Lost Books and Old Bones

By Paige Shelton
Published April 3, 2018

Why I chose this book:
One of my favorite genres is cozy mystery. When I came across this one, the title jumped out at me, and so did the setting — not only do I like cozy mysteries and bookshops, but I particularly like mysteries with a different geographical setting (Great Britain, Botswana, Georgia...). Minotaur Books provided a review copy.

Review

I cannot stop thinking about this book since finishing, which happened altogether too quickly. I shall have to seek out the others in this series.

Delaney Nichols is an American in Scotland, working at a used bookshop. The bookshop houses various treasures, including an antique scalpel set that belonged to Dr. Knox. In the 1820's, Dr. Knox had conducted medical research using murder victims' bodies. When an acquaintance of Delaney is murdered outside the bookshop a few hours after discussing the scalpels, and the history of Dr. Knox and his suppliers pops up again and again, Delaney is drawn into hunting down the present-day killer. After an exciting and complex search, an unexpected though not unimaginable culprit is apprehended.

I was consumed by Lost Books and Old Bones. The contemporary characters were people whom I could imagine running into in a bookshop or museum. You find out more about them organically, just as you would with actual acquaintances. I also enjoyed her inclusion of historic figures, namely Dr. Knox, William Burke, and William Hare (the latter two were murderers and cadaver suppliers). Tying the cozy mystery to true crime enhanced my suspension of disbelief. If you think about it, who comes across multiple murders (this book is third in a series) and sets out to solve them herself, other than protagonists in cozy mysteries? No one. But tying the actually-caught-and-convicted murderers to the fictitious murder grounded the novel in a unique way.

The search for the killer was a perfect balance of complexity, red herrings, and common sense. At no point did a question of, "Really???!!!" interrupt my reading. Just as I uncovered layers of the characters, so too were layers of the crime uncovered. Everything developed naturally, from the clues to Delaney's and the police's investigations. At the end, though, the culprit did start monologuing about the crime. Even that, somehow did not feel contrived.

Can I recommend this any more highly? You like mysteries? Bookshops? History? You'll probably like this.