Paige Shelton’s fourth Scottish Bookshop mystery, The Loch Ness Papers, was one of my favorites in the series. Eccentric characters, a very unusual bookshop, and a wedding, all in an atmospheric setting, bring so much to this book.

Bookseller Delaney Nichols has to find a minister for her wedding. She’s rushing into a church to talk to one when she bumps into an older man going out of the church. He drops a pack of cards showing the Loch Ness Monster, and, naturally the curious Delaney is intrigued. She finds out where he lives, and returns the cards. She feels an immediate connection to Normal Fraser who is obsessed with Nessie, and invites Delaney to take over his project, his collection of papers about the monster. She turns him down, but she’s intrigued with his stories.

However, when Norval’s great-nephew, Gavin, drops in, Delaney doesn’t trust him. Unfortunately for Norval, Gavin is murdered and the police suspect the eccentric collector. Even though her family is arriving for the wedding, Delaney is determined to prove Norval isn’t a killer, just a man with an unusual obsession.

When Delaney’s family arrives from Kansas, they’re just as delightful as readers would expect. There are amusing scenes as they struggle with jet lag. The stories and legends of Scotland and the mystery of Loch Ness add to the magic of this book. And, I have to admit, I’m a sucker for a wedding between two characters who have become favorites in the course of a mystery series. A little magic, a little mystery, and the magic of romance. Readers might yearn for Edinburgh and Scotland after reading The Loch Ness Papers.

Paige Shelton’s website is www.paigeshelton.com

The Loch Ness Papers by Paige Shelton. Minotaur Books, 2019. ISBN 9781250127815 (hardcover), 320p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – I received my book to review for a journal.