Lost Books and Old Bones by Paige Shelton

Lost Books and Old Bones by Paige Shelton
Series: Scottish Bookshop Mystery #3
Published by Minotaur Books on April 3, 2018
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
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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. She’s recently befriended a few medical school students after they came into the shop to sell some antique medical tomes. But when one of the students’ friends is found murdered outside in the alley, Delaney takes it upon herself to help bring the murderer to justice.

During her investigation, Delaney finds some old scalpels in the bookshop’s warehouse—she finds out that they belonged to a long-dead doctor, whose story 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 danger herself.

A bookshop, Scotland, and a murder – do I really need to say more?

Lost Books and Old Bones is the 3rd in the series, not counting a Christmas novella (which I haven’t read yet). I’ve read all three and definitely enjoy spending time in Edinburgh with Delaney and her crew. I don’t often feel like I would actually love to hang out with the characters in books, but I would love to work in the bookshop and drink at the pub across the road, and visit the castle. Lost Books and Old Bones could probably be read as a stand-alone, but I think the first couple of books will give some needed background on Delaney and what makes the bookshop so special. All of the major characters return here, and there is a touch of romance for Delaney, but not enough to take away from the plot.

This time around, Mallory, one of Delaney’s new friends, is killed in the alley behind the bookstore. All the clues point toward the School of Medicine where Mallory was a student and in true amateur detective fashion Delaney starts poking around. I do have to give her credit. She shares (almost) everything she finds out with the policy (eventually). She even tries to call her boyfriend before putting herself in danger, not that it helps. In books, they never seem to answer their phone when you really, really need them to.

I liked how the present mystery pulled in bits of history and we were given plenty of clues. There were plenty of twists and turns and false leads before we get to the solution, but the whodunnit was kind of perfect. The motive was pretty run of the mill, but the murderer was kind of fascinating. And the ending was sweet; it made me smile.