Book 32, 2022

Chapter and Curse by Elizabeth Penney

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Just finished reading Chapter and Curse by Elizabeth Penney. It's the first book in the "Cambridge Bookshop" series of cozy mysteries. Story is told in first person point of view by the main character, Molly Kimball.

Molly's job as a librarian is about to become obsolete, and her mother, Nina, is stagnating as well. When Nina's Aunt Violet sends a letter, inviting them to come to Cambridge, England to help run the family's centuries-old bookstore, Molly and her mother jump at the chance. When they arrive, Molly dives right in with setting up a social media presence for the shop, and she is instrumental in getting one of the UK's most beloved poets, Persephone Brightwell, to do a reading during the Cambridge Literary Festival. Everything is going well, until one of Violet's acquaintances is found, murdered in the garden. Since the murder weapon was one of Violet's knitting needles, she becomes a primary suspect in Myrtle's death. Molly can't imagine Violet harming anyone, not even the odious Myrtle. As she begins making friends among the other shopkeepers in the lane, Molly learns that Myrtle had a bad habit of blackmailing anyone she could. Convinced that the key to the murder may lie in the past, specifically when Violet, Myrtle, Persephone, and three other women attended St Hildegard's together, Molly begins to dig into their history. When she gets too close to the truth, it's Molly's life that may be in danger.

This was a delightful story, full of history, books, and cats. Molly is adopted by a stray black cat, which she names Puck, and Violet has a shop cat named Clarence. Romance is in the air, as well, when Molly meets Kieran, and her new friend Daisy takes a shine to Kieran's mate, Tom. Sir Jon seems to have set his cap for Violet, and even Molly's mother appears to have a history with Inspector Sean Ryan. I'd like to say that the story wasn't consumed with Molly's sleuthing, but it seemed any time she was out and about, she found an opportunity to investigate or question. I think I would have liked to see her just enjoying herself.

Favorite lines:
♦ I hated uncomfortable clothing, one reason I rarely dressed up.
♦ "Is there a hoarding show featuring book buyers?"

Lovely story, overall, with an engaging heroine, a yummy love interest (NOT in law enforcement, huzzah!), and a nifty mystery. Four stars.

It won't affect the rating, but since this is a first-in-series, I'm subjecting it to my ( Trope Test )

The score is very even. Good thing I didn't base my rating on this!