Jeanne Reviews: The Stolen Letter: A Scottish Bookshop Mystery by Paige Shelton

Newlywed Delaney Nichols is back at work at The Cracked Spine, the wondrous bookshop owned by wealthy Edwin MacAlister, when she literally runs into her double—or rather, an older version of herself.  The older woman is Mary Stewart, which is quite the coincidence since she believes she once was the Queen of Scotland.  Fascinated by the resemblance, Mary invites Delaney and her new husband Tom to join her family for dinner.  The family home turns out to look more like a castle than anything else, and the interior is the same.  However the hospitality is warm and Delaney finds herself liking Mary and her husband Henry.

That is, until she discovers Henry is behind a move to close The Cracked Spine, citing a failed inspection which no one remembers, and sets the staff on a search for some old documents.  Then Henry is killed in an explosion—the same way that second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots met his demise.

It looks suspiciously convenient to the police, so Delaney is determined to find the real murderer before one of her friends ends up in jail and/or Delaney finds herself unemployed.

This is the fifth book in the series, but the first one I’ve read.  Delaney is a transplanted American who is clearly enamored of all things British and who has found her niche among the old books and collectibles. There’s more than a bit of a hint that the bookstore harbors more than its share of fabled antiquities in a warehouse and that Delaney and her co-workers serve as guardians to these treasures but are just as devoted to helping people find a book they want—and the bookstore’s stock is amazing. I suspect much of this was spelled out more fully in earlier books.  The supporting cast is solid enough and there was some interesting information about Mary, Queen of Scots incorporated into the narrative.  Mary’s belief that she is the reincarnation of the Scottish queen is never debunked or confirmed; while most of the characters are faintly disbelieving, the author leaves enough room for doubt that the reader can beg to differ.

While the murder is certainly important, it’s the fate of the bookshop that takes center stage as Delaney and her co-workers try to find out about the inspection, why there were no notifications, and so forth. When the answers come I have to say I wasn’t thoroughly convinced but the ride was pleasant enough. I think that I would have enjoyed it more it I had read some of the previous books in the series.

The Cracked Spine

Of Books and Bagpipes

Lost Books and Old Bones

The Loch Ness Papers

The Stolen Letter

Deadly Editions

The Burning Pages (April 5, 2022)