“Burning Pages” by Paige Shelton was released on April 5, 2022. It tells the story of Delaney Nichols and her coworker, Hamlet, who go to a Burns Night dinner at the Burns House in Scotland. The invitation was odd, but Delaney decided to go anyway. It turns out she was invited to help make amends between her boss, Edwin, and another attendee, after Edwin was suspected of burning down the attendee’s bookshop 20 years ago. After the dinner, the Burns House burned down. Hamlet is accused, and information arises about him having a motive as Delaney tries to clear his name.
The book is the seventh in the “Scottish Bookshop” series
and is a mystery. This is the first book in the series that I read (erm, listened
to), but I was able to follow along. It works as a stand-alone, but I would be
interested in reading the other books.
I listened to the audiobook and found that it was difficult
to keep track of all of the characters and the different plot points. The
audiobook was narrated by Susan Boyce. I feel like I would be able to get into
the book more if I read the text version of the book, especially when chapters
end on a cliffhanger. I like that Boyce does Scottish accents for the
characters who have that accent. Delaney is from Kansas but moved to Scotland and
married her husband.
Part of the book takes place during a Burns Night supper. Burns
Night dinners take place on or around January 25 in celebration of Scottish
poet Robert Burns on his birthday each year. The overall depiction of such a
dinner was fairly accurate. These events are filled with Burns’ poetry and haggis.
The poems used during this part of the book are accurate for the poems that are
read in real-life Burns Night dinners.
This book was a great read. There was a lot of action, and the
writing kept readers on their toes, wanting to keep going. Some of the events and details seemed unnecessary.
Delaney’s “bookish voices” were a bit overdone, and I do not recall an
explanation of this. The few moments of romance between Delaney and her husband
seemed out of place, like the author was trying to add a romance track in an
already busy book. These romantic moments were so few that they feel
unnecessary and forced.
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