The Loch Ness Papers

Scottish Bookshop Mystery Series, Book 4

By: Paige Shelton

Narrated by: Susan Boyce

Delaney Nichols is delighted with her life in Edinburgh, working at The Cracked Spine - a shop that specializes in hard-to-find books and artifacts. With a job she loves, and her fast-approaching marriage to devastatingly handsome Scottish pub-owner Tom Shannon, Delaney's life could be straight out of a fairy tale - at least it would be, if the pastor meant to perform the wedding ceremony hadn't recently passed away. Outside the church where Delaney is searching for another reverend, she stumbles across Norval Fraser: an elderly man obsessed with the Loch Ness monster. Always attracted to the interesting and unusual, Delaney befriends Norval. But when his nephew is found dead, the police decide Norval's obsession has moved from monsters to murder.

With a wedding to plan, her family arriving soon from Kansas, and the arrival of an over-the-top Texan with a wildly valuable book, Delaney's plate is full to bursting, but she can't abandon her new friend. Determined to help Norval, she sets out to learn the truth. The Loch Ness buries its secrets deeply, but Delaney is determined to dig them up - whether Nessie likes it or not.

©2019 Paige Shelton-Ferrell (P)2019 Tantor

An improvement over the last!

I have to say that I felt more drawn into this story than I did the last book in the series. I did enjoy the inclusion of the mythological elements! Also, the emphasis on the importance of compassion and help for the mentally I’ll was particularly poignant. I did have to laugh near the end when Delaney says something like, “I was going to ask but it seemed none of my business.” When had that ever stopped her?? Ha!

One note about the details: I have overlooked some tiny flubs in the American perspective on Scottish/British things. (Like “brown sauce” is not the malt vinegar you put on fish ‘n’ chips!) However, the author should have looked up the handgun laws in Scotland. Twice now, a character has just pulled out a handgun as though that’s as commonplace as it would be in the USA. The laws and availability are much different in Scotland.

Good Scottish Murder Mystery

Liked it a lot. It was a good plot and character development. I liked learning some culture along with story. Narrator was clear.

Historical references

Love the historical references. The narrator does a fine job with the accent. Nice writing. I look forward to reading more

Another Fantastic Installment!

What a great story! Each one in the series is engaging and thrilling and keeps you guessing! Having been to Edinburgh, I can close my eyes and see the places she describes! I can hardly wait for April 7, 2020!

HATE Susan Boyce as narrator

This is a great series, but sadly I won't be listening because of stilted narration

Still not sold

The idea of a Scottish bookshop is terrific, as it can bring new character into the plot.
Both readers have seemingly elderly voices. This makes the premise of a younger woman from Kansas USA so hard to believe.
Both books I have listened to also move slow
Verdict is still out on this series

Reader Susan Boyce rises to the occassion

I feel I must write this review to credit Susan Boyce for the job she did in this book. In the last book, and reviewed below, I seriously criticized her performance. I don't know what happened, but in this book she did an excellent job. All the characters had appropriate accents and voices were different for males and females. It made all the difference in the world. As to the story - I have always been interested in the Loch Ness monster, so I was intrigued. Please listen to this one - it's great!

Good listen

Love this series. This was a little cliche with Nessie, but I did love it.

3

I didn't care for this, not my cuppa. Modern day Scotland,
the mystery that is Nessie, a Kansas heroine -what could go
wrong? Well. this a romance.
Yawn. Book store - yea. Loch
Ness - yea.

Waste of a credit

The plot ideas are interesting but the way she pieces them together is . . . childish - like you're talking pretend with your kindergartner. There's a lot of friendly and inane dialogue; the characters have no depth and the mystery plots are ho-hum. The author does keep the words rolling smoothly along but it's like a tuneless tune. I appreciate the work she's put into these books and I don't like to ding people but work and good intentions aren't enough to make a writer.