Edwin’s friend Jolie claims to have found what may be a Crusader Sword on her property, and Edwin sends Delaney to learn more. While she and Jolie are examining the sword, they hear a scream, and following the direction of the sound, find the body of a man who was alive a very short time ago. While looking into the death, Delaney learns more about Jolie’s history, but could that somehow be connected with the murdered man?

This is the ninth book in this series, which I have enjoyed since the very first book. I have never visited Scotland, but these books make me feel like I’m there, walking the streets of Edinburgh, exploring the surrounding area and soaking up the culture. The characters are like old friends by now, and it was touching to see how each of them was touched by the death of Queen Elizabeth.

The murder victim here seemed to be fairly quiet and unassuming man, so there didn’t seem to be many suspects other than Elias’ friend who worked on the estate and was found standing over the murdered man. Since both Delaney and Elias are convinced of his innocence, they set out to find the real murderer, and that’s where things get complicated. There are clues galore, but they all lead in different directions, making things even more puzzling. I never would have guessed the actual killer, or the motive involved, but it all made sense in the end.

I look forward to continuing this series to see adventures await Delaney, Tom, Edwin and the rest of the staff and friends of The Cracked Spine.

I received an arc of this and it was a good reminder to check where in the series we are before saying yes to arcs. I probably would have passed had I known it was 9 books in but like with most mysteries, you can usually dive in and I rounded the 3.5 stars up since maybe if I were more familiar with the characters I wouldn't have had a few of the issues I did.

My biggest problem was why was a book seller called in to help evaluate a crusader sword? I assumed this was something I could have answered had I known the series and it wouldn't have bothered me then (but it did)

Delany and her friend Edwin are called in by Joile Lancaster, an older woman whose mother always claimed was the illegitimate daughter of Prince Edward. Joile's groundskeeper found a potential crusader's sword but when they get to her house, Joile's lawyer, Berry, is there trying to force her to sell everything in the house because 'she's mentally ill and the lawyer is taking control.' Her mental illness? She's a hoarder of antiques.

Delany and Edwin's arrival puts a halt to that and Delany begins an uneasy friendship with the older woman but before that can happen a) we get too much of Delany looking for garbage smells in the house (no seriously you can hoard things without it being garbage and the house needing condemned) which annoyed the heck out of me and b) a young man, Alban is found dead and the groundskeeper might be to blame.

Hoping the help Joile (who was Edwin's long time friend), Delany gets involved with both the investigation and with examining the sword. There's also a new director of the treasury trove department who does some baffling stuff that made no sense (and how Shelton gets around explaining it was weak)

I wish there had been a few more potential suspects. I wish that Delany would do sensible things like at least tell Joile immediately when she learns some things about Berry for instance. So yeah a 3.5 read for me because of some of those things. Also I don't get the title reference at all which is neither here nor there but it was something that made me go hmm.

"The Poison Pen, the ninth installment in the Scottish Bookshop series by Paige Shelton, set in a specialty bookstore in Edinburgh called The Cracked Spine.

Edinburgh is mourning recent the death of Queen Elizabeth II when Bookseller Delaney Nichols's boss comes to her with a most unusual assignment. An old friend of his, living in an estate in the village of Roslin, has found what could be a priceless relic on her property, and Delaney is tasked with investigating. Could Jolie possibly have an item of breathtaking Scottish historical significance in her possession? But when Delaney arrives at Jolie's estate, she is greeted by a legal team with a vested interest in the property. Jolie manages to remove the interlopers, but as they're examining the priceless item, they hear a scream, and meet a much less welcome discovery: a body.

As Delaney digs deeper, she discovers Jolie's own fascinating history. Jolie's mother had long claimed that her daughter was the rightful heir to the throne, not Elizabeth II, because of an affair she claimed to have with King Edward VIII. The only evidence, however, is in the form of a purported journal that one of Edward's secretaries kept. The puzzles become more confusing when a connection is uncovered between this far-fetched story and the murdered man. Delaney will have to read between the lines to put together the pieces...or become history herself."

Oh, pretenders to the throne!?!

I have loved all the books in this series, and this is no exception. I love it when a mystery references modern life, in a way that makes sense-in this case the death of Queen Elizabeth. Even though Scotland is still part of the UK, they don't see the Queen's death quite as England does, but for American transplant Delaney, it strikes a chord with her. So when the opportunity comes to check out an artefact that someone claiming to be related to the Queen needs valued, she's more than willing to leave the confines of the bookshop. Jolie is not your typical elderly person, but she is a stand in for Delaney, and she immediately feels a bind for her. As the case to examine the artifact for authenticity increases, she soon realizes no one is as they seemed, and she'll need all here wits to solve the mystery at hand!

The 9th installment of Shelton’s (very) cosy Scottish Bookshop series involving an estate crumbling into a hoarder’s prize, a quirky (and sometimes cackling) owner with a potential connection to the throne, a scheming lawyer, and the discovery of a priceless, historic item. And of course, a body.

Shelton’s plots are always fun and her characters are people I enjoy reading about (although I know lots of people from Scotland and not a single one behaves or speaks anything like these people do). There is plenty of (accurate) Scottish history embedded in the pages and a lot of the action takes place in my favorite kinds of places (bookshops, museums, archives) so I found it an enjoyable read with no stress or strain. A good palate cleanser from a (far) more serious world.

While determining if her boss’s friend has a priceless Scottish artifact in her possession, Delaney Nichols runs into a legal snafu with a deceitful, disbarred lawyer as well as the dead body of an assistant estate appraiser. Delaney gets caught up not only in researching the discovered Crusader Sword, she also finds herself looking into Jolie’s history and her claim that abdicated King Edward VIII was her biological father. Delaney’s investigation into the sword, Jolie’s past, and the murder takes her from Jolie’s estate to various places in Edinburgh.

I just finished binge reading the Scottish Bookshop Mystery series, and I thoroughly enjoyed following Delaney’s adventures in Scotland. THE POISON PEN is an exciting addition to the series. There were several mysteries going on in the novel that all tied in together with the murder and the sudden appearance of the Crusader Sword. There are plenty of suspects and clues to keep the reader guessing. Delaney has a great relationship with the Edinburgh Police that she has built throughout the series. The relationship continues in this novel. Delaney passes along all information to Detective Winters, but she always seems to be one step ahead of him when it comes to uncovering the killer.

Delaney Nichols is sent by her boss Edwin MacAllister to check on an object his old friend
Jolie thinks he would be interested in. It turns out that it may be a Crusader sword, a very valuable object.
Is the murder of a man on Jolie's estate related to the discovery of the sword? Investigating the dead
man's past and Jolie's own interesting history raises more questions.
Well plotted story, interesting characters.
#ThePoisonPen #NetGalley

"The Poison Pen” the 9th instalment in the "Scottish Bookshop Mystery” series by Paige Shelton. I really enjoy this series and am collecting in hardcover.

I loved visiting Edinburgh, Scotland and the Cracked Spine book shop again. I liked how this time we were exploring an estate in Roslin where it’s believed a Crusader sword was found. I liked that Elias played a big part in this instalment along with Delaney.

There were several possible suspects, and kept me guessing for quite a while. I was drawn into this story right away and did not want to put it down.

Overall, I found it to be a very entertaining read that made me long to visit Scotland and the Cracked Spine Bookstore.

I highly recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Minotaur Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is one of my 5 favorite series of books I read. I buy the hard back, paperback and e-book version because I love these so much. And yes I do reread them. I love Delaney and her merry bunch of helpers from her now husband and the bookstore workers to Elias and his wife. They all make such an amazing family. That's what they all are and have become, family. I absolutely adore this series and each book just adds more and more depth of the story. This book was so good I devoured this book in one sitting. I loved it!! Thank you so much for the advanced copy to review, I feel so special that I get to read this early!!! 5 star read for a 5 star series!
I just reviewed The Poison Pen by Paige Shelton. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I really enjoyed this book. The characters really make it, you get to feel them so well, their characters are deeply expressive. The whole sword thing isn’t the focus of the story, nor the murder but who the people are and how they interact. By the way there is no poison or pen in the story. #ThePoisonPen #NetGalley

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.

There is rumor of a rare artifact that interests Edwin, particularly since an old girlfriend has the object. He sends Delaney out to assess the authenticity and she immediately gets embroiled in another odd situation. The old girlfriend's former attorney has shown up uninvited with two other people to scold/bully her into cleaning out her hoarded belongings. When one of the party turns up dead, Delaney starts investigating. In the meantime, another friend who works for the Scottish government's artifacts division is straddling the line between friendship and responsibility as they deal with a possibly priceless relic.

This series is interestingly plotted but the real joy is the Scottish characters and their interaction with Delaney. And I appreciate the rare lack of romantic angst. Delaney and Tom have a strong relationship and work well together. The ensemble cast is appealing and offbeat and Delaney fits right in. The flavor and setting of Edinburgh add to the appeal. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Virtually shadowing Delaney as she works her way through the maze of oblique, confusing clues is also reather like doing a complicated jig-saw puzzle. A large, complex jig-saw puzzle. Just when you think you've found the right piece, boom, nope, and you throw up your hands in frustration. Yet, after you take a few deep breaths (and probably collect the pieces you've also tossed away in frustration), the puzzle slowly, achingly slowly, begins to come together.

Who killed the seemingly innocuous Alban? He seemed to have no real enemies or, for that matter, friends. Elias, who drove Delaney to an appointment at Jolie Lannister's home, is friends with Homer, the man found standing over the victim with a bloodied rake. The story, with all its maddening twists and turns and countless detours, is off-and-running from that point. As always, Shelton's writing is excellent, managing to capture both Delaney's horror and her need to establish order in what she's seen. In the process, we learn quite a bit about not just Scottish history and pride, including a few Scottish phrases, but how strict relic related laws are about not just the handling of such items as a (maybe) Crusader sword, but who has custody of such items. Delaney's boss Edwin, always a bit mysterious, doesn't always seem to quite follow the exact letter of the law but means well, we discover. So, who are the others lusting after the sword and what might they do to obtain it? And, what the heck does the late Queen Elizabeth and once king Edward and Wallis Simpson have to do with anything?

I won't detail the plot. It's complicated and at times seem to go off in different directions. In the process of watching Delaney try to tie all the clues together, you'll get to meet some interesting characters. It works well as a standalone but long time readers will delight in a glimpse of Edwin MacAlister's past as well as getting to know Delaney's husband Tom's father better. Then there is Jolie, who turns out to be a hoarder in fear of being forcibly removed from her home by an obnoxious lawyer. Why is the lawyer suddenly so insistent? Why show up after the discovery of the sword? Good thing Delaney seems to have Inspector Winters on speed dial. And, who is....oh, never mind. Enough teasers. All in all a sometimes perplexing but always satisfying read with interesting characters and story lines. Thanks #NetGalley and #StMartin'sPress - #MinotaurBooks for inviting me along for this virtual visit to Delaney and Scotland. Always a pleasure.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's/Minotaur for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

One of my favorites of the series so far. So happy Elias is back! I missed him in the last book; he has a prominent role here. Normally I don't read a lot of cozy mysteries - I go for the thrillers - but I started this series simply because it takes place in Edinburgh, my favorite city in the world.. I love how the city comes alive and how Ms. Shelton adds Scottish history along the way. This one was right up to date with Queen Elizabeth's death, and I loved how Delaney's "bookish voices" became the Queen's voice. Very well done.

mental-health-awareness, hoarding, pet-dog, family-business, family-dynamics, family, ex-pat, local-law-enforcement, Edinburgh Scotland, amateur-sleuth, bookseller, cozy-mystery, murder-investigation, series, relics, priceless, treasure-trove, suspense*****

A sword that might be of value to Scotland, a recluse who might be part of the British royal family, an abrasive and demanding lawyer, and a fresh corpse in the garden. Delaney has her hands full trying to help the recluse with a hoarding problem as well as several of her friends. And that sword is important in several ways. Thank goodness for the trust that the local law has in her!
If you are new to the series, you will read that Delaney (she's not in Kansas anymore) is a bookseller and that her new Scottish husband, Tom, is a barkeeper and that they have a lot of interesting friends and relatives. This is a nice cosy series with engaging characters, plot twists, red herrings, and SCOTLAND.
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

This is the ninth book in the Scottish Bookshop Mystery series.
Delaney grew up in America, but now she’s married to Tom and works for Edwin, who owns a bookstore,The Cracked Spine in Scotland. When an old friend asks Edwin to come to her house and take possession of an extremely valuable Crusader sword, he cannot resist. He sends Delaney to see the sword, but that’s not all she sees. Not only is Jolie’s house veering towards hoarder territory, but before they have finished looking at the sword, a man winds up dead. Does the death have something to do with this priceless sword? Pretty soon almost everyone is a suspect, and Delaney dons her amateur sleuth hat yet again.
Delaney is as usual, one step ahead of the police. Even though there were quite a few suspects, I wound up surprised by the whodunnit.
The characters felt like visiting old friends after all these books. I enjoyed following Delaney and seeing how this murder mystery would unfold.

I enjoy Paige Shelton, and her cozy, homey, mysteries. She creates a warmth with the friendship and loyalties of her characters and you come to know them well throughout the series. Though I have read many others, this one does well as a standalone, and I didn’t feel like I was missing something if I hadn’t read the previous books. I did feel that the resolution of the mystery was a bit tangled, and possibly tied up too quickly. That being said, I still enjoyed the read to get there. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

I love this series. And even though this is a cozy mystery set in Edinburg set in the current times I am glad that Queen Elizabeth II passing is mentioned as the book is set around the same time. But the the mystery is about something else entirely.

Another absolutely wonderful installment in the Cracked Spine series. I absolutely adore Delaney, Elias, Tom, Rosie, Hamlet, and all of the reappearing characters. This was another incredibly well done murder mystery that didn't feel like any other murder mystery we've seen before. We had new depth to old characters and interesting new characters, a plot twist, and a resolution that felt right. I love Paige Shelton and cannot wait for what she writes next!

What a fabulous workplace! Two of my favorite things, books and collectibles. So when an old sword is a piece of interest who can walk away for that? Not Edwin but he sends Delaney to visit Jolie. Jolie has a falling down old house overfilled with items. Delaney can't help herself she gets drawn in. So many interesting side stories make this book a good story. I admit I read this one pretty quickly. Who wouldn't want to know the ending! The twists and turns and unexpected connections were fun to discover.

A friend of Edwin finds what appears to be an historical artifact, Delaney is asked to examine the piece in Edwin’s stead. While the peace certainly appears to be exactly what it seems, it will need to be evaluated properly.

No sooner than Edwin is notified by Delaney, a man is murdered, and Delaney can’t help but think that it’s tied to the historic discovery that has been made. Can Delaney help the police figure out how the two are connected and who killed the man? Or will this historic weapon claim yet another life?

I have long love this series and adore each and every entry. Delaney seems to be living the life I can only dream of. An American in Scotland. Edinburgh, no less. Each entry is so well written and thought out that I find myself lost in the story as soon as I begin reading. I can’t wait for more in this series.