This is book 5 of the series of A Scottish Bookshop Mystery by Paige Shelton.
Delaney Nichols literally runs into a woman holding a stack of books. The woman's name is Mary who believes she is the reincarnation of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Mary's husband, Wayne, is killed in a car explosion and Delaney is again involved in solving a case.
Wayne was involved in the process of shutting down the Cracked Spine, a book store, where Delaney works.
This is a stand alone book but I suggest reading the books in order.
The characters from the previous books are in The Stolen Letter but not as much as I would have wanted.
Tom, Delaney's now husband; Edrin, the owner of the Cracked Spine; Rosie and Hamlet who work at the Cracked Spine and Hector, Rosie's Scottish terrier and more.
I found the audio book, for no cost, on You Tube.
I have enjoyed the series and will continue to read Paige Shelton's books.
I give it a 5 star rating. ( )

Another super fun outing in this cozy mystery series! By this point it is like visiting old friends when each new book comes out. Once I start reading it is like I am right back with them even up to the point where I keep hearing their parts in my very bad Scottish brogue. I hope we keep getting more in this series! ( )

Delaney Nichols is returning from her honeymoon and rushing to her job at the Cracked Spine book store when she literally runs into a woman who looks enough like her to be an older sister. Finding that she is headed to the Cracked Spine as well, Delaney and Mary Stewart (she thinks she was Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots in a past life)walk together remarking on their resemblance. Feeling a friendship starting they agree to dine together with their husbands. After a pleasant evening, the next day Delaney is accosted with the news that the bookstore is being closed because of unsafe conditions. Barely having time to fathom this news, there is an explosion which they later find out killed Mary Stewart's husband, the man spearheading the closure.

The story swirls around incarnations, bureaucracy and history but it extremely fun! ( )

A far-fetched and implausible plot makes a strange read. On the one hand, you want to keep reading it to see how much more convoluted it can become; on the other you want to abandon it. I chose to stick with it. After a failed inspection the bookshop never knew occurred or received notice about until city council was scheduled to meet to close the shop, Delaney and friends uncover a plot. At the heart of the investigation is a city council member whose wife thinks she is the reincarnation of Mary Queen of Scots. His wife Mary bears an uncanny resemblance to Delaney. A car explosion kills her husband. Delaney works with two police inspectors as well as on her own. The most far-fetched thing came near the end when Queen Elizabeth herself showed up to defend the bookshop. This one just went beyond the bounds of believability. The book needed better editing as well. Not recommended. ( )

When Delaney Nichols runs into (literally) Mary Stewart, she is immediately intrigued – they look enough alike to be related. The two soon become tentative friends and Delaney and her husband Tom and coworker Rose go to dinner at the house of Mary and her husband Henry. The dinner is enjoyable and Delaney is shocked when the very next day a tragic event happens to someone who was at the dinner party. Delaney soon finds out that the death may be related to the fact that someone is trying to close The Cracked Spine, the bookstore she works at. Delaney is determined to not only find the killer but to keep her beloved bookstore open.

“The Stolen Letter” is a nicely done cozy mystery by Paige Shelton. I love the bookstore setting as well as the fact that it is set in Scotland – Shelton does an excellent job with the setting and the citizens of Scotland. All the regular characters in the series are great as are the new characters, particularly Mary Stewart who is convinced that she was Mary Queen of Scots in another life. Shelton does a good job with this storyline and I was so intrigued with the Mary Queen of Scots storyline that I plan on reading a few books about her life. The mysteries (who wants the bookstore to close as well as the murder mystery) are very well done with just the right amount of suspects. Finally, there is a delightful cameo by a well-known real-life person that had me smiling.

“The Stolen Letter” is a nicely done cozy mystery. ( )