously, it belongs to the old man. He certainly seemed an odd, blatherskite sort of fellow. He’s obsessed with the Loch Ness Monster (Nessie) and wants Delaney to take over his research and prove that Nessie really exists.

A couple of days later Delaney encounters Norval awaiting her outside the bookstore where she works. It is barely 5:30 AM and Norval says he’s been waiting for some time. He’s worried about his nephew who doesn’t answer his phone. Delaney doesn’t understand the fierce worry but agrees to accompany Norval to his nephew’s home – where they find him deceased -stabbed in the back.

The police believe Norval is the murderer because of the knife and fingerprints – but – those can be misleading. Delaney doesn’t believe that Norval is capable of that kind of violence, but then she doesn’t know him that well. At any rate, she’ll do what she can to help find the killer and prove Norval innocent. Now, in addition to all of the other things she has to do, Delaney has to find a killer.

Enter a long, tall Texan dressed in black and you just add another layer to the mystery. Who is he really and why is he trying to return a book that the bookstore never owned? The book is a very, very valuable one about King Arthur and the round table, but there is just something fishy about both the man and his story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I hope you will as well. The characters are wonderful as you’ll know if you have read the series from the beginning. If you haven’t, I’d suggest you read the previous book because you’ll love them. The book is well-written and tightly plotted with multiple mysteries, new characters added to the series and a really lovely romance. What more could you ask for?

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

View all my reviews