Of Books and Bagpipes

Scottish Bookshop Mystery Series, Book 2

By: Paige Shelton

Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Delaney Nichols has settled so comfortably into her new life in Edinburgh that she truly feels it's become more home than her once beloved Kansas. Her job at the Cracked Spine, a bookshop that specializes in rare manuscripts as well as other sundry valuable historical objects, is everything she had dreamed. Her latest task includes a trip to Castle Doune to retrieve a hard-to-find edition of an old Scottish comic, an "Oor Wullie", in a cloak-and-dagger transaction that Edwin has orchestrated.

While taking in the sights, Delaney is startled to spot a sandal-clad foot at the other end of the roof. Unfortunately the foot's owner is dead and, based on the William Wallace costume he's wearing, perfectly matches the description of the man who was supposed to bring the Oor Wullie. As Delaney rushes to call off approaching tourists and find the police, she comes across the Oor Wullie. Instinct tells her to take the pages and hide them under her jacket. It's not until she returns to the Cracked Spine that she realizes just how complicated this story is and endeavors to untangle the tricky plot of why someone wanted this man dead, all before getting herself booked for murder.

©2017 Paige Shelton-Ferrell (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"The Edinburgh and greater Scotland settings are lovingly woven through the story, which includes details of literature and Scottish history. In this first-person account, Delaney is a bright, sympathetic figure surrounded by well-drawn secondary characters." ( Booklist)

She's Not in Kansas Anymore

Delaney Nichols loves her new job at the Cracked Spine Bookshop and the history and mystery of Scotland has certainly grown on her, so much so that she barely misses her home back in Kansas. Her latest task, to retrieve an early edition of old Scottish comic, an "Oor Wullie", takes Delaney into some dangerous territory. She finds the courier she is to meet dead with the ancient comic close by. What she does next sets off a series of events that will eventually unravel a very old tale and hopefully explain why someone wanted the man dead. Excellent entry into the series.

Great Reader and interesting mystery

I have really enjoyed the first two books in the Scottish Bookshop Mysteries. I especially like the author who has elevated the complexity of the mystery and characters above some of the other "cozy" story types.
I love the reader, Carrington Macduffie, as she has a beautiful Scottish accent and the ability to differentiate characters voices, both male and female. I find that ability is really difficult for some readers. I am excited to listen to the next in the series.

Loved the narrator!

It was great to keep the same narrator from the previous book in the series. Carrington MacDuffie does an excellent job with the voices and accents.

Another fantastic Scotland adventure!

The story is well written and full of amazing characters! The story line keeps you thinking and guessing all the way to the very last chapter! I can't wait to knit and listen to the next book! The performer is brilliant! She has done an tremendous job keeping these characters lively and real! A true audio joy!

only editing remark

Dialogue needs help, "he said, she said" over and over could be woven into the sentence with a better flow. Not that I get paid to write, but it gets old quickly.

Entertaining & interesting

I enjoyed the plot line of the story . The characters written were deeper and had layers to be peeled back that helped you learn of the reason for the murder. The reader had a pleasant voice but I felt it didn’t go well with all the characters.

Wonderful stories, great narration/accent

Update: 3/25/2020. Loved this book and series. Gave it another try with book 3 new narrator after a few months and thoroughly enjoyed new narrator. You can't listen to one after the other, new narrator doesn't do quite as as good in her first attempt at the accent but improves as series continues...

A Scottish adventure

"Books: They're definitely the stuff of magic."

In <strong>Of Books and Bagpipes</strong> by Paige Shelton, Delany Nichols has settled into her home and job at a bookstore that deals in rare books and other items in Edinburgh after she moved to Scotland from Kansas. Her boss, Edwin, has sent her to pick up a collection of the <em>Oor Wullie</em> comic strips from 1948. She is to meet a William Wallace reenactor at the Castle Doune to get the rare and valuable collection of a Scottish comic strip. But when she arrives with Elias, her taxi-driver landlord, they climb to the top of the castle and find the body of the man Delany was supposed to meet, Billie Armstrong.

As she goes to leave the castle to prevent new tourists from coming in, Delany spots the book of <em>Oor Wullie</em> and snatches it up, hiding it in her coat. Reporting her find to the police, Delany holds back the information about the book and doesn't tell the police her true reason for being at Castle Doune. Then, when the newly killed man's dead father walks into the shop, he stuns Edwin and the employees, further insisting that no one reveal that he didn't die in the fire as previously thought. Soon Delany finds herself in a web of deceit that she has a challenge keeping up as she investigates the case, looking for the truth.

<strong>Of Books and Bagpipes</strong> proved to be a fun book with plenty of flavor in taking us to visit Scotland and the world of books. The Scottish details include phrases in Scots-Gaelic that Delany gets her co-worker Hamlet to translate for her. We get a lot of interesting descriptions of and quotes from a vast variety of books from different times and places. This book has just a touch of magic, as the books talk to Delany, giving her advice in how to react to different situations.

The mystery plot has interesting angles with a fascinating premise. It had several creative angles to it, especially with all the different lies that Delany keeps telling to protect her boss, as well as the added layer of lies told by Edwin about his past. It kept me guessing all the way through, not just the identity of the murderer but also the web of lies told by Edwin.

I appreciated the characters and their personalities. By the start of <strong>Of Books and Bagpipes</strong>Delany seems so realistic as an American living in Scotland for about six months now. Her landlord and landlady, Elias and Aggie, serve as surrogate parents to Delany. I also really enjoyed the character of the father of Delany's boyfriend, Artur. He works in the legendary library at the University of Edinburgh and helps Delany with research into the past using university archives and old newspapers and contributes a lot to the solution.

Carrington MacDuffie performs the audio edition of this book. She does a terrific job of adding to the pleasure of the book by using strong accents for different regional American accents (though I will admit to not recognizing the so- called Californian accent, something that I, as a 4th generation native Californian should be able to identify). But her real strength, at least to my Californian ears, is her Scottish accent that makes the reader feel transported to this very unique and special location. In addition to her accents, MacDuffie uses good voices to fit each character, who come from different social classes, family backgrounds, and ethnicities. With strong expression and timing, I appreciated the performance she gave in this book.

I eally enjoyed listening to <strong>Of Books and Bagpipes</strong>. I liked being transported via the magic of books to Scotland to the Broken Spine Book Shop. And I liked the mystery plot and 1 characters. I give the book four stars

Good escapism :)

Even though this book is beginning to reveal the author’s “formula,” it’s still enjoyable. The characters are distinct and interesting.The story keeps moving at a good pace. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook. The narrator shifts between accents easily (although some men speak with a cadence that makes you realize what John Wayne would have sounded like as a Scotsman!).

One of the best …

Second time listening to this well written plot and interesting characters. Highly recommend to all.