Book Notes The Curse of Penryth Hall

Black background with red apples, a village skyline on the bottom and The Curse of Penryth Hall centered on the cover.

The Curse of Penryth Hall
by Jess Armstrong

The Curse of Penryth Hall is a historical cozy mystery with supernatural elements and Gothic overtones.

Summary

Ruby Vaughn has vowed to never return to Penryth Hall after the marriage of her best friend Tamsyn to Sir Edward Chenowyth. But her boss, Mr. Owen, has sent her to the village of Lothiel Green to deliver a trunk full of books to a man named Ruan Kivell. Before Ruby makes her delivery, she stops at the hall and finds a much-changed Tamsyn. Tamsyn is much thinner and has a bruised face. That evening at dinner, Ruby exchanges barbs with Sir Edward, until he excuses himself from dinner when he suddenly falls ill. The next morning his mutilated body is found by the housekeeper on the estate’s grounds. She insists the curse, which killed Edward’s uncle and his wife thirty years prior, is back and has killed Edward. When Tamsin hears the news, she insists the curse is coming for her next and forces Ruby to swear she will keep Tamsyn’s young son safe. Ruby’s scientific mind refuses to believe a curse is at work. She resolves to find the murderer behind Sir Edward’s death.

My Thoughts

This is a solid mystery with all sorts of twists and turns and an ending I didn’t see coming. The atmosphere is spooky with a castle falling into ruin and gloomy weather. Ruan Kivell, the local Pellar (a role which Ruan inhabits with mixed emotions), is a man with skill at healing others and putting Ruby’s emotions in turmoil. The verbal sparring between the two is funny and one of the best parts of the novel.
Ruby’s relationship with Tamsyn is complicated. They’ve been friends since Ruby was shipped from New York City to London after being seduced by an older married man when Ruby was sixteen. Ruined for a society marriage, her father sent her to live with his old friend and his family in London so Ruby could have a new start. At some point, Ruby wanted more from the relationship than Tamsyn could give-I think-and their friendship disintegrated. This relationship felt forced to me and distracted from the mystery.

Ruby is a deeply troubled character. Forced to leave home at such a young age, she loses her parents and younger sister years later at sea. She was an ambulance driver for the Great War, moving wounded soldiers from the front lines. Her relationship with Tamsyn fell apart during this period. Once Ruby returns to Penryth Hall, those old feelings for Tamsyn return, and Ruby doesn’t handle them well. Ruby becomes a bit self-centered and that was off-putting.

Overall thoughts

This isn’t a bad book. The mystery gets lost at times, and when that happened, I forgot why I was reading the book. As far as characters go, Ruan Kivell is the most interesting character, in my opinion. As far as the villagers are concerned, he has supernatural powers and is seen as the Pellar. Ruan is conflicted about his role and the pressure he is under to have all of the answers, especially when murder and an old curse is involved.

If historical mysteries set in the twenties, old English castles, and a hint of the supernatural is your thing, then this book may be for you. It really didn’t resonate with me, and if there are more books after this one, I probably won’t be reading them.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Publisher
St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 336
Pub date: 12/05/2023

Book Notes Review of The Fatal Folio

 

Book cover with cat looking out big window while sitting on bookshelves

The Fatal Folio

Book Three in the Cambridge Bookshop Series
by Elizabeth Penney

If you’re going to commit a murder, do it on a night when mask-wearers abound.

 

The Fatal Folio Summary

During Guy Fawkes celebrations, student Thad Devine is murdered on the grounds of St. Aelred, one of Cambridge, England’s, oldest and smallest colleges. The prime suspect is Oliver Scott. A professor up for promotion, Scott held a grudge against Devine. Oliver Scott is also cousin to Kieran Scott.

Kieran is Molly Kimble’s boyfriend, and she has a knack for stumbling into murders. Having her boyfriend’s cousin the prime suspect in Devine’s murder isn’t a spot she wants to be in, but here she is.

Before Molly can make any headway on the murder, the priceless manuscript The Fatal Folio is stolen during the Gothic Literature symposium, and Molly finds herself in the middle of mystery #2.

As Molly investigates both cases, the circle of suspects widens beyond Oliver, but not by much. All of Molly’s murder suspects either work for or are students at St. Aelred’s and also have ties to the symposium, meaning not only are they murder suspects, but suspects in the theft of The Final Folio. Will her investigating lead to a murderer? Will she recover the stolen manuscript before it’s sold to the highest bidder on the black market?

My Thoughts on The Fatal Folio

The Final Folio is a quick and easy read. The number of suspects kept me guessing about the murderer’s identity and the murderer’s motivation. Another plus was the inclusion of an old library. Molly was hired to catalogue the library at Hazelhurst House, the Scotts’ ancestral home and that was a definite plus in my book. (Pun intended.) If you like old libraries, rare manuscripts, and murder, then this novel may be for you.

 

Publishing Information

St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery
ISBN 9781250787743

 

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for providing a free copy of #TheFatalFolio for review. All opinions are my own.

Review-Fatal Fudge Swirl

book cover with three ice cream cones. Village buildings and a village green decorated for Halloween in the background.

Fatal Fudge Swirl

by Meri Allen
Book Three in the Ice Cream Shop series

Book Details

A movie production brings drama—and murder—to a close-knit New England village, forcing Riley Rhodes to scoop out the suspects.

Read more here.

 

My Thoughts

Fatal Fudge Swirl is a quick, enjoyable read. Suspects include employees of the wealthy murder victim’s inn, family members not happy their money flow was cut off, and the ex-wife of the victim’s fiancé. The murder victim also has links to the movie currently filming in the village but were those links strong enough for someone to commit murder? It’s a possibility, which expands the number of potential suspects.

Not only was the ‘why’ of the murder a mystery, but so was the method. Keeping the murder weapon an unknown until the murder was solved added another layer to the novel. For this reader, I enjoyed trying to figure out the murderer’s identity as well as the method he or she used to accomplish the deed.

Fatal Fudge Swirl is the third book in this series, and I haven’t read the first two. Some problems/issues/relationships clearly have their beginnings in the earlier books, but enough context was given that I wasn’t left confused as to what was going on in this book. Reading the books in order though would mean not having those “I wonder what happened prior to this” questions.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Fatal Fudge Swirl. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an e-copy for review.

Publishing Information

Published by St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 9781250267108
Genre: Mystery
320 pages