The Cracked Spine

The Cozy Mystery Book Club

The Cracked Spine was the March 2022 read for The Cozy Mystery Book Club. A lot of members enjoyed the book and found the idea of "bookish voices" speaking to the main character interesting as well as the potential paranormal elements that may appear in the rest of the series. Many of the sleuthers were drawn to the story because of the Scottish setting. Who doesn't love Scotland?!? Plus, a thoughtful Scottish heartthrob in a kilt who sends a dozen white roses the day after a date was a huge point in the book's favor.

The Cracked Spine (Scottish Bookshop Mystery #1) by Paige Shelton

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. Edwin has promised that she'll be working with "a desk that has seen the likes of kings and queens, paupers and princes," and Delaney can't wait to get started.
When she arrives, she meets her new Scottish family; also working at the Cracked Spine are Rosie, perpetually wrapped in scarves, and who always has tiny dog Hector in tow; Hamlet, a nineteen-year-old thespian with a colored past and bright future; and Edwin, who is just as enigmatic and mysterious as Delaney expected. An unexpected bonus is Tom the bartender from across the street, with his piercing eyes, and a rolling brogue -- and it doesn't hurt that he looks awfully good in a kilt.
But before she can settle into 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.

GoodReads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25663657-the-cracked-spine

YouTube Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGBJ1flzyvo