This is book 8 in the Scottish Bookshop series. Delaney is filling in for Edward on the yearly Literary tour around Edinboro but doesn't count on a murder. n a race against the clock, Delaney sets out on the expedition of her life, following clues around Edinburgh to get to the bottom of this mystery. Exploring sights from Greyfriars Bobby to the Royal Mile to the Sir Walter Scott Monument, she'll have to put the pieces together quickly, or the bookstore's survival could be on the line...as well as her own. Can be read as a standalone.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for accepting my request to read and review Fateful Words (A Scottish Bookshop Mystery.).

Published: 04/04/23

At first glance, the cover caught my eye. This represents clean, quaint, possibly a lot of characters and personalities story. This is a cozy mystery. When I have emotionally tough reads going, I like a cozy or two in my arsenal. Shelton unwittingly stepped up to the plate.

This was a little too unrealistic for me. However, I enjoyed the scenery. I wasn't fond of the characters. But,I enjoyed the couple's dynamic. Is it reasonable for an American woman to marry a Scottish man, and take over a bookshop? Possibly -- however the storyline never felt comfortable. I loved the storyline of trying to get a movie/TV watcher to read a book. Without spoiling, I am an eclectic reader who doesn't read what she sees. As I sit here and laugh, I laughed while reading and thought, oh how clever, Author Shelton. This beating around the tidbit is what makes a cozy memorable, the personal touches and the dynamics of repetitive characters.

The mystery was too over-the-top, Respectfully, this is a dainty church lady cozy mystery, not a young Alec Baldwin Hunting Clancy's Red October mystery (see the pretty cover). And it felt like the story was trying too hard and missed.

Overall, it wasn't my favorite, I had a laugh and am left with a memory. If the cover entices you, you are familiar with cozy's, go for it.

Delaney Nichols is not sure what to do. She was hired by Edwin MacAlister to organize his eccentric collections and help out in his bookshop. Although she’s a transplant to Edinburgh, she’s settled in and has made Scotland her home. She is slowly going through Edwin’s warehouse, cataloging and getting appraisals for, say, his collection of eyeglasses and monocles. And while Delaney is doing that, Edwin has to leave town suddenly.

Normally, it would be fine if Edwin needed to travel, but this is his tour. Four people are coming to town especially to go on Edwin’s tour. He chose only four people every year, based on emails and letters. He is the only one who has ever led the tour. And now, Delaney has to take it over. She has a day to familiarize herself with Edwin’s materials and tour notes and to learn what she can about the four members of the tour.

Kevin is a older woman who owns a bookshop in London. Gunter is from Berlin and deals in old manuscripts. Meera is a university student from Dublin. And Luka is an Australian who challenged Edwin to make him a reader. He said that if Edwin could get him interested in reading, then he would make a large donation to Edwin’s favorite charity. Of course, he could not resist that. But now, it’s up to Delaney to try to win him over.

Before the tour can even get going, they all meet for dinner and Delaney offers them the chance to come back for another tour with Edwin himself, but they all agree they want to go ahead with the tour now. With Delaney. But they can’t even get past drinks the first night before things go badly at the inn. A woman is attacked out front, and a man jumps from the roof.

The police take over the investigation, and Darcy’s group decides to go ahead with the tour. So between walks on the Royal Mile and places that may have inspired locations in the Harry Potter books, Delaney tries to figure out what happened at the inn. A trip to the roof shows her how difficult it would be to jump from the roof, so she starts to think that he must have been helped off the roof. Then one of the tour group disappears. And another woman with ties to the inn is attacked.

Delaney thinks that these must be related somehow, but she can’t figure out how to piece it all together. She keeps going with the tour, showing some of her favorite places in her new town, Delaney also keeps her eyes and ears open, asking questions when she can and keeping her inspector friend updated with everything she finds. But will she be able to put together the pieces and figure out what’s going on, or will someone get away with murder?

Fateful Words is the eighth book in Paige Shelton’s charming Scottish Bookshop Mystery series. It’s an intriguing crime story woven with a lot of stories and facts about Edinburgh, complete with St. Giles’ Cathedral, Deacon Brodie’s Tavern, and the school that inspired Hogwarts. There are geographical ties to Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. But there are also great characters and a little bit of magic along with a smart mystery and true friendship.

I loved Fateful Words. The mystery was difficult to piece together, and the writing was deliciously easy to read. I love Scotland, so I adore the setting, especially with the tour of historical places and the ties to famous books and authors. I haven’t read all the books in this series, so now I know that I have to go back and read more. This works well as a murder mystery, but it’s also good for planning a trip to Edinburgh, or even just staying home and dreaming about going on Edwin’s tour for yourself.

Egalleys for Fateful Words were provided by Minotaur Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I had a difficult time with this book. It started out so slow, I had a hard time reading it once things started to happen.
I am of the mind I will read an author I've never read because one never knows if my new favorite author is just around the corner.
I can appreciate the author's books, but I think the writing style of this author just isn't for me.
I found the book slow moving, and it just didn't keep my attention.

This was my first dip into the long running "Scottish Bookshop" series by Paige Shelton. It was fun to tour Edinburgh with bookshop worker Delaney and her group of tourist visitors. The mystery kept me guessing, and the supporting characters were interesting. I look forward to reading more from the backlist.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Bookseller Delaney Nichols is very much enjoying life as a newlywed in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her handsome husband Tom owns a pub just across the way from where she assists at The Cracked Spine, a local institution headed by the rich and eccentric Edwin MacAlister. Delaney is happy to work on cataloging the many treasures Edwin has accumulated in his lifetime, housed now in the warehouse attached to the bookstore, and to help out in the store as needed. But not even her can-do attitude can overcome how nonplussed she is when a brand new task is asked of her.

Edwin has to abruptly leave town for a while, leaving her in charge of the annual literary tour he leads for a small group of hand-selected participants:

QUOTE
But that was the rub–it wasn’t just a tour. I could have googled and handled a simple tour just fine. No, Edwin didn’t do things on any sort of normal scale. His guests were treated to a week or so of immersion into parts of the city of Edinburgh and some of its contributions to literature and film. There was too much to be comprehensive, but Edwin loved books and movies and he loved Edinburgh. He would take his favorites from each of those loves and create a memorable journey for his guests–and they were always his guests. He paid for everything.

He was so good at it–maybe one of the best from the accolades I’d heard–and he’d done it for decades.
END QUOTE

Delaney loves her adopted hometown and its literary history, and is enthusiastic about doing it justice. She knows, however, that enthusiasm is no substitute for Edwin’s vast wealth of knowledge and showmanship. The last thing she wants to do is disappoint the latest batch of tour participants, who’ve flown in from all over the world to take part, often after a lengthy correspondence with her boss about their mutual interest in books.

Her four guests are understanding enough about Edwin’s absence, especially since he’s already offered to run the tour for them again the following year. But tragedy strikes their very first night, when the manager of the hotel where they’re staying suffers a fatal fall off of the hotel’s roof. When one of the tour guests goes missing soon after, leaving a trail of puzzles in her wake, Delaney will have to put all her investigative skills to the test to figure out what’s going on, and how everything, including Edwin’s mysterious absence, is connected to a deadly plot playing out in her beloved city.

In endeavors like this, she’s usually helped by the literary voices inside her head, quoting from books she’s previously read. This time around they’re mostly quiet, though when she finds herself tailing a suspect, one finally comes to her aid:

QUOTE
Was I going to try to follow [the suspect] inside?

No, of course I wasn’t going to do that. It was weird that I was following him in the first place.

Except, was it?

<i>Even if you’re on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.</i>

There they were! A bookish voice was speaking up. They’d been so quiet that I couldn’t help but pay attention to this one. My intuition was finally sensing something. It was Will Rogers who spoke, and I always liked hearing his voice in my head.
END QUOTE

As always, the bookish voices give sage advice. But will that be enough when she finds herself in mortal peril, with no one to rely on but herself?

This was another absorbing installment of the Scottish Bookshop mystery series, as Delaney leads her tour group – and by extension us readers – around one of the most delightful and storied cities in Europe. After reading these books, I always feel both that I’ve had a mini-vacation and that I desperately need a real life getaway to the Scottish city. These novels are some of the best advertisements for Edinburgh I’ve ever read.

The mystery itself was also very of the times, deftly spinning a web of conspiracy and counter-conspiracy as The Cracked Spine becomes unwittingly caught up in a ring of very modern criminals. Deftly balancing history with the intrigues of 21st century living, Fateful Words is a thrilling mini-vacation for cozy crime lovers looking for a bookish escapist read.

I loved seeing Delaney back at it again when she finds herself caught up in a mystery when she has to take a tour group when her boss is away. But when things go awry; Delaney had to figure out who is behind these strange things happening. I loved going along with Delaney and finding out the mystery alongside her.

This was the book I read this past weekend and it was a fabulous choice - I am ready to plan a trip to Edinburgh and this book is great for planning, I am highly intrigued to see whether the rest of the series (it’s book #8 which I read as a standalone) and it is a delightful well-plotted cozy mystery but it also follows along with a literary tour of Edinburgh.

I loved how the setting was fully tied in with historical and literary references from Scottish poets and novelists from different times and I could look all the places up and look at the monuments, schools and pubs mentioned. The characters were well described - would the sleuth working in a bookstore probably annoy the detective ? Most definitely but this cozy sticks to the rules of this reliable game and I was all here for it.
The plot was multilayered and complex - with an intriguing crime, red herrings and a slew of potential suspects.
This was the 8th in this series and the first one I've read but I found it to be just fine as a standalone. I will definitely read more of this series if the other books are anything like this one I’ll love them and the literary escape to Scotland they are offering !

I have grown fond of the author’s Alaska series, so thought I would give this one a try.

While this is the eighth book in the series and the first I’ve read, I had no trouble following along and really enjoyed it. In addition to the cozy mystery, I thoroughly enjoyed the history of Edinburgh and books. The book focused on showing a group of tourists the sites of ties in between books, Edinburgh and at times movie tie ins. What a great side story.

I also really enjoyed Delaney, her husband Tom and the others in town. I thought the plot was complex with the multiple story lines woven together and I appreciated the twists too. With never a dip in the pace, I finished this in a day. And The Cracked Spine is a terrific name for a bookstore!

I can’t wait to read the next one and will look up the previous installments. This will appeal to cozy readers and anyone liking a literary tie in to their reading.

Hard to believe that a native Scot did not write this particular entry in the series. The descriptions of Edinburgh landmarks was so vivid I felt transported to that city. Twists and turns in the story kept me engrossed in what was happening. Not a fan of the book title. Would have liked something connected to storyline. Looking forward to next one in the series. Write fast!Thanks to #NetGalley and #FatefulWords for advanced digital copy.

Another 4.5 star great read from this author. The setting couldn't be more perfect and has just the right mix of history, charm, and intrigue. I truly want to visit the places this story visits on their tour - the author makes the locations sound so interesting and vivid. The mystery is well paced and plotted and has a great supporting cast. I love the relationship between Delaney and her husband and feels like it's genuine and adds quite a bit to the book. Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.

Spring makes me want to go on vacation like no other season, and Fateful Words came along at just the right time to take me away to Edinburgh (for a short time, anyways). Delaney is caught off guard when Edwin suddenly leaves just as he was supposed a tour of the city. Suddenly, she’s up as the tour guide for four strangers. With her husband’s support, she shows them literary Edinburgh but hotel oddities suddenly involve murder, and she’s on the case. Is everyone mysterious or are they hiding something?
I have been to Edinburgh and this book made me want to go back! On the mystery front, I was happy with the surprises along the way. Happy to continue recommending this cozy series.

Another good mystery in this series. I would love to go on a tour of Edinburgh like this one. When Edwin unexpectedly leaves town right before one of his special tours, the only person who can lead the tour is Delaney. She isn't so sure she can do the tour justice, but she will give it a try. There are problems from the start and Delaney isn't sure what to do. There is a problem at the hotel and one of the tour members has gone missing. Can Delaney hold it all together until Edwin gets back? Can she find out who murdered the hotel manager and hurt two other people? Will she end up losing her life in the process?

Delaney, originally from Kansas, is now living her dream life in Edinburg with pub owner husband Tom, and working at The Cracked Spine bookstore. But, when she is told that her boss, Edwin, is away on a mysterious trip to London and she will have to conduct his yearly tour of the city which is scheduled to start the the following day, she isn’t happy. Every year, Edwin picks four people from all over the world for this tour and Delaney knows these people will be looking forward to meeting Edwin. Worse, she has never taken the tour herself and, even with the help of Rosie, the store clerk, she is worried she’ll disappoint the tour group.

Still, she is determined to do her best with a little help from Tom. But things don’t get off to to a great start. When she checks the hotel the group will be staying at, she is told Edwin’s credit card was rejected and the group will be asked to leave. Delaney is shocked - she knows Edwin is wealthy. She pays the bill herself figuring he will reimburse her. But this is only the beginning of the troubles the tour group encounters. The hotel desk clerk is assaulted, the manager falls off the roof (or maybe he was he pushed off) and a member of the tour group goes missing. Delaney asks the remaining members of the group if they want to continue the tour or wait for another time. They all want to continue so Delaney, Tom and the group add their own investigation to the tour.

Fateful Words is the eighth book in the Scottish Bookshop Mystery series by Paige Shelton. I love cozy mysteries set in bookstores and when I saw this one, I couldn’t pass it by.. I am so glad I didn’t because it did not disappoint. It’s well written with an interesting mystery and likeable characters and it kept me guessing throughout. I also enjoyed all the bookish information about Edinburgh, a city I visited and loved a very long time ago but now want to revisit to see the sites Delaney mentions on the tour.This is the first book I've read in the series but it definitely won’t be my last.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

Dollycas's Thoughts

Delaney Nichols loves her job at The Cracked Spine Bookshop. Working on the "dark side" of the shop organizing owner Edwin MacAlister's many collections is like a dream come true.

Right now Edwin is off on some secret business and took Hamlet with him. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, Rosie and Delaney can handle the bookstore, but this is the week of Edwin's yearly literary tour around Edinburgh and his invited guests have already arrived. Delaney has no choice but to take over the tour knowing the participants are going to be upset. Edwin's tours are legendary and while Delaney can't measure up to his fame but she will give it her all to give them the best time in Edinburgh she can.

The first day of the tour went pretty well but after dinner trouble breaks out at the inn where the group is staying. The manager has fallen or was pushed off the roof, an employee has been attacked and one of the members of the group has disappeared.

Delaney has another real-life mystery on her hands and she and her husband Tom team up to do their best to solve it. They soon realize both Delaney's life and the bookstore are in danger so time is most definitely of the essence.

____

Fateful Words is the 8th book in Scottish Bookshop Mystery Series and this is my new favorite.

Delaney Nichols has grown so much since she arrived in Edinburgh, a farm girl from Kansas. She is confident in her job, married a wonderful man, and has made many friends. This time she was put to the test and had to fill in for Edwin and for a newcomer she did an excellent job. I love the way she follows the clues and always shares her findings and theories with Inspector Winters although I am sure it gets to be a bit much for him at times.

I really enjoyed that even though he was away in London Edwin played a major role in this story. He is a fantastic boss and truly Delaney, Hamlet, Rosie, and even Hector are his family. They have a strong bond and that is what makes this series so strong. The characters are realistic and genuine and it is very easy to get invested in their lives.

Ms. Shelton takes her readers right along as Delaney escorts Edwin's guests on a tour of the city. Her descriptions paint pictures whether it be above ground or below. I felt like I was on a fabulous virtual vacation to a city I would love to travel to someday. The fact that she intertwines a couple of fantastic mysteries along the way makes it even better yet.

Those mysteries have a bunch of moving parts made harder to solve by a variety of twists and turns. I was fascinated by the notion that instead of narrowing down the number of suspects the list increased as the story played out. Another change from previous stories Delaney's "book voices" were silent throughout most of the story. The twists mounted as we got closer to the end and the suspense takes a big jump. The pages were flying and I was holding my breath. Wow, what an ending.

Surely one of the best books I will read this year. Fateful Words is a supreme addition to this series. A complicated mystery, with delightful characters, set in a dream locale. I was entertained from the moment I opened the book until the final page. I really have a hard time letting these characters go. Until next year Edinburgh, my virtual bags are already packed.

Fateful Words is the 8th book in the Scottish Bookshop cozy mystery series by Paige Shelton. Released 4th April 2023 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's Minotaur imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

All of the Scottish Bookshop mysteries are self contained and as such work well enough as standalones. The characters' interrelationships have developed over the course of the books, so there will be some missing backstory, but the author is adept at giving the necessary information, so readers who choose to pick up this one first won't likely experience any problems with keeping the story straight (but will encounter minor spoilers).

For lovers of very light bookstore cozies, these will be a good fit. This outing sees Delaney leading a walking literary tour in Edinburgh when her boss Edwin is called out of town. A violent death at the hotel the tour attendees are staying in, followed by a disappearance draws her into sleuth mode to save the day.

All in all, it's a diverting, very light, readable cozy mystery with a whimsical ensemble cast. Some of the plot setups and developments are a bit over the top, but I strongly suspect that's a big part of why bookshop cozies are wildly popular. A strong suspension of disbelief is required. The language and content are chaste and perfectly safe for commute or work reading.

Four stars. The author is a talented and capable storyteller, and everyone loves bookstore cozies. With 8 books extant in the series, it would be a nice choice for library acquisition or a long series binge or buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Edwin is mysteriously called away just as his annual literary tour of Edinburgh is about to start. Delaney is tapped to lead the group but she's not sure she can fill Edwin's shoes. While this hand-picked group of 4 is disappointed (as part of the point of this tour is to spend time with Edwin), they are eager to see the sights. Unfortunately, Edwin's absence isn't the only snag in the trip - a noxious smell, an impersonator, and a death - all threaten the tour.

I've wanted to take a literary tour for some time so I really liked the setting of Fateful Words. It was fun learning about the various sites in Edinburgh. It made me want to do a literary trip even more.

The tour participants are interesting and fun as well. I wonder if we will see them again - one is a bookshop owner in London so it is conceivable that she could make another appearance. And because Edwin couldn't do this trip he did offer for them all to come back next year to do the tour with him.

There is a lot of mystery packed into this novel. First is the mystery of why Edwin has suddenly left Scotland with Hamlet. Only Rosie seems to know the reason and she isn't sharing. Then there is an attack on the workers at the inn and one of the tour guests mysteriously becomes sick every time she goes into her room. And someone is not who she says she is. With so much going on it isn't surprising that Delaney is having to call Inspector Winters every five seconds.

Fateful Words is book 8 in the Scottish Bookshop Mystery series - though it is only the 3rd book in the series I've read. I think this is m favorite one so far. If you haven't started this series yet, you can jump right in with this. Because of the tour group, Delaney's backstory is easily conveyed as they all get to know one another so the reader gets the information too without it being an info dump.

If you want to travel the world but don't have a passport, pick up this book.

My review is published at Girl Who Reads - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2023/04/fateful-words-by-paige-shelton-review.html

A Scottish mystery story of an American now living and working in Scotland. She works at a bookstore, the owner every year invites 4 people out for a once in a lifetime trip. This year Edwin is unable to lead the tour and it’s up to Delaney to take over. From the start there’s something off and eventually leads to murder.

Another great entry to this series; the characters and the mysteries are lovely and the way she describes Edinburgh makes me want to visit again. Tbh, I wrote down all the sites in the tour so when I do make it back, I can visit them as well.

I find this series delightful. Cozy mysteries set in Edinburgh, main characters work in a bookshop. I like that the author uses locations I have visited, such as the Writer’s Museum, Deacon Brodie’s Pub and the World’s End Pub. Makes me feel like I am there.