Paige Shelton’s Fateful Words follows Delaney Nichols as she is confronted with a plethora of mysteries, one of which is the death of local Inn manager. Delaney works at The Cracked Spine, an Edinburgh book shop owned by the locally beloved Edwin MacAlister. Unfortunately, an emergency takes Edwin away just as his special once a year tour is set to begin. He has Delaney cover for him and show his guests all the sights that he would have shown them himself. She is not pleased with this new task, afraid that she won’t be able to do it, or Edwin, justice. But she is both resigned and determined to make the trip a good one for Edwin’s guests. It also helps that all four visitors, while a little disconcerted and upset at first, are willing to stay and experience the Delaney tour.
Things seem to be going well until they need to check the guests into the local Inn. There appears to be an issue with the payment for the rooms, but that particular problem is easily rectified, even if the manager is quite abrasive about the whole situation. However, that very night the manager of the Inn ends up tumbling off the roof to his death and Delaney has to come to the assistance of a woman bleeding from a strike to the head. Unsure if the two events are connected, or if the manager’s death was accidental or not, Delaney tries to stay focused on her tour and not poke around too much into these new mysteries.
This proves difficult as one of her tour members vanishes and trying to find answers brings her back to the night of the Inn manager’s death. She works closely with local Inspector Winters to ensure that whoever is involved with these crimes faces justice. Delaney isn’t a fool either, she does not go anywhere alone. She makes sure to take her husband Tom with her when she is going to investigate any possible leads. She focuses on the tour, and only once they are done for the day or on a break does she indulge in investigating. Her priority is her responsibility to keep the tour group happy and safe. The result is a whole group of people who had a deep love of Edinburgh and of books.
Readers who enjoy historical tid bits and information will be delighted as Paige Shelton describes the various locations where Delaney takes the group. Delaney links historical sites to several novels as well as getting into their real world significance. In addition she has a ‘bookish’ voice. Quotes from novels pop into her head, giving her inspiration and guidance in her life. It is easy to not only see but feel her love of literature as we follow her about. Things go at a rather steady pace in this book, but the pace picks up near the end as Delaney has to confront the culprits of several crimes. She keeps her head in dire situations and manages to bring Fateful Words to an eventful conclusion. Fateful Words is the ninth book in Paige Shelton’s Scottish Bookshop Mystery series, but readers will not feel lost at all as they dive in. All characters are described enough to familiarize readers with them as well as the town. I highly suggest this for anyone who enjoys a mystery that also conveys historical and literary references. – Carla Schantz
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Carla Schantz is a Courthouse Clerk Supervisor and has a bachelor’s degree in English as well as a master’s in legal studies. Books have been a passion of hers since she was young, and she is a firm believer in the purse book so that she is never without a book at any time.