Delaney Nichols has been invited to a Robert Burns dinner and takes her co-worker Hamlet to the event. However, all is not as it appears to be and when one of the other guests turns up dead Hamlet comes under suspicion because of a previous connection.

Was Hamlet's past somehow a reason for the murder or was there some other motive at play.

I really enjoyed this mystery because we were shown a large part of Hamlet's background as well as the closeness that Delaney had developed with those who she worked with at the Cracked Spine. We also got a closer look at Delaney's relationship with her brother.

Hope the character revelations continue in the future.

Delaney has been invited to a Burns Night dinner and asked her coworker Hamlet to attend with her. She is u sure why she was given an invite but also intrigued nonetheless. The dinner will be served at the actual Burn House and the pair is excited to get a look inside. Not long after the dinner starts it becomes apparent why Delaney was invited. One of the members had a falling out with her boss and would like to become reacquainted with him. She doesn't care for the subterfuge the pair leaves the dinner immediately. The next day she learns that the Burns House burned down later that evening and with someone inside it. Hamlet soon becomes a suspect, a witness saw him there shortly before the fire. Delaney can't let the young man be railroaded and is determined to figure out just what happened after the two left the party. Follow along and see what clues she finds and where they take her. Will she figure things out in the end?

I enjoyed the book . I hope another one is coming in continuation of this book because I was left hanging of what happens when they enter the store will Hamlet tell him or not I am waiting to hear the answer. When is the next book coming????

The Burning Pages is the seventh book in The Scottish Bookshop Mystery series by Paige Shelton.

Our protagonist, Delaney Nichols, has received an invitation to a Robert Burns Birthday Dinner at the House of Burns. Delaney is aware of the birthday dinners but has no idea why she was invited. She asks her boss Edwin if he knows why she got the invitation. Edwin informs her that one of the inviting group members had been good friends, but that had ended years ago when his friend's bookstore had burned to the ground, and Edwin was accused of starting the fire. Edwin advises Delaney that she is probably not in danger going to the party, but at the same time to be sure to watch her back. She finally decides she will attend the dinner and asks Hamlet to attend with her. The evening goes off without a hitch, but Delaney feels uncomfortable, and she and Hamlet leave early.

A few hours later, a fire at the House of Burns destroys the building, and a body is discovered in the ashes. An eyewitness to the fire comes forward, claiming to have seen Hamlet leaving the building shortly before the fire began. Delaney will have to put her sleuthing skills to work to clear Hamlet’s name.

More is learned about how Hamlet became the street urchin that Edwin rescued and came to work at The Cracked Spine in a subplot. Delaney finds a birth certificate on her desk that at first appears to be Hamlet’s. She will set out to delicately search out the names listed on the certificate as parents so that Hamlet might be able to learn more about his early life.

This is a wonderful series, and Ms. Shelton provides a bit of Scottish history and a well-written and plotted touching story. Most of the familiar characters are around to help Delaney with her sleuthing. The characters are well-developed and believable. There were enough twists and turns in this book that I was kept guessing until the end as to who the murderer was.

I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this exciting series.

A tiny cottage burns down after a traditional Burns Night dinner that Delaney Nichols and Hamlet (her young co worker) attended. Seen around the time of the fire is a figure who is described as Hamlet. AS Delaney starts digging deeper, events dating back 20 years ago seem to be central to this investigation.
Lovely cozy.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my opinion

The Burning Pages is book #7 in the Scottish Bookshop Mystery series by Paige Shelton.

Delaney Nichols is invited a Burns Night dinner. She’s not sure why she was selected, but after she learns some information, she is anxious to attend. Later, they find there was a fire with a body in it.

It was an interesting story. Delaney’s family and friends are likable characters. The way the storylines all wrapped up was very satisfying. I didn’t predict who the guilty party was. This was the first book I’ve read in this series and I look forward to catching up on the earlier books.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

The latest installment of the Scottish Bookshop Mystery Series finds Delaney Nichols being invited to a traditional Scottish celebration of poet Robert Burns, A Burns Night Dinner. Confused and intrigued by the invitation, Delaney invites coworker Hamlet to go along with her. Sarot the mystery of the invitation is revealed and that’s really where the entire mystery of The Burning Pages begins.

I thoroughly enjoy this visit to the Cracked Spine. We get several Mysteries packed into this well written story. Delaney finds herself in the middle of a 20 year long story, a mysterious birth certificate and an arsonist set on burning down bookstores. When Hamlet becomes a prime suspect for burning down the Burns house, Delany is determined to prove his innocence.

This one was a twisty mystery and I give a round of applause to author Paige Shelton. This is a multi-layered mystery set in beautiful Edinburgh Scotland. The Burning Pages is a very engaging and twisty mystery. Delaney is an amazing character. With a supportive husband and a group of coworkers and friends that egg her on, there’s no way for her not to be involved in the mystery. But when the mystery involves a friend and then another mystery turns up about that friend, Delaney does all that she can to get to the bottom of it and prove what a good friend she truly is.

Delaney Nicholas is an American transplant from Kansas who works at the Cracked Spine Bookstore and is married to Tom, a pub owner. Little did she know how her move to Edinburgh would change her life. Not only has she found a new family and many friends, she has become a great solver of mysteries. This time it involves Robbie Burns, murder, arson (one current and one decades old) and long buried secrets concerning her young co-worker, Hamlet.
When Delaney is invited to a dinner to celebrate Robbie Burns at the Burns House she takes Hamlet with her as he is a Burns fan. The evening ends on a sour note when the past is dredged up and some of it may connect to Hamlet. It also ends with a murder and arson when the Burns House is torched.What connects her boss, Edwin, Hamlet, the dead man and the two cases of arson? Delaney sets out to connect them all and clear Hamlets name.
Every one of the, so far, seven books in this wonderful series is a solid mystery with many twists and turns to keep the reader engaged to the last page. While The Burning Pages can be read as a stand alone, reading them in order gives the reader the character depth that makes this such a good series.
My thanks to the publisher Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first book I have read in this seven-book series. Because of this, I missed out on much of Delaney’s backstory. I also missed out on the depth of the characters and their complex relationships. I've come to realize that this series should probably be read in order.

Despite being a bit overwhelmed by the characters, it was an interesting mystery in a wonderful setting. Edinburgh is the perfect backdrop for any mystery, including this cozy mystery.

I plan to circle back and read this series in order.

3.5 rounded up

The Burning Pages by Paige Shelton releases April 5th! This mystery was GOOD! The story contains several mysterious circumstances that kept me guessing throughout- a strange invitation, a curious birth certificate, a missing person or two, a peculiar fire. Delaney works in a bookshop and has amazing co-workers that allow her to skip out to do recon throughout the work day. Ya know I love searching for answers right along with the amateur sleuth. The side characters are all wonderful and charming with Scottish accents that just felt like a cherry on top. The Scotland setting was super atmospheric and I could totally feel the chill in the air. Although this is the 7th in the series, I jumped right into it and had no problems. I definitely missed some of the backstories of the characters but it didn't affect my enjoyment of this story. I really want to pop back to the beginning and start at book 1 but I don't know if I can begin another series like that. That's a pretty big commitment but I think this one would be worth it!

Side note: If you know anything about Robert Burns and his poems, you definitely have to read this. I knew nothing going in and it's totally okay if you don't even know who he is!

Thank you Minotaur and Netgalley for my arcs!

The Burning Pages by Paige Shelton, book seven in her Scottish Bookshop Mystery series, is a cozy mystery set in Scotland, involving an arsonist and a murder. Delaney Nichols and her co-worker Hamlet, booksellers at the Cracked Spine bookshop, were invited to a Burns night dinner, celebrating the famed poet Robert Burns. It is an exclusive group and Delaney can't figure out why she was invited. At the dinner it becomes clear that she was tricked into coming to alleviate a long-term beach of friendship between her boss, Edwin, and one of the invitees who think Edwin burned down his bookshop twenty years ago after a disagreement. These two had once been best friends. Delaney and Hamlet leave, and later find that the Burns House, where the dinner was held, burned down after they left and a body was found there. Hamlet is accused of the crime and Delaney is determined to prove his innocence.

Ms Shelton kept me on my toes guessing with there being several mysteries within this story, making it fun trying to solve them. There were lots of twists and turns along with a number of red herrings and surprise revelations, all leading up to the final reveal. I highly recommend The Burning Pages to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

The Burning Pages, Paige Shelton's latest book in the Scottish Bookshop Mystery series, gives us a closer look at Hamlet, the young shop assistant. Set around Burns Day celebrations, the story brings Scotland's love affair with Robbie Burns new life. Hamlet has always been a valuable secondary character, and The Burning Pages fills in his story and also goes a long way to explain not only his involvement with The Cracked Spine shop, but also the undercurrents running between the other characters. This is a great read!

The Burning Pages focuses on a local Robert Burns group and their connection to Hamlet, Delaney's colleague. After she impulsively invites him to join them for dinner - as she does not understand herself why she's received the invite - things go badly and then wind up worse later in the evening.
There are two mysteries in this book and I'm not going to mention the second or how it ties in - better for the reader to follow it as it unfolds. Finding out how Hamlet is connected to the murder victim is something Delaney undertakes alone after Hamlet abruptly disappears. Her brother Wyatt is in town and by her side as she sleuths (so much better than Bridgit, who I have never understood as a character addition). Once again the setting of Edinburgh makes for its own character as they search for information.
The mysteries in this are sad, and solving them brings a nice sense of closure despite the ripple effects. This is a solid installment to the series and brings together the poetry of Burns and the choices of those who feel they have limited options.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a solid mystery. I lost a lot of the context since it’s seven books into the series. But I am going to go back and read the others. I really like the setting of Scotland. I also liked the ex-pat story line.

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.

A good mystery. Delaney is invited to a Burns night dinner. She is mystified as to why she was invited. It didn't turn out very well and at the end of the night, one of the participants is dead. There are a couple of mysteries going on here and they might be connected. Can Delaney figure it all out?

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.

Title: The Burning Pages
Author: Paige Shelton
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4 out of 5

One winter's night, bookseller Delaney Nichols and her coworker Hamlet are invited to a Burns Night dinner, a traditional Scottish celebration of the poet Robert Burns. She's perplexed by the invitation, but intrigued. The dinner takes place at Burns House itself, a tiny cottage not far from the Cracked Spine bookshop but well hidden. There, it becomes clear that Delaney and Hamlet were summoned in an attempt to make amends between Edwin, Delaney's boss, and one of the other invitees, who suspected Edwin for burning down his own bookshop twenty years ago after a professional disagreement.

But after the dinner, there’s another fire. The Burns House itself is burned to the ground, and this time there’s a body among the ruins. When Hamlet is accused of the crime, Delaney rushes to prove his innocence, only to discover that he might actually have a plausible motive...

This is the second Scottish Bookshop Mystery I’ve read, and it was a lot of fun. Not too light and fluffy, as some cozy mysteries are, but definitely an engaging read. I loved all the characters, and it makes me want to run away to Scotland right now. I don’t know anything about Robert Burns, so finding out more about him and the traditions associated with him was very interesting. This is a solid read!

Paige Shelton lives in Arizona. The Burning Pages is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 4/9.)

3.75 stars

This enjoyable cozy series is set in a quirky bookshop in Edinburgh. There is a strong cast of characters: Delaney, an American book archivist and her Scottish pub-owner husband Tom; Edwin, an eccentric who owns the Cracked Spine bookstore where Delaney works; and friends and fellow employees Rosie and Hamlet.

This is an offbeat series with a little hint of other worldliness. Delaney is sometimes directed by voices reading classic lines, in this one Robert Burns.

Delaney gets invited to a commemorative Robert Burns dinner although she knows none of the other attendees and can't quite figure out why she was invited. She takes Hamlet who is a huge Burns fan. But before the dinner, her bookstore owner shares some old animosities with her about the Burns dinner group. Edwin had a huge falling out years ago when one of the group suspected him of burning down his business. When Delaney comes clean at the dinner about who she is and who she works for, things turn unpleasant and she and Hamlet leave.

Hours later, the building where the dinner was held burns down, and a murdered body is found inside. Interlaced with this plot is a mystery surrounding Hamlet's parents. He was an abandoned child who was informally adopted by the bookstore crew decades ago. But Delaney finds his birth certificate -- which raises more questions than it answers.

This might be a tad confusing as a standalone because of all the previous history in the earlier books. This is a fine series. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Paige Shelton's Scottish Bookshop Mysteries are one of my favorite series and she does not disappoint in #TheBurningPages!

Delaney and Hamlet are invited to a Burns NIght dinner, a traditional Scottish celebration honoring Robert Burns. Once they arrive, they find the invitation had an ulterior motive involving their employer, Edwin. A twenty-year old disagreement and building fire are at the heart of the estrangement between their hosts and Edwin so it is suspicious when Burns House, the location of the dinner, is set on fire with a body in it right after the dinner. To keep Hamlet from being charged with the crime, Delaney has to uncover the real murderer, which becomes harder when she discovers he has a motive.

As always in Shelton's books, the setting and the plot are so well done, interweaving the past with the present day. I feel like I know Edinburgh from reading this series. The character development during the course of the books is excellent and I enjoyed learning more about Hamlet's past.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.