REVIEW: Lost Books and Old Bones

Lost Books and Old Bones
Author: Paige Shelton

Lost Books and Old Bones is the third book in Paige Shelton's Scottish Bookshop cozy mystery series. When this book showed up in my galley list for review, I didn't remember requesting it. But I do have this series on my cozy TBR list....so I was excited to get to read it, whether I remembered asking for it specifically or not. It was a happy surprise! This is the first book in the series that I have read, but I was easily able to jump in mid-stream and follow the story line. It does mention some past events, but the story stands on its own well enough to read without reading the prior two books. I'm definitely going to back-track now and read the other books in this series. This was a fun, entertaining cozy! I like the background theme of a rare manuscript and bookshop, The Cracked Spine, in Scotland. :)

The basics: Delaney Nicols has befriended two local medical students, Sophie and Rena, after they came into the shop to sell some rare medical books from the early 1900s. Her boss, Edwin MacAlister, was very excited to get the old tomes. At the pub with her new friends, she meets one of their professors, Dr Eban, and another student, Mallory. Dr. Eban makes Delaney uncomfortable....he's creepy and just...strange, plus he's having an affair with Sophie. Later that night, Delaney meets up with her boyfriend Tom at  the bookshop, and they investigate a bit in her boss' warehouse, looking for a famous set of scalpels used by an infamous local doctor back in the days of body snatching. Thinking it's best to leave the scalpels locked up for the night, they leave them in a desk drawer in the shop and go home for the night. The next day in the alleyway outside the shop, a body is discovered. Mallory -- the student Delaney met the previous night -- has been murdered and the shop door is open. A skull was left by the body making the scene appear staged. At the pub the night before, Dr Eban had been asking about the rumored collection of antiquities owned by Delaney's boss, even mentioning the scalpels specifically. Is that a coincidence? Or is Mallory's death linked to the scalpels somehow? Is Dr Eban not just lecherous and creepy, but also a murderer? Or was the scene staged to make it appear that way?

I loved this book! I like the background theme of a rare bookshop, and its mysterious hidden warehouse of antiquities and interesting objects. It lends a cool creepy factor to the story! Delaney is a fun, intelligent main character, and all the quirky side characters (and her hunky boyfriend Tom) all add charm to the story. The mystery progresses at a nice pace with plenty of twists and suspects. It kept my attention from beginning to end. And although I could totally follow the story and characters without reading from the beginning of the series, I definitely am back-tracking and reading this entire series! Entertaining, fun, with splashes of humor and creepiness -- lovely cozy mystery!

Paige Shelton is the author of several cozy mystery series including the Farmer's Market Mysteries.

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**