MYSTERY

The Cracked Spine

Minotaur:St. Martin's. (Scottish Bookshop, Bk. 1). Apr. 2016. 304p. ISBN 9781250057488. $25.99; ebk. ISBN 9781466861213. M
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Having just lost her position at a small Wichita, KS, museum, Delaney Nichols answers an ad for a bookshop sales associate in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her telephone interview leads to a job offer, and she soon finds herself at the Cracked Spine, a small shop near Edinburgh Castle. Edwin MacAlister, her new employer, whisks Delaney off to a book auction and along the way informs her that his sister Jennie is safeguarding a Shakespeare first folio for him. When Jennie is murdered and the folio disappears, Delaney is determined to do anything to protect her new friends. Perhaps the dashing kilt-clad bartender Tom will make investigating worth her while.
VERDICT Readers who appreciate bookseller sleuths such as Marianne Macdonald's Dido Hoare (Death's Autograph) or Joan Hess's Claire Malloy (Strangled Prose) will welcome this new cozy series from the author of the "Farmers' Market" mysteries. The feisty Delaney is an appealing protagonist, and the secondary characters are charming as well.
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