BOOK REVIEW: The Loch Ness Papers by Paige Shelton @authorpaige @minotaurbooks #thelochnesspapers #minotaurbooks #bookreview

Paige Shelton’s fourth installment in the Scottish Bookshop Mysteries The Loch Ness Papers has it all—wedding troubles, an adorable setting, a bookshop, an eccentric lochness monster enthusiast, and a hunt for the enigmatic monster herself! This one is a great read for cozy mystery lovers!

About the Book

Bookseller Delaney Nichols befriends a Loch Ness monster enthusiast; when he stands accused of murder she’ll do whatever it takes to learn who the killer is―and whether Nessie herself is really lurking in the Scottish waters.

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.

Reflection

Delaney Nichols is getting married to the love of her life and Scottish pub-owner Tom Shannon in just two short weeks when things start to go wrong. She needs to find a new church and officiant first of all. And that encounter leads her to meet a Loch Ness monster enthusiast named Norval. I loved Norval! He’s completely eccentric and at times I definitely questioned if he was all there upstairs, but I also thought that his absolute belief in Nessie was adorable and charming.

When Norval shows up at the bookshop a few days later worried about his nephew, Delaney tries to help him out. But when it turns out his nephew is dead, Norval quickly becomes the prime suspect. Delaney isn’t sure that he is innocent, but she struggles to know how a kind soul like Norval could do such a thing to the nephew he loved.

As Delaney hunts down the clues to prove if Norval is innocent once and for all, a few other mysteries crop up. A rare book is returned to the bookshop, stolen decades before. And evidence starts to surface that perhaps the Loch Ness monster is real after all. Delaney must wrap all of the mysteries up and keep her wedding on track if she wants her happily ever after!

This series falls on the lighter side of cozies, with the focus on Delaney as a character, the setting, and the broader mysteries of the unknown. In fact, I found the murder to end up being the secondary mystery in a way, though it is certainly the catalyst for the rest of the book. I loved reading about the settings and the lore of Loch Ness in particular. The steadfast believers and the skeptics alike added such a rich context and I felt like I was transported to Scotland myself!

This cozy is just the type of light and charming mystery that is good for the reader’s soul, and I think other readers—whether new to the series or longtime fans—will adore it!

Thank you to the team at Minotaur books for my copy! This book is on sale now!