The Poison Pen (A Scottish Book Mystery: Book 9) by Paige Shelton

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Date of publication: April 9th, 2024

Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Scotland, Fiction, Suspense

Series: A Scottish Bookshop Mystery

The Cracked Spine—Book 1

Of Books and Bagpipes—Book 2

A Christmas Tartan—Book 2.5

Lost Books and Old Bones—Book 3

The Loch Ness Papers—Book 4

The Stolen Letter—Book 5

Deadly Editions—Book 6

The Burning Pages—Book 7

Fateful Words—Book 8

The Poison Pen—Book 9

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

The ninth installment in the cozy mystery series by Paige Shelton and featuring amateur sleuth Delaney Nichols, set in a specialty bookshop in Edinburgh called The Cracked Spine.

Bookseller Delaney Nichols’s boss’s Edwin comes to her with an unusual assignment. An old friend of his, living in an estate in the village of Roslin, has found what could be a priceless relic on her property, and Delaney is tasked with investigating. Could Jolie possibly have in her possession, as she believes, a Crusader Sword? But when Delaney arrives at Jolie’s estate, she is greeted by a legal team with a vested interest in the property. Delaney and Jolie manage to remove the intruders, but as they’re examining the antique sword, they hear a scream, and meet a much less welcome a body.

As Delaney digs deeper, she discovers Jolie’s own fascinating history. Jolie’s mother had long claimed that her daughter was the rightful heir to the throne, not Elizabeth II, because of an affair she claimed to have with King Edward VIII. The only evidence, however, is in the form of a journal that one of Edward’s secretaries kept. The puzzles become more confusing when a connection is uncovered between this far-fetched story and the murdered man. And shortly thereafter, the journal goes missing. Delaney will have to read between the lines to put together the pieces…or become history herself.

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First Line:

“I know of no single formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm.” The familiar voice came through the taxi’s radio speakers.

The Poison Pen by Paige Shelton

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Important details about The Poison Pen

Pace: Fast

POV: 1st person (Delaney)

Content/Trigger: The Poison Pen contains themes of classism, hoarding, blood, dead bodies, grief & loss depiction, and murder. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Language: The Poison Pen contains no swearing or language that might offend some people.

Series: This is the 9th book in A Scottish Bookshop Mysteries.

Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in The Poison Pen.

Setting: The Poison Pen is set in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

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My Review:

When I read the blurb for The Poison Pen and saw that a) it was a mystery and b) it was set in Scotland, I knew I needed to read it. I have a love of all things Scottish. That figured into my acceptance of St. Martin’s Press’s widget, and I am glad I did. I enjoyed reading this book.

The Poison Pen is the ninth book in the A Scottish Bookshop Mystery series. Technically, it could be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading the first eight books before this one. Some references to previous storylines and characters confused me, but those references are also explained.

The main storyline in The Poison Pen follows Delaney as she recovers what could be a Crusader sword from the estate of an eccentric heiress and attempts to solve the murder of a young man. Several more minor storylines supplement the main storyline. I found all the storylines to be engaging. They didn’t lose my interest and kept me reading the book.

The primary storyline centers around Delaney, the sword, and the young man’s murder. The author has an interesting way of writing this storyline. The suspect and motive were identified right away. However, the author holds back on some details and introduces a secondary suspect and motive towards the end of the book. I liked Delaney’s investigation and was fascinated by her job.

As I mentioned above, there were several secondary storylines. A good portion of them fleshed out the main storyline. But the storyline with Jolie and her claims was very interesting. I liked how the author wove Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson into that storyline. What I enjoyed most was that the author intentionally left it unanswered.

The mystery in The Poison Pen is two-pronged. It separated into the mystery of the Crusader sword and the mystery of the young man’s murder. I couldn’t figure out how or why they were related until Delaney cracked the sword mystery. Then, everything came into place for the young man’s murder. Who was behind everything didn’t surprise me; I felt that person was involved. The reasons also didn’t surprise me- greed makes people do stupid things. But it was the secondary person involved and their reason that surprised me. I should have seen that twist coming, but I didn’t.

Hoarding and the reasons behind it are showcased in this book. Jolie’s situation was not as extreme as cases that I have heard about (she didn’t hoard food/urine/trash); it was still pretty bad. I did feel that Jolie’s recovery was a little fast, but then again, if I had people in and out of my house (and it looked like hers), I would have started cleaning too. Thankfully, Jolie seems to have a sound support system with her staff (who genuinely care for her). I am interested in seeing if she will appear in upcoming books.

The end of The Poison Pen was interesting. The author wrapped up the main storyline in a way that I liked. She also left me wondering if there will be a book 10.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Paige Shelton for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Poison Pen. All opinions stated in this book are mine.

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