Dear Fellow Reader,

I was fortunate last week to go to an event at my library where a local author was reading excerpts of some of her books and talking about her process and experiences. If you can ever go to an author event, I urge you to go. First, there is something about the author reading their material that can give it a new spin on their book. They are the voice and sometimes it sounds different from what you hear in your head when you are reading. Also, there are sometimes explanations that go well beyond what you would think. Although this author did talk about how when her books are published, they are no longer hers. The stories become the story that you, the reader, see and it is sometimes different from what the writer sees. This same concept is found in Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Big Magic, where she tells of a woman coming up to her and saying that the book really inspired her to leave her abusive marriage because that is what Elizabeth Gilbert did in her book. But nowhere in the book or real life did Elizabeth Gilbert have an abusive marriage. The lesson is that an author is not responsible for what people read in their book.


Today we are talking about The Fatal Folio, a new book by Elizabeth Penney. Once again, I got caught agreeing to review a book that is not the first in the series. This one happens to be the third in Elizabeth Penney’s Cambridge Bookshop Series. Fortunately, these books do not need to be read in order. Phew!

Molly Kimball is an American living in Cambridge, England, and working in her family bookstore, Thomas Marlowe – Manuscripts and Folios. She has a boyfriend, Kieran Scott, and while she isn’t sure of the future of the relationship, she is sure that she loves his family library. His family hired her to update the catalog of the library. While working in the library, she finds the original manuscript of a Gothic novel entitled The Fatal Folio. The novel has been attributed to Selwyn Scott, but it is widely felt that the name is a pseudonym. But who wrote it?

Kieran’s cousin, Oliver, is a professor who specializes in Gothic literature, and he is eager to review and publish a paper on the mystery regarding the authorship of The Fatal Folio. This would help his cause at work because he is up for a big promotion. That promotion is in jeopardy because a student, Thad, has complained about him.

Later that evening, Molly is celebrating Guy Fawkes with Kieran when they come across a body slumped in the lane. It turns out to be Thad the student and he has been stabbed and dies. Who killed Thad and is there more to this than meets the eye.?

I really enjoyed this book. It is one of the better cozies that I have read lately. There were plenty of twists and turns and enough guilt to go around. Why would someone kill Thad.? Was it Oliver?

Thanks for reading!

This is the third book in a traditional mystery series. A few things that I like about it:

Books/bookstores, academic and literary matters

The English setting in Cambridge

The characters and a bit of romance

The mystery/murder itself and all of the suspects

This time, a newly discovered Gothic manuscript is part of the story. Who was the author? Is he a relative of Molly’s boyfriend?

When a murder occurs on Guy Fawkes night, a professor comes under suspicion. He had given the victim a bad grade and had been threatened by him. This professor is related to (the protagonist and amateur sleuth), Molly’s boyfriend. Is he guilty? There are certainly other suspects.

Readers will feel confident about the case being solved. The fun is in watching events unspool and spending time with the book’s cast of characters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-Minotaur Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

THE FATAL FOLIO by Elizabeth Penney
The Third Cambridge Bookshop Mystery

Gloom and rain have descended on Cambridge, but Molly Kimball is happily ensconced in Hazelhurst House, the stately home of her boyfriend's parents, cataloging their impressive library. It's there she discovers that not only do they own the original manuscript of the popular Gothic novel The Fatal Folio, one of their ancestors wrote it. As another project Molly decides to see if she can determine just which Scott actually wrote the piece. But her literary pursuits are not the only challenges Molly faces. She and her friends stumble across the body of a student who has just been stabbed. While reeling from his death, and wondering if Kieran's cousin had anything to do with it, the manuscript is stolen. Could the crimes be connected?

THE FATAL FOLIO is a great addition to this fantastic series. I love how the story is intertwined with that of The Fatal Folio and how we are able to read that story as well. In fact so many things are deftly interwoven in this mystery, the murder, the theft, literary research, the Gothic literary festival, and relationships. Indeed, it's the relationships that make this book, and series, so much more than just a mystery. The love and friendship between a great cast of characters influences everything and makes the reader more invested in the story.

With Gothic bones THE FATAL FOLIO takes a dreary November and turns it into an atmospheric mystery warmed with the comfort of good friends.

Murder, theft, and rare books - what more could you want in a mystery novel? Molly Kimball, and her friends and family investigate a murder and the theft of rare books in Cambridge, England. Molly is a great FMC and she surrounds herself with a great group of supersleuths. I loved this book and the modern-day mystery—a great addition to the series. Here's to reading the other books in the series. I'm a fan!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

The Fatal Folio is the 3rd in the Cambridge Bookshop Series. I have read all 3 novels, and they do work as stand alone novels. Author Elizabeth Penney creates interesting characters, who seem to grow with each book. The title, The Fatal Folio, describes a gothic manuscript that has been stolen and which will require the protagonist to help locate the manuscript, while also involving several of her friends in solving the mystery. The murder of a local college student, who is not vested in the central characters' lives, is a safe choice by Penney.

Part of what is so attractive about this bookshop series is the Nancy Drew-like format. Readers know that the protagonist Molly and her friends will solve both murder and theft and there will be a happy ending. Cozy mysteries have their own reward and are ideal as a break from grittier murder mysteries. As Molly works to solve both crimes, she reads The Fatal Folio novel, thus creating an embedded narrative. The murderer and thief are mysteries that are easy to solve, and perhaps, rather predictable. But before Penney takes us to the end, she does create a couple of other worthy red herrings to consider.

This is a worthy continuation of the Cambridge Bookshop Series. I want to thank Penney, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

The Fatal Folio is book 3 in The Cambridge Bookshop Series by Elizabeth Penney.
With amazing characters, a delightful setting, and a mystery with plenty of twists and turns, and you've got The Fatal Folio. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to get to the exciting conclusion.
This story is a definite must for cozy mystery fans. I will be buying book one and two, so I can wait for hopefully a fourth book in this series.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book, I would read it again. The title is dead on the subject of the book. I liked the characters, they’re fully formed. The subject of the story is captivating, with the history of the fatal folio mixed in. It was obvious to me who the killer is but I thought it was well concealed til the end. #TheFatalFolio #NetGalley.

Thank you Netgallley, St. Martin, and Elizabeth Penney for this arc!

This was such a perfect fall time cozy mystery! Trying to find the secret identity of the author and then there's the mystery behind the murder too! Fast paced and easy to read!

The Fatal Folio is a modern day gothic novel with a mystery surrounding a death in modern time as well as a mystery surrounding the author of an old gothic novel.
Molly has moved from Vermont to Cambridge and runs a bookshop along with her aunt and her mother. Molly is currently cataloguing the library of her boyfriend’s family at their estate and trying to find who wrote The Fatal Folio under a pseudonym. During a lecture about the old novel, the original book is stolen. Now Molly is looking into a murder and a theft.
This was a fun read for those who enjoy gothic tales. I especially liked that the original story, The Fatal Folio was interspersed throughout the modern story and both stories were very enjoyable. I haven’t read the first two books in this series, but I will be going back and reading those. This does work well as a stand-alone. The mystery had many suspects and the characters are interesting.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC.

Molly Kimball and assorted friends and family members investigate a murder and the theft of rare books in Cambridge (England). If you like rare manuscripts, bookstores, ancient university towns, and libraries, this book is for you. Molly is delightful, as is her boyfriend Kieran, and the supporting characters are interesting and well-developed. The author incorporates scenes from the book of the title, the so-called fatal folio, to add gothic elements to the story. I really enjoyed the scenes taken from the folio in addition to the modern-day mystery. A great addition to the series. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

The third entry in the Cambridge-set series follows Molly, friends, and family as she stumbles into another murder mystery. This one centers on a relative of Molly’s aristocratic boyfriend, one of the University’s colleges, and an old Gothic manuscript. As always with this series, the book is well-written and plotted with great descriptions of the Cambridge setting. In unfailingly want to visit when reading these books. There were a few points where I wondered about Molly’s decision making, but never to the point where it really detracted from the book as a whole. You could read this as a stand-alone but will get more from it if you read the series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A delightful addition to the series which will be just as enjoyable as a standalone! It's Guy Fawkes Night and someone has killed Thad, a student at Cambridge who had been a pest to many. Molly doesn't think Oliver, his tutor (and cousin of her love interest Kieran) was the masked man who did it but who did? Molly, our intrepid American sleuth, has another mystery on her hands- who stole a priceless manuscript- the Fatal Folio- from Kiernan's family library? It's the dual mystery that makes this a more complex read for cozy fans. The characters are believable, the setting (libraries! Cambridge! book stores!) delightful, and the plot just twisty enough. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

The Fatal Folio by Elizabeth Penney is a great cozy mystery that is the third book in The Cambridge Bookshop Series.

I just love this series and have read all three books thus far. While one does not have to read the previous books to follow along, I would highly suggest doing so to truly appreciate the characters and their growth, as well as the storyline, thus far.

A very nice addition to the series.

4/5 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 10/24/23.

I love the Cambridge Bookshop series by Elizabeth Penney! They are a unique cozy mystery featuring a book but done in a different way. Molly Kimball and her mom moved to Cambridge England in the first book in the series. Molly is dating Kieran Scott who is the son of an aristocratic family and Kieran owns the bike shop next to Molly's family's bookshop. Molly is helping the Scotts catalog their impressive library. In The Fatal Folio,the 3rd book in the series, the Scotts own the original book, A Fatal Folio. Molly and her family are reading a copy of it and it is part of the story! Kieran's cousin Oliver, a professor at the local college, is giving a presentation at Kieran's family home. The original A Fatal Folio is stolen! One of the students ends up dead. Molly, Kieran and their friends Daisy and Tim help find clues. The suspects include Oliver, another professor, and several students from the college who all have secrets. It is also Guy Fawkes Night so there are fireworks and costumes. It is fun reading the book along with Molly as the cozy mystery unfolds. This is a really enjoyable cozy mystery with wonderful characters, family, friendship, a little romance and a cozy mystery to keep you guessing! #TheFatalFolio. #TheCambridgeBookshop. #NetGalley. #StMartinsPress

A masked murderer, Gothic ambiance, and a long-lost manuscript add up to a great puzzle in the third Cambridge Bookshop mystery. There's also the theft of a valuable folio which may be tied in to the murder of a Cambridge don on a misty Guy Fawkes night. Molly Kimble juggles solving both crimes between selling books and cataloging her aristocratic boyfriend's family library.

Why you should read it: Great Gothic touches, a search for a long-lost manuscript that is as interesting as the main crimes being solved, characters you want to spend time with, and it's set in Cambridge, with all its wonderful history. It's well-plotted and well-written, and there are enough suspects and clues to keep you guessing. There are bookstores and cats, two things that make a good mystery even better!

Why you might not want to: if you're not a fan of Gothics, there may be a few too many references and settings here for you.

4 out of 5 stars. Recommended.

I received an advance copy from Minotaur Books via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Two novels in one
Ms. Penney's take on academia in England in a cozy is unique. She gives us booksellers, legit and not so, professors, students in all their glory, nice and not so nice, wrapping it up in mystery, one in the tome in the title and the one involving it's disappearance. The story is well crafted and I would recommend it.
I received a NeGalley arc to peruse gratis and offer my opinion in the same.

Some of my favorite cozy mysteries lately are from Elizabeth Penney’s The Cambridge Bookshop series. With a wonderful cast, plenty of literary themes (I mean a large part of the setting is in a bookshop after all), adorable cats, and a story-within-a-story, this series has always had plenty to offer. The same goes for the latest installment called The Fatal Folio.

I had a great time delving into this latest adventure with Molly, her family, her friends, and the new characters as well.

The mystery gets off to a running start with the death of a student from a nearby college. There were plenty of suspects, and each of them had a legitimate motive and the potential means to commit the crime. The set up was pretty solid, and I liked the steady progression of the mystery as it happened alongside a series of gothic literature themed events.

There was some progression with the relationships in the series. There were some steps backward, but it was offset by communication, especially between Molly and Kieran.

The build up to the reveals was quite detailed. It took its time getting there, but I honestly didn’t mind it. Part of the reason was The Fatal Folio, the titular book featured prominently in this mystery. There were plenty of pages dedicated to recounting its story in full, and, honestly, those were some of my favorite scenes in the book. So I was pretty invested in Molly’s sleuthing as well as the story she was reading. However, my only little disappointment was how quickly everything was wrapped up. Other than that, the ultimate explanation was a relatively good conclusion to all that had happened.

Overall, this was another good addition to the series. If you’ve read Chapter and Curse and its sequel, A Treacherous Tale, then I highly recommend The Fatal Folio too.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (St. Martin's Paperbacks) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

This is another story within a story. There is the discovered novel (A Fatal Folio) contained within this mystery.

I enjoyed Molly's mother, Nina, and her Aunt Violet. Her boyfriend Kieran owns a bike shop but his parents are Lord Graham Scott and Lady Asha which intimidates Molly. I like Kieran so far but feel I didn't get to know him much in this, my first outing without reading the previous books.

There are plenty of suspects and I had an inkling of who the killer was. There are plenty of atmospheric touches that I really liked. The killer reveal was quick and over and not very tense. I found this was an enjoyable read.

Rating: Good - A fun read with a lot of atmosphere

If you’re going to commit a murder, do it on a night when mask-wearers abound.

During Guy Fawkes celebrations, student Thad Devine is murdered on the grounds of St. Aelred, one of Cambridge, England’s, oldest and smallest colleges. The prime suspect is Oliver Scott. A professor up for promotion, Scott held a grudge against Devine. Oliver Scott is also cousin to Kieran Scott.
Kieran is Molly Kimble’s boyfriend, and she has a knack for stumbling into murders. Having her boyfriend’s cousin the prime suspect in Devine’s murder isn’t a spot she wants to be in, but here she is.
Before Molly can make any headway on the murder, the priceless manuscript The Fatal Folio is stolen during the Gothic Literature symposium, and Molly finds herself in the middle of mystery #2.
As Molly investigates both cases, the circle of suspects widens beyond Oliver, but not by much. All of Molly’s murder suspects either work for or are students at St. Aelred’s and also have ties to the symposium, meaning not only are they murder suspects, but suspects in the theft of The Final Folio. Will her investigating lead to a murderer? Will she recover the stolen manuscript before it’s sold to the highest bidder on the black market?

My Thoughts
The Final Folio is a quick and easy read. The number of suspects kept me guessing about the murderer’s identity and the murderer’s motivation. Another plus was the inclusion of an old library. Molly was hired to catalogue the library at Hazelhurst House, the Scotts’ ancestral home and that was a definite plus in my book. (Pun intended.) If you like old libraries, rare manuscripts, and murder, then this novel may be for you.


Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for providing a free copy of #TheFatalFolio for review. All opinions are my own.

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.