I made my way through this story very quickly. If you know me, I love books that take me to other lands, whether real or fictional.

This is a tale of a woman who, very set in her ways, works in a bookstore with her employer who feels like her father figure. She goes off to deliver some seemingly harmless books to a village where her old dearest friend now resides. What starts as a quick errand becomes much more complicated as a body turns up. All believe the curse has befallen the village once more…

I really enjoyed being taken to the Cornish countryside with these characters and tale. The landscape was quite clear in my mind with the descriptions from the book. I could feel the breeze and storm, smell the grass and dirt and feel the uneven road beneath my feet. It was such a quaint and cozy place that I could see it be a nice little getaway (save for the murder).

I really love the take on curses and old folklore/beliefs of the village folk and peller. I have always held interest in different remedies and traditions of different cultures.

I also enjoyed the banter/relationship between the main characters, Ruby and Ruan, and feel like I want to know what comes next for these two. Is there a sequel/series in the works? If so, I would like to follow along on the next case.

Thank you so much to the author, Jess Armstrong, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the arc audiobook of The Curse of Penryth Hall!

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur, Dreamscape Media and Jess Armstrong for an audio arc of The Curse of Penryth Hall in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis quote & review below.

"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."

I want to start by saying that I enjoyed this story WAY more than I anticipated I would, which was a fabulous surprise. I love the gothic atmospheric vibe. I was in the dark until the very end of the "whodunit."

I absolutely LOVED the chemistry between Ruby & Ruann. The writing was wonderful and kept me interested the entire time. At no time did I find myself bored. I adore these types of gothic mysteries. The pacing was also perfect.

I really enjoyed how the mystery had an ending but that the ending between Ruby and Ruann was left someone open, which I REALLY hope was a hint at future novels following this duo solving more mysteries!

Solid 4.5 Star Read