Chapter and Curse

Molly Kimball and her mother, Nina relocate to Cambridge, England after receiving a letter from Nina’s Aunt Violet Marlowe. Violet needs help getting the bookshop back in the black. During a poetry reading at the shop during the Cambridge Literary Festival, a local woman is murdered using Aunt Violet’s knitting needle. Molly with help from some new friends works to prove Aunt Violet’s innocence. Chapter and Curse by Elizabeth Penney is the debut of The Cambridge Bookshop Series. Elizabeth Penney captured Cambridge with the vivid descriptions. I could envision the beautiful old buildings of the area. The author created some great characters that live within a cozy community. Molly is a smart woman who loves books. She has great ideas for revitalizing the bookstore. I like Nina, Molly’s mother. I think she needed a change to help her recover from the death of her husband. Aunt Violet, George, Daisy, Sir John, Kiernan, and the other people living on Magpie Lane are charming. They are a friendly bunch who are welcoming. The mystery was well-plotted. We get to follow Molly as she conducts her investigation (you feel like you are in her shoes). There are breadcrumbs for readers to follow to help them solve the crime. I like how the mystery was laid out. The reveal was unique and entertaining. All the details regarding the whodunit were wrapped up so I was not left with lingering questions. I thought Chapter and Curse was well-written with slower pacing. I loved the book descriptions (like Molly, I love books) and meeting Puck. There is some romance in the book as well. I enjoyed my visit to Cambridge, and I look forward to returning in the next book. Chapter and Curse is a charming English cozy mystery with a precious Puck, an abating bookshop, a deadly poetry reading, a purloined knitting needle, a crafty cousin, good pub grub, and stealthy sleuthing.

England, family, family-dynamics, friendship, relatives, relationships, small-business, murder, murder-investigation, amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement, secrets, extortion***** A beautiful historic bookshop in Cambridge, greedy relatives, nice neighbors, new friends, and murder. The publisher's blurb is a fine hook and I don't need to recap (and spoilers are just wrong). It's a grand cozy with a wide variety of characters, sneaky plot twists, and lots of herrings. I'm really pleased to find a new series by an author I like. A really nice cozy! LOVED it! I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!