Review: Of Books and Bagpipes by Paige Shelton

Title: Of Books and Bagpipes
Author: Paige Shelton
Pages: 304
Genre: Mystery, Cozy
Source: Free ARC from St. Martin’s

Rating: B+

Note: As stated under the Source (above), I received this book for free from St. Martin’s via NetGalley. I pride myself on writing fair and honest reviews.

Summary: It’s been months since Delaney relocated to beautiful Edinburgh, Scotland and started her job at The Cracked Spine. She’s settled in nicely, finding family in her coworkers and surrogate parents her landlords, and has been happily dating Tom for five months. All is going smoothly until her boss Edwin sends her on an errand to pick up a rare book and upon arrival, she finds her contact dead. Delaney being Delaney, she must know what has happened, and as it turns out, the answer to that puzzle runs a little too close to home.

Review: Truthfully, I’ve gotten a little burnt out on cozies…except this series. The characters are unique and charming. Delaney is a mostly normal person who loves books and museums, has a sense of adventure and insatiable curiosity, cares deeply about people, has a solid moral compass, and the self-confidence to stand up for herself and speak her mind when it’s necessary. The one thing that makes her unique is her sixth sense, her book sense, as it were. At certain times, books “speak” to her, giving her clues when she needs help. The slightest bit of otherworldliness to spice things up. Not a major part of the story, but an interesting one.

The mystery itself was rather complex and so difficult to unravel, which I greatly appreciated. It isn’t often that a cozy has me screaming in my head – What in the heck is going on?!? Sometimes they can be overly simplistic, and I think that’s why I’ve been a little put off lately. But Paige Shelton writes mysteries that elevate the cozy genre.

As I said in my review of the first in this series, I will definitely keep my eye out for the next release.