This was another great entry into the Scottish bookshop series! Delaney and the group were charming as ever, and the mystery(s) managed to stump me. There were 2 (or really 4) mysteries intertwined over 20 years, and I couldn’t see how they would come together (but, of course, they did). It was also a great chance to learn more about Hamlet, who has been a great part of the series. While I like Delaney’s brother, Wyatt, just fine, I felt that he was an unnecessary addition in a role that could have been filled by Tom, Elias, or Aggie (who frankly, I missed in this story).

What's it about (in a nutshell):
The Burning Pages by Paige Shelton is a complex cozy mystery working to solve two arsons and a murder, among other things. Set in a Scottish bookstore, I found great delight in the story's homage to Robert Burns and his beautiful works.

What I Enjoyed:
Even though this is the seventh book in the series, I enjoyed that I had no trouble entering this world. Though I could see where my reading would have been easier in small parts with knowledge of the past 6 books, still I got over those little bumps and had an easy time with many smooth roads for most of the story.

I enjoyed the story's fast pace, spurred on by twists, turns, and revelations. With a few different plot threads, the story quickly moves along. I found myself wholly enmeshed in each storyline and happily flipping through the pages rapidly. Even the first-person narration added to the fast pace, as the main character was not one to sit back on her laurels.

The homage to Robert Burns touched my literary heart and made me look back fondly at his various works that I studied and taught. He is one of my favorite poets, even though it can be hard to get through the Scottish dialect. I loved that the story brings up that he wrote Auld Lang Syne. I always had fun surprising students with that bit of information they could easily relate to.

The mystery's solution surprised me, and I always love when I don't figure it out ahead of time. There are plenty of real clues hidden in loads of red herrings and misdirections, so the conclusion, though bittersweet, did not come out of the left field but rather a carefully crafted chain of clues hidden artfully along the way.


Characters:
Delaney, the main character and amateur detective, is an American in Edinburgh working at The Crooked Spine bookstore and married Tom, a native of Scotland. I loved how her personal struggles came into play in the story. The fact that they came up at all made perfect sense since the story is told in the first person, and it helped to make her character fully fleshed out and intricately layered with struggles and flaws. She has a delightful voice that is fresh and invigorating.


Reminds Me Of:
It's a true cozy and would have been a joy for even the masters of the genre, like Agatha Christie, to partake in. The bookstore is a setting that has been used many times in this genre. Still, the twist of having an American in a Scottish location came across as a fresh take that I enjoyed immensely.

What I Wish:
The only issue I had was that one of the characters spoke with a Scottish brogue that could be hard for me to understand. It did add authenticity to the setting, but it also created a distance between me and that character, who, though a side character, seemed like an important one in this series.

To Read or Not to Read:
If you enjoy a good cozy and, especially if you are as enamored with the Scottish literary world as I am, The Burning Pages will delight you from start to finish.

Review to Post on April 5th, 2022....

I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Burning Pages (Scottish Bookshop Mystery #7) by Paige Shelton from Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press /Minotaur Books in order to read and give an honest review.

…Filled with intrigue, red herrings and incredible characters, The Burning Pages is a classic cozy that will keep you guessing in the end...

I am a fan of Paige Shelton, I have read her Dangerous Type, Alaska Wild and this, the Scottish Bookstore Series, and to be honest she has never disappointed me. The Burning Pages, the seventh book in the Scottish Bookshop Mystery is no exception, it is definitely one of my favorites in the series to date.

When Protagonist Delaney Nichols, a bookseller at the Cracked Spine Bookshop, is invited to attend a Burns night dinner held annually in honour of poet Robert Burns. Not a fan herself, Delaney asks her co-worker and Burns fan Hamlet to join her. Hosted at the “Burns House” by a close-knit trio of Burns devotees. Delaney suspects ulterior motives at play when she gets the feeling there is more than meets the eye with her hosts. Hamlet begins to act strange when meeting Neil, one of the members, although according to appearances the two had never met. It soon becomes clear that Delaney had been conned into attending the dinner in a misguided attempt to repair a long-held feud between Malcolm, one of the members. and her boss Edwin. Malcolm has been accusing Edwin of burning down his bookshop for twenty years. Once upon a time Malcolm and Edwin had been best mates, however when an argument between the two had been followed by a deliberately set fire that destroyed Malcolm’s livelihood, the suspicious fire sealed a grudge. Malcolm carried that grudge for years to the point of Edwin needing a restraining order against him. A disgusted Delaney and Hamlet leave the dinner, and later learn that the Burns House had been deliberately burned down and Neil’s body had been found. When the police confirm it was foul play and a witness gives a description of the perpetrator, Hamlet becomes prime suspect, and Delaney is determined to clear his name but in doing so learns more than she bargained for about Hamlet’s past. The further Delaney digs the more she catches the killer’s attention evident in the fact that fires seem to follow Delaney as she follows the clues.

Filled with intrigue, red herrings and incredible characters, The Burning Pages is a classic cozy that will keep you guessing in the end. I loved the inclusion of Wyatt, Delaney’s brother in this installment, he adds the “Big Lug” component to the cast of characters. This was a wonderfully enjoyable installment in the series, and I cannot wait to read more of Delaney’s adventures. I highly recommend.