Lost Books and Old Bones
A Scottish Bookshop Mystery
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4.4 • 56 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Set in Edinburgh, Scotland, Lost Books and Old Bones is a delightful new mystery by Paige Shelton, featuring bookseller and amateur sleuth Delaney Nichols.
Delaney Nichols, originally of Kansas but settling happily into her new life as a bookseller in Edinburgh, works at the Cracked Spine in the heart of town. The shop is a place filled with curiosities and surprises tucked into every shelf, and it’s Delaney’s job to research the rare tomes and obscure artifacts that people come to buy and sell. When her new friends, also students at the medical school, come to the shop to sell a collection of antique medical books, Delaney knows she’s stumbled across a rare and important find indeed. Her boss, Edwin MacAlister, agrees to buy the multivolume set, perhaps even to keep for his own collection.
But not long after the sale, one of Delaney’s new friends is found murdered in the alley behind the Cracked Spine, and she wonders if there is some nefarious connection between the origin of these books and the people whose hands they fell into. Delaney takes it upon herself to help bring the murderer to justice. During her investigation, Delaney she finds some old scalpels in the bookshop’s warehouse—she and discovers that they belonged to a long-dead doctor whose story and ties to the past crimes of Burke and Hare might be connected to the present-day murder. It’s all Delaney can do to race to solve this crime before time runs out and she ends up in a victim on the slab herself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Deceit and misdirection abound in Shelton's diverting third Scottish Bookshop Mystery (after 2017's Of Books and Bagpipes). Kansan Delaney Nichols is finally feeling at home in Edinburgh, thanks largely to her job at the Cracked Spine, a mysterious bookstore specializing in rare manuscripts and historical objects. Delaney is fascinated when medical student friends tell her of their "wee bit odd" professor who's obsessed with Burke and Hare, 19th-century killers who sold the corpses of their victims to Dr. Robert Knox for dissection in his anatomy classes at Edinburgh University. But when one of the students is found dead in the alley behind the bookstore with a human skull placed next to her body, Delaney vows to discover who did it. Could the murder have to do with artifacts in the bookstore that may have belonged to Dr. Knox? Impulsive Delaney rushes thoughtlessly into danger, and the intricate plot becomes confusing in places. But Shelton's lovely depictions of Edinburgh, its denizens, and its bookshops will enchant lovers of cozies with a Scottish setting.
Customer Reviews
Third book in series!
Lost Books and Old Bones by Paige Shelton is the third tale in A Scottish Bookshop Mystery series. Delaney Nichols has relocated to Edinburgh, Scotland where she works at The Cracked Spine, a rare book and manuscript shop. Delaney has two new friends in medical students Rena and Sophie. They met when the ladies brought in some antique medical books to sell (which her boss, Edwin MacAlister loves). She went out to a club with them where they encounter Mallory and Dr. Byron Eban (an odd man). Dr. Eban has a particular fascination in Burke and Hare (two men who killed to obtain corpses for Dr. Knox to use for medical research). Dr. Eban believes Edwin owns the scalpels by the famous Dr. Knox (hidden in his not so secret room). Delaney cannot resist checking for the blades before heading home. The next morning, Delaney gets a call that someone broke into The Cracked Spine and Mallory was found dead in the alley beside the shop with a skull from the medical school next to her. Delaney, with the aid of the books, delves into the case to catch the culprit.
Lost Books and Old Bones can be read alone. The details a reader’s needs are included in this tale. Delaney does talk about past cases in the story as well. I love the setting of this series. The author provides us with beautiful descriptions of Edinburgh as well as historical tidbits. Another delightful part of the book is the books referenced (who doesn’t love visiting a bookstore and browsing for hours). The paranormal element (the books in The Cracked Spine give her cryptic clues) is barely present. I wish the author would incorporate it more into the story. Burke and Hare are an integral part of the story (mystery). Ms. Shelton wove their history into the story. Their tale is creepy and fascinating. Delaney devoted her time to solving the mystery. She goes around asking questions and people just answer them (I know it is fiction but is this realistic). You would think someone would tell her to bugger off. Delaney spends little time at the job that pays her bills, but she does have time for her boyfriend, Tom (and to be jealous of old girlfriend who appeared at the crime scene and happens to be a reporter). The author does not fully flesh out the secondary characters (Rena & Sophie for example). I found the pace to be slow especially in the beginning which was also disjointed. It lacked an ease and flow. There was too much repetition of certain details (how Delaney is not good friends with Sophie and Rena). The mystery had some interesting components (Dr. Eban is particularly unnerving) and there is misdirection to throw readers off the real killer. However, it really did not work as I had no trouble identifying the culprit (the who and why). The story could have used more action (needed something to liven it up). I am rating Lost Books and Old Bones 3 out of 5 stars. Lost Books and Old Bones just failed to capture and hold my attention.