{"id":5674,"date":"2024-04-22T05:45:23","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T12:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/?p=5674"},"modified":"2024-04-22T05:45:50","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T12:45:50","slug":"paige-shelton-the-poison-pen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/paige-shelton-the-poison-pen\/","title":{"rendered":"Paige Shelton: The Poison Pen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scottish Bookshop #9<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Paige Shelton\u2019s Scottish Bookshop Mystery series follows Delaney Nichols. Delaney’s adventures take place in Edinburgh as she works for the specialty bookstore, The Cracked Spine, and its connected and more secretive warehouse. The Poison Pen<\/em> takes place just after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Even though Delaney is American by birth, she feels the loss deeply. Work is a welcome distraction, and Delaney\u2019s curious nature is piqued when her boss, Edwin McAlister, asks her to go and investigate a friend\u2019s claims about an interesting artifact they found on their property. The secretive nature of the item, and Edwin\u2019s special interest, lets Delaney know that she is in for something big.<\/p>\n

When she reaches the house of the item\u2019s owner, Jolie Lannister, there are several raised voices inside. Lawyers are loudly warning Jolie about their interest in the property as well as concerns for her own metal competence. Jolie and Delaney get rid of the interlopers, Jolie showing more fortitude and wherewithal than her attorney gave her credit for. Delaney is delighted to learn that the item in question is a suspected Crusader’s Sword. But she’s also a bit suspicious – such a find would be just as rare as the item itself. Her discussion of the matter, and viewing the suspected item, is cut short when a body is discovered nearby on Jolie\u2019s property. Fear of anyone else learning of the sword, of coming after her house and possessions, drives Jolie to push Delaney to take the sword away to inspect it further. When she hears Delaney is a pretty talented sleuth, she also pushes for her to find answers about why someone was killed on her property, especially if it might be connected to the sword.<\/p>\n

Her investigation, however, starts to uncover some rather interesting things about Jolie\u2019s own life, including that her mother insisted that Jolie\u2019s father was King Edward VIII. There’s even a journal supposedly containing evidence confirming it. Intrigue such as this makes Delaney a bit nervous, but luckily she has plenty of friends who are more than willing to help her pursue her investigation safely. The sword, Jolie\u2019s past, and even her employer Edwin all are mixed up in this particular mystery. Good thing she also has her “bookish voices” to help her make sense of what clues she uncovers or what her subconscious might be mulling over. Delaney is a curious, determined, and tenacious woman who isn\u2019t afraid to go anywhere or speak to anyone to get answers. Unlike some other cozy detectives, however, she is smart enough to never go alone. At the very least, she texts her husband, Tom, or Edwin where she is going and what she intends to be doing there so that they know where to find her if she does not check in with them in a timely manner.<\/p>\n

The Poison Pen<\/em> is Paige Shelton\u2019s ninth installment, but readers will be able to jump right into Delaney\u2019s adventures without feeling like they are missing any background. However, to really appreciate how Delaney has made her life in Edinburgh and how all the characters interplay, I would highly suggest picking up the first book. As I have enjoyed the first few books in the series already, I just feel readers would get a little something more if they start from the beginning. If you do decide to start with The Poison Pen<\/em>, then just be ready to reach for the rest of the series once you finish it. Delaney is different than many other cozy sleuths in that she is methodical, careful, and tries very hard to avoid rushing head first into danger. That isn\u2019t to say she won\u2019t step up when push comes to shove, she just actively tries to avoid things ever reaching that point. I always appreciate a sleuth that takes a more self-aware and self-conscious approach to things, it does make them much more believable as characters. I am looking forward to see what adventures future books will bring to Delaney.\u00a0 \u00a0– Carla Schantz<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scottish Bookshop #9 Paige Shelton\u2019s Scottish Bookshop Mystery series follows Delaney Nichols. Delaney’s adventures take place in Edinburgh as she works for the specialty bookstore, The Cracked Spine, and its connected and more secretive warehouse. The Poison Pen takes place just after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Even though Delaney is American by birth, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[949,1668,100,472,1130,1667,1666],"class_list":["post-5674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-carla-schantz","tag-crusaders-sword","tag-minotaur-books","tag-paige-shelton","tag-scottish-bookshop","tag-the-cracked-spine","tag-the-poison-pen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5674"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5677,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5674\/revisions\/5677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}