Deadly editions A Scottish bookshop mystery

In bestseller Shelton's captivating sixth Scottish Bookshop mystery (after 2020's The Stolen Letter), eccentric book collector Shelagh O'Connor invites American Delaney Nichols, who works at the Cracked Spine, an Edinburgh bookstore, and three others to take part in a treasure hunt for her first edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The person who finds this valuable book will also get the entire contents of Shelagh's library. Before Delaney and company accept, one of them asks Shelagh about rumors of her once having been in trouble, and she admits she was suspected of murdering a friend decades earlier. Soon after the hunt gets under way, Shelagh goes missing. Delaney and the others wonder whether she's faking her disappearance and possibly responsible for a recent rash of burglaries as well as a local bartender's murder. Ghostly pubs and blustery winter scenes help create a suitably sinister atmosphere, while distinctive characters and judicious use of Scottish dialect add to the story's appeal. Fans of literary cozies will be rewarded. Agent: Jessica Faust, BookEnds Literary. (Apr.)

An unusual treasure hunt has criminally unintended consequences. When American Delaney Nichols landed a job organizing a warehouse full of collector's items at the Cracked Spine bookstore, she never thought she'd marry a Scot, make Edinburgh her home, and begin solving murders. Delaney is one of a few candidates wealthy Shelagh O'Conner has selected as the possible recipient of the vast collection of books she plans to give away. Determined to send them to a good home, Shelagh sets up a treasure hunt in which the person who finds her valuable copy of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde gets the books and a large sum of money to boot. The other candidates are Delaney's friend Birk Blackburn, librarian Tricia Lawson, and Shelagh's kissing cousin, Jacques Underwood. Back when she was an imaginative teen, Shelagh dressed in rags and roamed the streets pretending to be Hyde until she was accused of murder. No one was ever prosecuted for the crime. Delaney and Tom Shannon, her pub-owner husband, have an unpleasant encounter with Findlay Sweet, who works for Shelagh and still holds a grudge against Tom for an incident in his past. Teaming up, Delaney and Birk find clues that lead them to several noted Edinburgh pubs. A copycat Mr. Hyde steals and kills, but it's only when Shelagh is kidnapped that Delaney and her friends begin sleuthing in earnest. The amusing treasure hunt is filled with literary references that will tickle bibliophiles. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.