This atmospheric gothic mystery skillfully brings the sometimes mysterious and dark Cornish countryside effectively to life, Jess Armstrong has created a new heroine, Ruby Vaughn, in this Minotaur Books & Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut, The Curse of Penryth Hall features murder, an ancient curse, a gutsy heroine, and the seventh son of a seventh son who specializes healing and herbs. Mix vigorously and you've got a terrific page-turner. Looking forward to the next Ruby Vaughn sdventure!

Ahhhh, the Cornish countryside peaceful and quiet, until the bells ring…and the curse is alive again. Ruby of questionable background finds the mystery of the house Fascinating. Can she solve the curse in time to save Jodi? Read it you won’t be disappointed. It’s fun, it’s scary and down right mid evil.

Ruby visits an old friend and stumbles upon a longtime curse that leads to murder. Along with a local witch, she resolves to find out what happened. Ruby is a fun character that was easy to love. It was a good mystery too!

My thoughts…
The writing was strong overall, it was compelling and moved the plot forward.
LGBTQIA+ (although it wasn’t clear on how the two characters were both bi…nor did it really touch on the ways society at the time looked on sapphic romance).
Interesting characters with mixed beliefs, made them seem multi dimensional and more believable.
A lot of this felt like a second book in a series, in that it didn’t feel fleshed out or fully explained (the relationship between Tamsyn and Ruby, how Mr Owen adopted Ruby, how Ruby found Tamsyn in the first place, the timeline of Ruby’s backstory…)

Also, why did so many people call Ruby maid and my lover?!?? This grated in me. Is this a Cornish thing? It should be explained.
What’s the purpose of building up the romance between Ruby and Ruan only to dismiss it at the end after the kiss?
What was so magical about Ruby? How did they find out that she shared a birthday with Ruan? Are we meant to think you are magically connected to anyone with your same birthday? Or was the Pellar’s birthday special?
The town and the story seem very accepting of prostitution and children borne out of wedlock. But also very superstitious. There are a lot of modern ideas superimposed on the past. The book seems to flounder here…it doesn’t know what it is. Is it magic? Or science? Is being gay just a regular thing (with limited consequences or not?) What type of book is it trying to be?

I would read another by this author. But I hope the tone gets figured out. I am not sure what the book is trying to say.

This is one of those books where the main character could make it or break it, and Ruby Vaughn makes this story come to life. Between her, a seventh son of a seventh son who happens to know exactly how to get into her head, and a cat that always seems to be right where it is needed, Jess Armstrong guides the reader through a twisted and tangled Gothic mystery that includes adultery, attacks, a man of the church, a best friend who was once more, and a string of murders attributed to an old curse. The main character's wit, recklessness, and ability to own her own mistakes keep the reader interested and entertained. The first few chapters are a little slow, but once the plot picks up, it doesn't slow down as it weaves and twists and turns to an ending that is deliciously unsatisfying, even after all of the loose ends are tied up. I will be checking to see if Ruby's adventures continue!

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur books for this ARC!

This book is quite different from the mysteries I've read. It's about Ruby, who is now running a bookstore after the end of the great war. She finds herself in the countryside and ends up at Penryth Hall, a place that has old memories which she promised she would never bring back up. When she gets there, everyone talks about an old cure returning after the death of her best friend's husband, Ruby doesn't believe in curses, so the rest of the book is about her investigating and working with others to figure out whats happening in Penryth Hall.

I wasn't expecting this book to be historical, but it worked well, especially with the gothic, creepy vibe and atmosphere of this story. This was a unique world, and I liked Ruby and her role in solving the mystery. I do think that the plot was very slow-paced for me, and it took me a while to get into the mystery aspect. Despite the slowness, I enjoyed the characters, the found family aspect, and that this book kept me guessing about the mystery aspect.

Thank you, St. Martins Press and Netgalley, for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5/5

Where do I start. First off, I wasn’t sure if I would like the book when I started it. But wow..wow wow. This book caught me and brought me in. I could not stop reading it. The twists the turns. The crazy different characters. The love stories. The dislike of certain people. It kept me going. I so hope for more by Jess Armstrong. I will read everything that is put out. Thank you for all one to read and review your book. It just made me happy. Crazy maybe but so good

Atmospheric but slow-moving mystery set in the Cornish countryside. Ruby, the lead character, is sent on a mission to deliver books in a community where a close friend lives. When visiting the friend, the woman's husband is killed and it seems that everyone in the community has a motive. Superstition rules the region and plays a part in the proceedings. The usual twists and turns and the outcome is not a predictable one.

A quick read gothic mystery, this book held my interest well. I loved the atmosphere and characters (Ruby was such a strong lead!). The historic setting and town were well done, and the folklore felt authentic. I look forward to a reread come fall, cozied up with some tea and a storm. It's a perfect fit for the season!

2.5 The premise of this soo excited me, but I ended up struggling with a lot of elements. I did love the historical/gothic setting of the house and grounds, I'm always up for a curse-element, and there was a twist I hadn't expected. The plot was slow moving for me and at points seemed repetitive when the main character, Ruby, would investigate, get hurt, and have to be saved by Ruan. Ruan's role as a Pellar left me confused and didn't fit into what I wanted in the story. Neither of the main characters were overly likable for me and their relationship seemed forced. At parts I felt like I missed a backstory to the characters or history of the house which lost me a few time but later on I would put it together like "Oh, that explains it". While I struggled with some elements, I can see others really enjoying it. Thanks for the publisher for sending me a review copy!

4.5⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved this read! It had a gothic atmosphere that I like, Agatha Christie vibes, found family, and great world building. Ruby reminds me a lot of the main character Phryne Fisher in “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” - a wonderful Australian tv show. A female crime solver with lots of moxy! I would love for Ruby to have a series where she solves crimes! I would pick up another book in a heartbeat!

A gothic manor murder mystery. A woman delivers a box of books and meets up with her old friend whose husband is found dead in the orchard.

This cover drew me right in and I was so excited to read. I had a good time reading this. I was surprised to see it was a debut? And cant wait to see what else this author publishes! This stories setting and mystery will make for a perfect fall read! Be sure to push it to the top of your TBRS!

This was a quick read and the mystery had me guessing until the end. The story was interesting and I liked the time period the book was set in. Loved how they played the fear of curses of the time period against what people are capable of doing to each other.

Thank you to St. Martins press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review,

This was a very atmospheric mystery in its descriptions, especially of the titular Penryth Hall which was appropriately creepy. There was a lot of time spent with building the characters and there was almost a found family feel to relationship which added a nice lightness. I would not categorize this as thrilling mystery, there were definitely thrilling moments and twists throughout to keep you guessing. At times this almost felt like cozy mystery especially with building of the small town where Penryth Hall is located and all the meddling townsfolk. There is also a touch of some sort of supernatural to two of the characters that I found interesting but it wasn’t fully explained and I wish that was clarified. In the end I enjoyed this mystery and found myself want to spend more time with the characters and would love to visit them again.

I found this book a little hard to get into. It did get better. The title and description drew me in to begin with. The characters were believable but it took awhile to gather enough of their back story to have an idea of who they were. Ruby sets out to deliver books to a man in the Cornish countryside and visits an old friend while there,only to find herself involved in a gruesome murder. Ruby must work with Ruan, the village Pellar,to solve the murder and prove that there is no curse ready to also take the life of both her friend and her young son.

The Curse of Penryth Hall is a fun romp through the Cornish countryside post WW1. Ruby Vaughan, after a harrowing stint in the war, has found herself at home in Exeter with an elderly gentleman who is a comforting acting father, and coincidentally her employer. Ruby is a modern young woman who is exceedingly wealthy as well as unconventional. When Ruby undertakes a seemingly simple assignment to deliver a box of books to her old haunt in Cornwall, she finds herself reconnecting with her dear friend Tamsyn in her ancestral home, against her better judgement. But strange happenings seem to accompany Ruby wherever she goes and when Tamsyn's husband, Sir Chenowyth, turns of dead, Ruby is compelled to investigate, somewhat to the chagrin of Ruan, the local healer (also referred to as a Pellar, whatever that is!). The connection between Ruby and Ruan is instant, but is it good? As sightings of ghosts abound, the search for Sir Chenowyth's killer gets stranger and stranger, and Ruby herself becomes a target, but of who? And why?

The book is engaging, leading the reader hither and yon in a quest to figure out who dunnit. Was it Tamsyn? Mrs. Pembroke, the trusty housekeeper? The vicar, a real sleazeball? Or is it the Curse which has plagued the village for generations? Hugely entertaining, The Curse of Penryth Hall is a real page turner, one you won't be able to put down until you've reached the end!

The story is good. I feel like the mystery side of it was well thought out, but the scene was never really set? I feel like the scene could have happened anywhere because we never really get a feel of them being in Cornwall. It just lacked imagery.. They could have been on a deserted island and the story would have remained the same.

"The Curse of Penryth Hall" by Jess Armstrong is a gripping gothic mystery with atmospheric settings. However, the pacing could be uneven at times.

I really enjoyed the plot and the female main character - Ruby. It was a good read, however, I did have some issues with it. There were definitely some plot holes in the storyline that I just couldn’t make sense of. I also feel like there were a lot of grammatical errors (but hopefully those will get ironed out before the official release).