Elizabeth PenneyCritiques

Molly Kimball, a Vermont librarian, and her mother move to Cambridge, England to assist Aunt Violet in running the family bookshop. They discover the bookstore needs a big cash infusion, and Molly launches a social media marketing campaign to get the shop back on the radar. When a woman is found dead behind the shop at an author event and her aunt becomes the chief suspect because it was done with her knitting needle, Molly and others launch their own investigation to clear her aunt. The proprietor of a bicycle shop next door and Molly are attracted to one another. I found this a refreshing series. I loved the setting, and I liked all the main characters who will continue. I listened to the audio version read by Henrietta Meire. I look forward to future installments.

This mystery novel with gothic overtones is set in fascinating Cambridge, England. Molly Kimball lives in Cambridge with her mom and her aunt, and together they manage the Thomas Marlowe bookshop. Molly jumps at the chance to use her library skills to catalog the library at the stately mansion of her boyfriend Kieran. When a murder occurs and a rare manuscript is stolen, Molly gets more than she bargained for as she becomes part of a gothic story herself.

This novel contains a story within a story that adds interest to the main plot. Readers who enjoy a cozy mystery with twists and turns will enjoy the Cambridge university setting with its many bookshops and quirky characters. This novel is part of a series but can be read as a standalone.

I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I'm happy to see that there are already two more books in this series, with another to be released in November. I enjoyed the first very much. It combined the best characteristics of the cozy mystery with what I call "not-so-trashy trashy novels" -- romances with strong heroines who are passionate about their work. In this case, Molly Kimball is passionate about books, having worked as a librarian in her native Vermont. When her mother receives a request from British Aunt Violet to help run the old family bookshop in Cambridge, England, the two leap at the chance, even though Molly's mother has heretofore been silent about her British family.
Molly's delight at being in Cambridge, surrounded by books, is tempered when, during a literary festival, a local woman who is part of the small community around Magpie Lane is found murdered in Violet's back garden. Molly's curiosity and stubborn need to find the truth lead to excitement and, finally, the true killer -- and there's romance as well. Highly recommended.

"When her husband is hired at the historian for an exciting project, documenting the wreck of the ship Celestial on the Isle of Palms, Evelyn Perry is excited to tag along. She's ready to finally take a vacation and spend time enjoying the sun, the beach, and the company of her husband when they are both off the clock. But things take an exciting turn when a second shipwreck is found - and not just any ship, but the famous Hannah B. The vessel is notorious for its famous female pirate, Polly O'Brien, who disappeared in the storm that fateful day." From the back of the book.

Molly Kimball is an American ex-pat living in Cambridge with her mom and Great-Aunt. They run the family's ancestral bookshop called Thomas Marlowe-Manuscripts and Folios. Molly has been hired by her boyfriend Kiernan Scott's family to update their family's library catalog. In addition to that, she's taken on the task of uncovering the true identity of the author behind an original manuscript of a Gothic novel called A Fatal Folio. It is especially of interest to Kiernan's cousin, Oliver, a professor at one of the local colleges, who plans to write a book about the manuscript and its author.

While on their way to meet Oliver one night, Molly and her friends stumble upon a man who has been stabbed. It turns out he wasn't a very well liked person, and Oliver is among the top suspects. It isn't long before Molly finds herself in the middle of trying to figure out who committed the murder and if and how it might be tied to the old manuscript.

Although this is the third book in the Cambridge Bookshop mystery series, it was my first. I imagine there is some background information about the regular characters I may have been missing jumping into the series here, but I never felt lost and still felt like I got a good sense of who everyone was. I love the setting--Cambridge and the bookstore. I especially love the library at the Scott's estate. So much history in the books on the shelves and tucked in the nooks and crannies there!

Within the novel, is another story, written as if we are reading A Fatal Folio right alongside Molly. It's an intriguing Gothic tale, and I found myself just as interested in finding out what happened to the characters of that story as I did to the main mystery. It complemented the main storyline and in no way overshadowed it.

Molly is smart and relatable. She has a good relationship with the local law enforcement officials, which I think worked to everyone's advantage. I would enjoy going back and reading the first two books in the series, perhaps seeing how Kiernan and Molly meet and reading about her first impressions of her new life in Cambridge. There are adorable bookstore cats who make multiple appearances. The Fatal Folio is just the kind of cozy mystery I love to cuddle up with.½

In this fun read in the "Mysteries of Martha's Vineyard" series, Priscilla Latham Grant finds her elderly neighbor coming over to her lighthouse under suspicious circumstances. It's up to Priscilla to help this neighbor get to the bottom of some strange happenings. In the midst of it all, could Priscilla be ready to face dating again during for an upcoming Valentine's Day get-together?

Fun and light-hearted.

I wasn't completely sure how I felt about the first book in the series but felt it was worth pressing on when the second came out. But I think I can better express why I probably won't continue on after this. To start with, the main character, Molly, is just so weak. Personally, I prefer my mystery detectives to be less papery-thin and more willing to push through disturbing situations. She all but falls apart every time she has a sudden flash of inspiration about the case. Her friends and family are always noticing the unhappy expression on her face and coddling her as she tells them the sudden realization.

And speaking of those realizations, half the time they are pretty obvious things for her to suddenly realize. Like Molly herself, the mystery was also weak, especially to me as the reader, because the narrator practically spoon-fed me every bit of information, even making detailed connections for me (some of them more than once), so I certainly couldn't help but follow along (or, in some cases, get ahead of her). And including the entire text of the fictional book involved in the story was a good idea in theory, but in the end, I didn't see how it really added to the story. I kept expecting it to provide some kind of major insight for both Molly and me. I also kept expecting some kind of surprise twist about what was REALLY going on, because it was pretty bland and simple overall. This makes it all the more unrealistic that the police can't figure out who really did it and need Molly to lead them to the bad guys. Even the brilliant ex-MI-5 agent needs Molly to tell him that they should keep a discovery a secret, so as not to alert the bad guys to the discovery (after which Molly proceeds to tell everyone she knows about it).

In the end, what I did like about the first book didn't give me as much enjoyment this time. Everyone that Molly likes is almost too perfect (especially her boyfriend), and the few people she doesn't like are mostly alike in their flaws and are thrown under the bus. The descriptions of every meal or snack eaten and every outfit worn dragged the story down for me. I am confident in saying that there are a lot of people who will enjoy the setting, characters, and mystery in this book/series more than I do, but for me, it's over.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me a copy of this book to review.

When American Molly Kimball and her recently widowed British mother move to Cambridge to take over the running of a bookstore that's been in their family for generations, the last thing they expect is to get caught up in a murder investigation. But within days of their arrival, someone dies near the bookstore, and Molly's great aunt, who invited them to England, is the prime suspect. Now, amidst trying to help the bookstore get back on its feet, learning about and meeting members of her previously estranged family, and getting to know the good-looking guy who works next door, Molly is determined to clear her aunt's name.

Overall, the book was decent. The plot drags in some places, and the mystery seems a little watered-down to me, which is certainly not what you want in a book from this genre. I liked most of the characters, though Molly herself is sort of "meh," in my opinion. The bookstore and the community around it were a lot of fun to read about. Aunt Violet's friends are a little on the bizarre side, and I had a difficult time pinning down what age anyone was supposed to be. I can figure it out with some math, but a lot of the characters act similarly to each other, so it was difficult to imagine age differences between some who I assume should have been in different generations.

I don't go into a cozy mystery expecting to figure out whodunit by the end, though that doesn't stop me from speculating. I have a tendency to take things at face value and get too caught up in the red herrings. The resolution to this mystery wasn't a total surprise to me, though, even while I didn't expect it to go that way simply because it felt so bland. The resolution to the mystery and motivation behind it seemed weak, like much more effort went into setting up this location and cast of characters for future stories than into making the mystery interesting. That's my opinion, however, and it's not enough to keep me from being interested in the continuation of this new series, due to how much I liked the setting and characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me a copy of this book to review.

Molly Kimball is settling well into her new life as a part-owner of a Cambridge bookstore that has been in her family for generations. Her new boyfriend Kieran's noble family has hired her to update the catalog for their family library and Molly is looking forward to seeing what treasures the collection holds.

She does know that the family holds the original manuscript for A Fatal Folio by Selwyn Scott - a pseudonymous member of the family. The story is a gem of Gothic literature and will be featured at the conference on Gothic literature to be held at the home and organized by Kieran's cousin Oliver who is hoping to use the conference to cement his promotion to full professor at his Cambridge college. But complaints by Thad, one of his graduate students, threatens to scuttle his chances.

When Molly, Kieran and some of their friends stumble onto Thad's body while going to a meet-up with Oliver, Molly gets involved in the case. Kieran wants her to help clear his cousin's name but Molly isn't quite so sure of his innocence. And then the manuscript of The Fatal Folio is stolen...

Molly is researching the identity of Selwyn Scott and discovers that there might be a second manuscript by Selwyn Scott. She's hunting for it and for a murderer. She has lots of suspects as she learns that Thad was almost universally disliked.

Interspersed with the modern story is the text of The Fatal Folio which was entertaining. I enjoyed this cozy mystery with its lovely setting and modern and book-loving main character.

Molly Kimble is settling in well at Thomas Marlowe--Manuscripts and Folios in Cambridge. She's making friends and helping revitalize the bookstore. Her latest plan is to host another author event. Iona York is coming out with a new edition of The Strawberry Girls which was a childhood favorite of Molly's.

When she and her Aunt Violet go to confirm the details at Iona's lovely country cottage, they weren't expecting to find a body in the garden. Robin Jones, an old friend of Iona's, wasn't supposed to be there and certainly shouldn't have fallen from the roof which is being re-thatched by Molly's Uncle Chris.

To find out who wanted Robin dead and to clear the names of both her uncle and Iona, Molly decides to look into things. She discovers a web of interrelationships that might have started with the death of Iona's husband perhaps coincidentally similar to the death of Robin.

Her search leads to an archaeological dig on nearby land which may lead to Saxon treasure. Iona's daughter, one of the original Strawberry girls, is working on the dig but disappears which adds another thread to the mystery Molly has to solve.

I enjoyed the setting. I also liked Molly's love of literature and especially her love for a favorite childhood book. I enjoyed the way the original story was woven into the mystery. I liked Molly and her family and friends.

Molly Kimball and her mother Nina get a chance to change their lives when they are invited by Nina's aunt to come help run the family bookshop in Cambridge, England. The recently widowed Nina and the soon-to-be unemployed Molly are both eager for the change.

They arrive and find that Thomas Marlow Manuscripts and Folios is in need of a refresh. It has been in Nina's family for hundreds of years by Nina's Aunt Violet is having problems keeping the business going. Violet secured a loan from another cousin but cousin Clive is not putting pressure on Violet to repay the loan or he'll sell the bookshop to a big box bookstore.

Molly has the idea of playing into the Cambridge book festival by hosting a poetry reading by one of Violet's college classmates who has become a famous poet. In fact, the whole college crew has gotten back together including Mytle who is a near neighbor of the bookstore and who was never much liked by any of the group.

When Myrtle is found dead in the garden during the reading, Violet becomes a prime suspect because she was stabbed with one of Violet's pink knitting needles. But many of the other college friends and some of the various neighbors also have reasons to want Myrtle dead.

Molly is determined to find the killer to clear her great-aunt's name. Along the way she uncovers a number of secrets and even solves a very old murder that had been passed off as a suicide.

This was an entertaining story with an intriguing set of characters. I liked the budding romance with bike shop owner Kieran. I also like Molly's new adopted cat Puck. Fans of cozies will enjoy this story which has it all: great setting, cute pets, and a new romance along with an entertaining mystery.

I loved this cozy mystery in England chock full of books, a cute boy neighbor and a couple of cats. And I didn’t solve the mystery before the reveal so it was a delightful surprise. I am for sure interested in reading the next installment.

When an expectant mother arrives at Mercy Hospital in search of her missing husband, Evelyn and her friends agree to help her find him. There one clue is a postcard depicting the Mercy Angel statur telling the soon-to-be mother that her FBI agent husband was in Charleston recently.

Another book in a delightful antique shop series .

Another delightful Antique Shop mystery . Maggie and friends work to find the killer of the host of a show looking to salvage gold from the “Abigail”, a ship belonging to an ancestor falsely accused of betraying his country .

A Bakehouse Mysteries book; Annie's Fiction

The Treacherous Tale by Elizabeth Penney is a 2022 St. Martin’s Press publication.

Molly is settling into her home in Cambridge, England, learning the lingo, running the family bookshop, and enjoying a romance with a member of royalty, who lives a low-key life running a bike shop.

She has also discovered a children’s classic called ‘The Strawberry Girls’. As it happens, the author of the book, Iona York, lives in Cambridge, and is an old acquaintance of Molly’s mother.

Iona agrees to do a reading at the bookshop in celebration of a new reissue of the book.

Unfortunately, while visiting Iona, Molly discovers a dead body. At first glance it looks like the man may have fallen from the roof, but it seems too big of a coincidence that Iona’s husband died the same way.

To complicate matters even more, Poppy, one of Iona’s daughters went missing at the same time, and it’s beginning to look as if she too could have been a victim of foul play.

Her sister, Rose, has asked Molly to help locate Poppy- which will give her another chance to practice her newly acquired sleuthing skills…

At first this second chapter in the series, seemed to stall. The charm of the bookstore setting wasn’t there, and was simply a backdrop. Molly occasionally entertained some pretty silly motives for the murder, which is a cozy mystery pet peeve of mine, sometimes.

But I’m going to put the blame on myself and my own impatience because it didn’t take long for the plot to start taking shape.

Once the story started to gel, I was completely engaged. I loved the excerpts of the children’s story and enjoyed looking for hidden clues in the passages- and it was sort of a 'story within a story', and had a fairy-tale quality to it, which was a fun and creative way for the mystery to unfold.

The mystery wasn’t exactly a total whodunit as we know there was a criminal enterprise underway involving valuable antiquities. The big reveal wasn't terribly surprising, though, and occasionally Molly's epiphanies were a bit too convenient, but it didn't really distract from the story.

I still got wrapped up in it, and appreciated the original approach, and think the author did a good job with the execution.

Overall, an enjoyable and rather engrossing cozy mystery. The series is still finding its rhythm a little bit, but shows long-term potential and I will definitely be looking out for book three!

4 stars

The last 6 months since the loss of Derek Kimball have been difficult for his wife, Nina, and daughter Molly. Molly has continued to work as an assistant librarian, but Nina hasn’t written a word of poetry as her husband, a literature professor, was her muse. A letter from Nina’s Aunt Violet has returned the twinkles in her eyes as she asks her daughter if she’d like to move from Vermont to Cambridge, England, and take over the family bookshop. That sparkle begins the adventures of life with Aunt Violet at Thomas Marlowe — Manuscripts & Folios. A homecoming for Nina and for Molly introductions to relatives she’s never met and some she never even knew she had.

I loved this cozy! The storyline weaves relationships between aunt, niece, and great-aunt, mother and daughter, sister and brother, cousins, and friendships, old and new, including a former MI6 agent. As the history of the bookshop unfolds, it highlights family dynamics. Molly’s social media creation of "Poets in the Wild" glitters as it illuminates British poets and historical places of Cambridge.

The mystery began at a poetry reading in a new event room at the bookshop. The suspect list became even longer with the ease of access with multiple doors to the bookshop and living quarters. As part of Molly’s sleuthing, she reads a woman’s diary. The author used the placement of the diary readings very effectively to reveal further insight into the past.

All who love felines, especially those who have introduced a new arrival to their residence, will enjoy the descriptions of Clarence and Puck and as Clarence adopts one of Puck’s habits at mealtimes. Adding the romantic sparks beginning in Molly’s and Nina’s lives and many possibilities for the next adventures in Cambridge. I can’t wait to read more!

In this second installment in the Cambridge Bookshop series, Molly and friends enter a real-life fairy tale to catch several villains! Molly loves working alongside her Mum and Auntie Violet to run the Cambridge bookshop that has been in her family for many years. When Molly and her Mum visit an author who will soon do a reading at the shop, they find more than they bargained for! The dead body they discover in the garden of Strawberry Cottage turns out to be that of a local antiques dealer, and is eerily reminiscent of a similar accidental death decades earlier. An archaeology student (and daughter of the author) goes missing, leading Molly and friends to investigate some shady events that strangely resemble the storyline of a children's book.

I liked the idea of a "story within a story" that parallels the mystery in the main plot. It was fun to reconnect with Molly and her family and friends after reading the first book in the series, although this book can be read as a standalone. The plot moves along quickly and leads the reader down many twisting and turning lanes before the mystery is solved. The Cambridge setting and the Strawberry Cottage descriptions add charm to the story as well. Readers who enjoy a unique and clean mystery novel, without overt violence, strong language, or intimacy will find this an intriguing choice.

I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I would put this closer to 3.5 stars than 3 stars--rating shown may differ depending on whether site allows half star ratings. A friend (CC) sent me the first 10 books from this series after she'd read them. This is the last one I have from this series. I'll miss Watson but I think I'm ready to take a bit of a break from Castleton manner. I didn't like this book as much as I did others from the series. I'm kind of sad to end this part of the series on a lower note.

I did read "The Great Gatsby" for English class but it was years ago. I'm sure I didn't catch all the references.

So . . . if Faith was drafted as Charlotte Jaxon's assistant, who manned the library? In most books of the series, guests are in and out of the library wanting books to read or reference books.

I've heard the publishing world is cutthroat, but I kind of feel like Avis took that to the extreme.½

A friend (CC) gifted me with a number of books from this series. I have found them able to distract me during "nervous" times (such as waiting for a doctor).

I guessed that this one would be about a movie even before I read the blurb. It was nice to see one of Wolfe's siblings.

I like that the series continues on an even keel rather than declining as some do.

3.5 stars (rating shown may differ depending on whether site allows half star ratings. It was closer to the 3.5 than a 4 for me, so I will stick with a 3 or 3.5 rating.

I enjoyed the book and I enjoy reading the series, which a friend (CC) gifted me a number of books from. I have found them able to distract me during nervous times.

I wasn't quite sure what second edition had to do with the storyline, however. As always with this series, the solution to the mystery doesn't appear until the end, so most times, attempting to solve it before then is merely guessing.

I still like Watson.½

3.5 stars (rating shown may vary depending on site): A friend (CC) sent me several of the books in this series. The series is set at Castleton Manor which is billed as a retreat (for bibliophiles, writers, etc.)

Faith Newberry is the new librarian, a position she is offered after her predecessor leaves suddenly.

I liked Faith's cat, Watson. (Be warned, a few of the scenes are from his POV). I was a bit surprised that the Manor is so open to animals being everywhere, including the library.

I found it a bit confusing that Faith realizes a "first edition" is a fake but then nothing is said or done about that for a bit of time.

There are several "mysteries":
*What happened to the previous librarian (Doris)?
*What happened to the rare books?
*What's the truth behind the story of Faith's ancestor and Wolfe's ancestor?½

Chapter and Curse, the first book in the Cambridge Bookshop Mysteries by Elizabeth Penney got a rave review from me. While I still really enjoyed one of the main elements in this cozy, the descriptions of the town and/or food, the other two, the characters and mystery just didn’t have the same wow factor the first book did. But even with this playing a part in my review, it was still so well written that I still give it a high rating and am curious to see if her third book in the series will bounce back.

Once again, the descriptions of the small English town’s beautiful countryside and wonderful shops really makes this book shine.

The characters though, while well developed, just didn’t stand out in any way. George, and his patient ways, was missing for most of the book. Daisy, Molly’s BFF, was mainly there to progress the shopping of a dress to meet Molly’s boyfriend’s rich parents. Sir Jon made a few appearances to help the mystery along.
We did get a lot of new characters though, and they too were well developed…. But the only ones that stood out were because they were so mean, which is fine, but in a cozy mystery I would like more of the characters to stand out because they are quirky or sweet.

As for the mystery, I think most people will have a feel for what’s going on pretty early. I don’t want to say too much about the mystery to keep some of the suspense. It is a bit different than most cozies, which I did enjoy. And while there’s lots of new characters to be suspects, I felt like it made the mystery that much easier to solve.

This is just my opinion. You may love this book. As stated above, it really is well written and this one miss (for me) won’t stop me from reading the next one in the series.

family-dynamics, family, friendship, England, bookseller, amateur-sleuth, murder, murder-investigation, small-business, relationships, relationship-issues, class-consciousness, archeological-dig, famous-author, missing-persons, law-enforcement, falsely accused*****

Excerpts from a children's story is woven through the story of contemporary murder in Cambridge, England. While visiting a famous author who will be having a book signing at their bookstore, Molly and her aunt literally stumble upon the body of a man who fell/was pushed off a roof being thatched by her uncle. And then thing REALLY get complicated. It's a grand cozy with a wide variety of characters, sneaky plot twists, and lots of herrings. LOVED it!
I requested and received a free e-book copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!