Virtually shadowing Delaney as she works her way through the maze of oblique, confusing clues is also reather like doing a complicated jig-saw puzzle. A large, complex jig-saw puzzle. Just when you think you've found the right piece, boom, nope, and you throw up your hands in frustration. Yet, after you take a few deep breaths (and probably collect the pieces you've also tossed away in frustration), the puzzle slowly, achingly slowly, begins to come together.
Who killed the seemingly innocuous Alban? He seemed to have no real enemies or, for that matter, friends. Elias, who drove Delaney to an appointment at Jolie Lannister's home, is friends with Homer, the man found standing over the victim with a bloodied rake. The story, with all its maddening twists and turns and countless detours, is off-and-running from that point. As always, Shelton's writing is excellent, managing to capture both Delaney's horror and her need to establish order in what she's seen. In the process, we learn quite a bit about not just Scottish history and pride, including a few Scottish phrases, but how strict relic related laws are about not just the handling of such items as a (maybe) Crusader sword, but who has custody of such items. Delaney's boss Edwin, always a bit mysterious, doesn't always seem to quite follow the exact letter of the law but means well, we discover. So, who are the others lusting after the sword and what might they do to obtain it? And, what the heck does the late Queen Elizabeth and once king Edward and Wallis Simpson have to do with anything?
I won't detail the plot. It's complicated and at times seem to go off in different directions. In the process of watching Delaney try to tie all the clues together, you'll get to meet some interesting characters. It works well as a standalone but long time readers will delight in a glimpse of Edwin MacAlister's past as well as getting to know Delaney's husband Tom's father better. Then there is Jolie, who turns out to be a hoarder in fear of being forcibly removed from her home by an obnoxious lawyer. Why is the lawyer suddenly so insistent? Why show up after the discovery of the sword? Good thing Delaney seems to have Inspector Winters on speed dial. And, who is....oh, never mind. Enough teasers. All in all a sometimes perplexing but always satisfying read with interesting characters and story lines. Thanks #NetGalley and #StMartin'sPress - #MinotaurBooks for inviting me along for this virtual visit to Delaney and Scotland. Always a pleasure.
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