ARC Review: The Poison Pen by Paige Shelton

The Poison Pen 
Author: Paige Shelton
Series: A Scottish Bookshop Mystery (Book 9)
Publication: Minotaur Books (April 9, 2024)

Description: 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.

My Thoughts: When called to the home of an old friend of Edwin's, Delaney is expecting to look at on old sword discovered on the grounds. She doesn't expect to find a body. 

As Delaney investigates, she has to deal with a woman who has a problem with telling the truth, a shady lawyer, and a director of the Treasure Trove Unit who has his own agenda. 

This is the ninth mystery starring Delaney who is an American transplant to Scotland who loves her job dealing with antiquities at the bookshop Edwin owns. She has a tendency to discover bodies wherever she goes. Over the course of the series, Delaney has made a number of friends who make appearances in this story including Inspector Winters who is her friend in the police. 

The story is set shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth which plays into the story both because Delaney occasionally has voices in her head which offer her clues. Usually, the voices are from works of literature. In this one the voices are Elizabeth's from some of her speeches. 

I enjoyed the story because I like Delaney and her circle of friends. The mystery had some nice twists and turns too. 

Favorite Quote:

Long into my search, I did find an article about "officials" visiting Jolie right before she seemed to be silenced, though details of that visit or meeting weren't readily available, even though speculation was, no doubt, that they'd told her to stop talking about all of it. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.