This is an awesome gothic suspense/mystery. I read this in one day! It keeps you on your toes as your read and captures your attention from the beginning.

I found #thecurseofpenrythhall by @jessl_armstrong to be an evocative, well-written gothic (for which I am always a sucker) with modern sensibilities. While the first few chapters took me by surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed this page turner set in the 1920s "Cornish countryside." Ruby is a sassy, independent-minded, "scarlet" woman, an outcast (from her family) who finds herself living a rather peaceful life with an older bookseller. A special delivery takes her to Penryth Hall, where a former flame resides with her abusive and philandering husband. Ruby's conflicted about the old flame, there's a murder and a male witch (or "Pellar"), and the townspeople believe in things like curses and omens. Sure hope these adventures will continue for Ruby - I loved her spunk! Terrific story, characters and language.

P.S. Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

A fun gothic mystery for anyone who loves locked-room murder mysteries! Especially with the story taking place in a small town, it’s very easy to get sucked in to the story and become obsessed. Recommend for all mystery and dark academia lovers.

Ruby Vaughn is a young American heiress residing in England with Mr Owen, who also happens to be her employer. While running an errand for him, Ruby is confronted with places and people from her past, alongside a whodunit with a paranormal element. This story is, in essence, a gothic mystery. At the core of this mystery are questions around an old curse, how to stop it, and if it’s responsible for the murders that have taken place and are expected to come.

Ruby is quite the character for her time - plucky, impulsive, insensible, independent. Her story is a bit muddled, and it takes much of the story to really understand her character and the backstory. The relationships in the story are not well developed, from my perspective, and could have used more teasing out.

This isn’t a genre I really dabble in - I love me a good mystery, and I love me a good atmospheric, brooding historical setting - but I often get lost when it comes to the paranormal elements. This book kept my attention, but I felt that overall, it really just scratched the surface of what it could be.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the chance to read and review this ARC!

I very much enjoyed this story, I finished it in a day! The characters are well written, each presenting a certain aura about them immediately and the plot itself leads the reader through every mystery with impressive twists and tension. Ruby is a witty, headstrong character that gives me slight Indiana Jones vibes. I’m excited to see more of her adventures. I’d have loved to see more of her and Ruan’s relationship fleshed out. I also loved the way all conversations of relationships was handled, in that sexual orientation simply wasn’t a fact to be considered. Jess Armstrong creates a fantastic world that leaves you wishing for the next chapter.

I truly enjoyed this story which constantly kept me guessing! Read it in one sitting while on vacation. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

I loved the opposition of science and magic in this book. The main characters Ruby, representing a modern woman of science and knowledge, and Ruan, representing the old ways and the unexplained, come together in perfect balance to solve this mystery. The whole time you are left guessing if the murders are the results of supernatural means, or if there is a scientific explanation. There are enough little hints for the mystery to turn either way, up until the very end when all is revealed. With the existence of the Pellar in play, the supernatural explanation actually gains some traction. Though Ruby argues Ruan's success with healing can boil down to being a gifted physician, combined with a "penchant for parlor tricks", Ruan's uncanny ability to hear Ruby's thoughts is firmly paranormal. These details give the curse some credence. I found this to be a unique and entertaining read.

This book includes the tropes that I adore reading about. The first bit was slow reading for me however after the first few chapters, I became engrossed and really enjoyed the twist at the end as to "who done it". I would enjoy reading more from this author.

A classic whodunit mystery. I loved the gothic writing style of this author and I was hooked from the very beginning! I can say I enjoyed the characters and was invested in what happened to them. Ruby had some of her own personal issues going on alongside the main plot but that just had be guessing even more. My opinion on the killer changed drastically almost every chapter I felt like! I can say that I was surprised at the end which is always a bonus when it comes to a good thriller!

A good ol’ fashioned whodunnit! The Secret Garden meets Knives Out meets Hasbro’s Clue, I had a truly enjoyable time reading this book. It hooks you in right from the start and keeps you wondering who you can really trust! I never did guess who the killer was before the big reveal, so that’s a true sign of a good mystery!

This was a thrilling mystery, woven with gothic atmosphere, romantic longing, folklore, and delightful characters. I was so caught up in the story that the reveal truly caught me by surprise. Once I started reading I truly could not put this book down and it's been on my mind since. Overall a memorable read and one of the best mysteries I'[ve read this year!

The central mystery of the murder of Edward and the possible curse of Penryth Hall is not the only mystery in the book. The main character, Ruby, has some mysteries of her own. Especially when it comes to her relationship with the town's Pellar, Ruan. Much the mystery of Ruby's past and the meaning of the strange connection between the two is left unanswered in this book, which might be to everyone's liking but it is something I enjoyed. It only made me more curious to go back and read sections to see what else I could glean from the text. I'm eager to read the next installment and to follow along on whatever mystery Ruby stumbles upon next!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this e-ARC in return for an honest review.

After the Great War, American heiress Ruby Vaughn made a life for herself running a rare bookstore alongside her octogenarian employer and house mate in Exeter. She’s always avoided dwelling on the past, even before the war, but it always has a way of finding her. When Ruby is forced to deliver a box of books to a folk healer living deep in the Cornish countryside, she is brought back to the one place she swore she’d never return. A more sensible soul would have delivered the package and left without rehashing old wounds. But no one has ever accused Ruby of being sensible. Thus begins her visit to Penryth Hall.

A foreboding fortress, Penryth Hall is home to Ruby’s once dearest friend, Tamsyn, and her husband, Sir Edward Chenowyth. It’s an unsettling place, and after a more unsettling evening, Ruby is eager to depart. But her plans change when Penryth’s bells ring for the first time in thirty years. Edward is dead; he met a gruesome end in the orchard, and with his death brings whispers of a returned curse. It also brings Ruan Kivell, the person whose books brought her to Cornwall, the one the locals call a Pellar, the man they believe can break the curse. Ruby doesn’t believe in curses—or Pellars—but this is Cornwall and to these villagers the curse is anything but lore, and they believe it will soon claim its next victim: Tamsyn.

To protect her friend, Ruby must work alongside the Pellar to find out what really happened in the orchard that night.

Firstly, I'd like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Book, and the author for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so close to a five star for me. I'm a sucker for a good gothic novel. The setting was eerie, the idea of the curse, Penryth Hall, the pellar. It all adds up to a book that I'll love.

Ruby is a great MC. She's mysterious, feisty, and determined. And she's got a cat! I loved watching her relationship with Ruan evolve while almost simultaneously watching her relationship with Tamsyn devolve. It was an interesting dynamic which definitely helped with the plot twist that comes towards the end of the book.

My only complaint with this book is that it doesn't wrap up nicely. It seems to be obviously leading into a sequel or a series. There are so many unanswered questions. I do kind of wish that there wasn't so much left open ended at the end, especially for a first book.

Other than that, it was a great read! I especially recommend if you like books in the gothic genre.

This was such an intriguing cover, leading me to request it immediately. I’m a big fan of Gothic novels, and I was so excited to read this. I ended up really enjoying it. I enjoyed the timeline of World War I, and I also enjoyed the characters themselves. The authors writing style drew me right in. I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys a little historical fiction with a Gothic twist.

rare bookstore, Ruby finds herself delivering books and finding her old childhood friend is also living in the Cornish countryside. Soon though, Ruby finds there’s something strange going on when Tamsyn’s husband is found dead and the locals believe a curse will get her friend next.

Ruby finds herself working with a local sort of witch doctor type, called a seller, to figure out what’s really doing on with the said curse and trying to keep her friend safe. Will they be able to figure it out, or will the “curse” take Tamsyn next?

Truly a delightful and engaging read. I couldn’t put it down and devoured this one quickly. It does not disappoint!

This was absolutely spellbinding. I could not get enough of this page turner. I ate this book up!!! Absolutely perfect!
I just reviewed The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong. #NetGalley
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Such a great traditional and historical mystery! I highly enjoyed it! I would recommend this book as a book for both traditional and historical mystery fans! I will be placing this on my book club's reading list.

Lately these gothic mysteries have been a bit of a miss for me. The concept of a curse and a creepy old manor has a lot of promise. I’ll admit I love the idea of a good old-fashioned thriller set in a historical fiction timeline.

Ruby is introduced to the reader as a kind of fly-by-night American heiress living with an extraordinarily indulgent older gentleman, Mr. Owen. Her background is a bit muddled and not clearly revealed until later in the book. Essentially, she was scandalized in America and was sent abroad. Her parents met untimely deaths and she inherited their vast wealth. As a way to deal with her grief she indulges in drinking, partying, and debauchery as well as serving in the Great War as an ambulance driver. Her history during the Great War is unnecessary to the storyline.

On an errand for Mr. Owen, Ruby reconnects with a childhood friend whom she also served in WWI with. There was a lot of alluding to a romantic relationship between Tamsyn and Ruby, but only from Ruby’s perspective. Upon her arrival in the Cornish countryside, she makes the acquaintance of Ruan Kivall. Ruan is a Pellar, witch, and very respected in his small town. I believe the attempt was to setup a connection and love interest between Ruan and Ruby, but this fell flat. Ruan’s character does not have a lot of depth and he is pretty unlikable for the first half of the story. Besides a forced paranormal link between the two, they do not seem romantically inclined to each other at all.

As Ruby and Ruan investigate the curse and murders, past and present, the story hits a huge slowdown. It does pickup for the last couple chapters where the twist is revealed. Though I found the twist surprising, it was not exhilarating. There were also many other threads, like the White Witch, that were not weaved back into the story.

Ruby is a wayward heiress whose family sent her from America to England. She makes her home with a wealthy fatherly antique bookseller in England. He sends her to deliver some books to a man in the countryside where her friend Tamsyn happens to reside. Tamsyn is Ruby's best friend from childhood until they were young woman driving ambulances in the war. Tamsyn lives at Penryth Hall with her husband Edward and young son Jori. Ruby visits Tamsyn and realizes how unhappy she is in her marriage and how deep her feelings for Tamsyn lie. The man she delivers the books to is the towns "Peller" . The towns healer/witch/ protector. He and Ruby soon learn they have a special bond.. Someone dies and the book is basically a very gothic who dunit .. I enjoyed the fast pace of this book.. It kept me questioning till the end...Are curses real or is it a person? I was surprised till the end. I wish the author would have invested a little more time into the Tamsyn character. I found her so bland and boring and since most of the book was about protecting her and her son, I felt the author should have made me love them. I would like to read another story about Ruby and hopefully her next adventure with the gorgeous Peller. Hint ,. Hint , hint.

The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong is an awesome historical fiction, murder mystery, and overall great book that kept me interested from beginning to end.

I love how this book incorporates so many things: historical fiction, gothic narratives, mystery, and just an overall fun and engaging plot.

The author did a great job with creating a background and location that helped add a shadowy, mysterious, gothic vibe. But, it was balanced well with wit, humor, and excellent characters and dialogue.

Early 20th century Cornwall never seemed so interesting and fun as it did with this book. Ruby is an excellent main character. She is fun, sassy, witty, and carries this murder mystery quite well.

So much fun!

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 12/5/23.