The Cracked Spine

Scottish Bookshop Mystery, Book 1

By: Paige Shelton

Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie

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.

When she arrives, she meets her new Scottish family; also working at The Cracked Spine are Rosie, perpetually wrapped in scarves, who always has tiny dog Hector in tow; Hamlet, a 19-year-old thespian with a colored past and a bright future; and Edwin, who is just as enigmatic and mysterious as Delaney expected.

But before she can settle in to 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.

©2016 Paige Shelton-Ferrell (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"As warm and inviting as a cup of tea and a serving of fresh-from-the-oven shortbread." (Ellery Adams, author of Writing All Wrongs)

Kept Me Guessing!

Wow! This book was a great start to a series! It actually kept me guessing until the very end. As an avid cozy mystery reader, that is hard to do. I really enjoyed the well developed story and the well developed characters. I especially loved all the accurate descriptions of Edinburgh! If you have never been, these are great descriptions of what it’s like with actual landmarks and street names. Looking forward to the next in the series!

Transport to Scotland

Paige Sheldon has captured my attention with the variety of word pictures now residing in my mind. 😁

Good story.

I liked this light read, it was easy to follow. Albeit a bit unbelievable. My number one problem is the narrator. Absolutely awful. Monotone and obviously much, much older than the main character Delaney is meant to be. The narrator definitely makes this audiobook hard to listen to.

Fun novel!!

A great read with a gripping story, and a wonderful performance by the narrator. I can recommend this book for anyone and any age.

I couldn’t finish it.

I couldn’t finish it. I tried. It was simply boring. It couldn’t hold my attention.
The narrator did but across mostly monotone.

A great new mystery series

I started with the second book, fell in love with the characters and so bought the first in the series. The "bookish voices" plot device isn't overdone and the characters are well-developed, true to life and lovable. MacDuffie was beautifully versatile in the various voices. And, in the manner of Nora Roberts/J D Robb, Shelton had me laughing out loud, then on the edge of my seat for a lively tale in a Scottish bookstore.

History, Mystery and a Man in a Kilt 😉

If you are looking for a completely fact-based mystery, this one may not for you, but if you're up for a bit of Scottish magic and some wonderful folks that you will come to love, you will enjoy it immensely. There are secrets . . .which little by little are revealed . . . and the way the Scots welcome Delaney Nichols who has come to work at The Cracked Spine warms my heart. Especially the taxi driver and his wife, who eventually become her landlords. When Delaney's boss, Edwin MacAlister's sister is murdered and a previously undiscovered volume of Shakespeare's plays goes missing, the hunt for a killer (and the lost folio) begins. Things are anything but what they appear. Delaney learns about the history of Edwin's family and all those close to him, including her co-workers. Excellent tale of intrigue and a little dollop of romance.

easy listen

not bad...short simple little mystery. first in the series. glad it was free through audible.

Not great

It was ok, but I really had to force myself to finish it. Such a far fetched story where a stranger from America takes a job in Scotland and gets caught up in a murder story. The townspeople answer all her questions without hesitation when she begins to play detective. Fairly boring and blah.

A Scottish saga

How interesting. I have tried to put this book aside a number of times but I always come back. Sorry there isn’t a little more Scottish lore but I’m sure her next book will fix that