A Scottish Bookshop Mystery
9 primary works • 11 total works
Book 1
In need of a good adventure, Delaney Nichols takes the leap and moves to Edinburgh, Scotland to start a job at The Cracked Spine. She doesn't know much about what she's gotten herself into, other than that the work sounds exciting, and that her new boss, Edwin MacAlister, has given her the opportunity of a lifetime. Edwin has promised that she'll be working with "a desk that has seen the likes of kings and queens, paupers and princes," and Delaney can't wait to get started. When she arrives, she meets her new Scottish family; also working at the Cracked Spine are Rosie, perpetually wrapped in scarves, and who always has tiny dog Hector in tow, Hamlet, 3 nineteen-year-old thespian with a coloured past and bright future and Edwin, who is just as enigmatic and mysterious as Delaney expected. An unexpected bonus is Tom the bartender from across the street, with his piercing eyes, and a rolling brogue and it doesn't hurt that he looks awfully good in a kilt. But before she can settle into her new life, a precious artifact, a previously undiscovered First Folio of Shakespeare's plays goes missing, and Edwin's sister is murdered, seemingly in connection to the missing folio.
Delaney decides to do some sleuthing of her own, to find out just what the real story is behind the priceless folio, and how it's connected to the tragic death, all without getting harmed herself.
Delaney decides to do some sleuthing of her own, to find out just what the real story is behind the priceless folio, and how it's connected to the tragic death, all without getting harmed herself.
Book 2
Always up fora literary adventure, Delaney Nichols left Kansas to pursue her dream job at the Cracked Spine, a Scottish bookshop specializing in rare manuscripts and other valuable historical objects. So when her boss asks herto retrieve a hard-to-find edition of an Oor Wullie comic, Delaney is only too eager to please. Even though her trip to Castle Doune, outside of Edinburgh, ends up being a lot more than she bargained for. .. While viewing the Highlands from the castle's ramparts, Delaney spots a sandal-clad foot at the other end of the roof—one that belongs to the now-deceased man in charge of bringing her the Oor Wullie. Delaney grabs the pages of the comic book and hides them under her jacket before rushing off to find the police. It's not until she's back in at the Cracked Spine that Delaney realizes just how complicated this story really is. Can she untangle the plot and figure out who the killer is.. .before getting herself booked for murder?
Book 3
Delaney Nichols, originally of Kansas but settling happily into her new life as a bookseller in Edinburgh, works at The Cracked Spine in the heart of town. She’s recently befriended a few medical school students after they came into the shop to sell some antique medical tomes. But when one of the students friends is found murdered outside in the alley, Delaney takes it upon herself to help bring the murderer to justice.
During her investigation, Delaney finds some old scalpels in the bookshop’s warehouse - she finds out that they belonged to a long-dead doctor, whose story might be connected to the present-day murder. It’s all Delaney can do to race to solve this crime before time runs out and she ends up in danger herself.
During her investigation, Delaney finds some old scalpels in the bookshop’s warehouse - she finds out that they belonged to a long-dead doctor, whose story might be connected to the present-day murder. It’s all Delaney can do to race to solve this crime before time runs out and she ends up in danger herself.
Book 4
Delaney Nichols is delighted with her life in Edinburgh, working at The Cracked Spine - a shop that specialises in hard-to-find books and artifacts. With a job she loves, and her fast approaching marriage to devastatingly handsome Scottish pub-owner Tom Shannon, Delaney's life could be straight out of a fairy tale - at least it would be, if the pastor meant to perform the wedding ceremony hadn't recently passed away. Outside the church where Delaney is searching for another reverend, she stumbles across Norval Fraser: an elderly man obsessed with the Loch Ness monster. Always attracted to the interesting and unusual, Delaney befriends Norval. But when his nephew is found dead, the police decide Norval's obsession has moved from monsters to murder.
With a wedding to plan, her family arriving soon from Kansas, and the arrival of an over-the-top Texan with a wildly valuable book, Delaney's plate is full to bursting, but she can't abandon her new friend. Determined to help Norval, she sets out to learn the truth. The Loch Ness buries its secrets deeply, but Delaney is determined to dig them up - whether Nessie likes it or not.
With a wedding to plan, her family arriving soon from Kansas, and the arrival of an over-the-top Texan with a wildly valuable book, Delaney's plate is full to bursting, but she can't abandon her new friend. Determined to help Norval, she sets out to learn the truth. The Loch Ness buries its secrets deeply, but Delaney is determined to dig them up - whether Nessie likes it or not.
Book 5
Book 6
Book 7
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...
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...
Book 9
When Delaney's boss's friend claims to have found something on her property, an estate in the village of Roslin, Edwin sends Delaney out to investigate. Could Jolie possibly have in her possession a priceless relic, a Crusader Sword? But when Delaney arrives at Jolie's estate, she is greeted by a legal team with a vested interest in the property. Delaney and Jolie manage to remove the intruders, but as they're examining the antique sword, 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 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. And shortly thereafter, the journal goes missing. Delaney will have to read between the lines to put together the pieces... or become history herself.
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 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. And shortly thereafter, the journal goes missing. Delaney will have to read between the lines to put together the pieces... or become history herself.
Book 10
When Edwin, Delaney's boss at the Cracked Spine bookstore, leaves town on secret business, Delaney is called upon to guide his yearly literary tour around Edinburgh. But on the first night of the tour, at the inn where the tour group is staying, the inn manager falls-or is pushed-off the roof of the inn, and killed. Then, one of the tour members disappears, leaving a trail of puzzles in his wake.
In 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.
In 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.