What a joy it is to get in on the ground floor of a brand new series, the first book of which has excellent characters, a unique and fun setting, and an intriguing mystery! Bodies and Battlements by Elizabeth Penney is the first book in such a series.
Penney's main character for this delightful new series, Nora Asquith, is trying to save her family's property, haunted Ravensea Castle, by slowly turning it into a bed and breakfast. When the steep opposition she had to face ends in a murder on the grounds, Nora is afraid the new venture will fail before it truly gets off the ground. The setting is rich in history and beautifully described, the mystery is rife with suspects, the group of supporting characters are likeable and fun, and the book is a page-turner from start to finish.
I look forward to reading more in this series, and am grateful for the ARC of #BodiesandBattlements provided to me through #NetGalley.

Bodies and Battlements, the first book in Elizabeth Penney's new series, is set in Ravensea Castle, a charming bed-and-breakfast in Monkwell, Yorkshire, complete with a friendly resident ghost. Nora Asquith has transformed her family's centuries-old castle into a cozy retreat, but its grand opening takes a turn when a local woman who has opposed the transformation, is found dead in the gardens. Among the guests is Detective Inspector Finlay Cole, who soon finds himself entangled in the mystery alongside Nora and her actress sister, Tamsyn.

Though the story takes time to establish its world and characters, the setting is immersive, and the ghostly presence adds a delightful touch. Sticking with it paid off and the mystery was satisfying, and I can already envision plenty of intriguing stories unfolding in this atmospheric location. I'm excited for the next installment.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

I've enjoyed this author's other books so I was intrigued to try her new series. What drew me was the protagonist was an herbalist. I liked the uniqueness of the profession. While the story started a little slow, it was not enough to deter me from reading on. It does take a bit of time to set u a brand new cozy mystery series. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. You would think with all the mysteries I read I would be better at guessing the identity of the culprit, but sadly not this time.

i enjoyed the book and will look for future installments to add to my reading list.

Delightful! I can't wait to read more in this new series. The Asquith family are an interesting bunch with Nora the herbalist and B&B owner, Tamsyn the actress, and their dad, the vocal historian. During their soft opening of the B&B, Nora finds the body of the most vocal opponent of their enterprise dead in the garden. Uninvited and dead. The Asquiths investigate, as do the police. Fun story with some romance thrown in plus a ghost!

I was excited to see a new cozy mystery series from this author. I have read all the Cambridge bookshop series. This had a unique premise with a haunted castle. I’m looking forward to more in the series.

Murder castle renovation all in one it’s like HGTV in my head! It was beautiful! Who doesn’t love a cozy mystery!!

I always think it's a lot of fun starting a new cozy mystery series. I get to enjoy all the scenery and backstory while watching the characters begin to evolve and the pattern set for the humor (more sneaky than overt). The family has owned the castle for centuries, but money doesn't go so far anymore now that staff actually gets paid, so Nora (and her huge goofy dog) is trying out using it and the outbuildings as a Bed and Breakfast with holiday cottages. It's a good thing that one of their first guests is DI Finley Cole and his beloved pet fluff dog. Some of the other regulars are Nora's disillusioned sister, the scant staff, local residents, and Sir Percival, one of the resident ghosts. The mystery is definitely worth time and already looking forward to the next in series!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Pub Date May 27, 2025 *****review
#BodiesAndBattlements by @elizabethpenneyauthor #RavenseaCastleMysteriesBk1 @stmartinspress @minotaur_books #yorkshire #CozyMystery @goodreads @bookbub #smalltown
@the.storygraph @booksamillion #lawenforcement @barnesandnoble @bookshop_org @bookshop_org_uk #rural #newseries #ghost #seaside #petdogs @librarythingofficial

Thoroughly enjoyable cozy mystery. I enjoyed the personalities of the two sister sleuths and the way the mystery was developed. I Am looking forward to more castle mysteries and now must go back and check out the authors other series:)

This was a great cozy mystery. I loved the castle setting and the overall mystery of this book. This one was a bit slow to get started, but I did enjoy the characters, setting and the paranormal aspects. Overall this was an enjoyable read and an excellent start to a new cozy mystery series.

Thank you to @stmartinspress for the gifted arc.

A nice opening for a cozy mystery series, if a bit more predictable than I would like. Our main character is appealing and I love the whole idea of a family castle on the coast converting to a B&B. I'm holding judgement till the next in the series. Perhaps after getting the characters & setting established, it will grab my interest a bit more.

This is a promising start to a new UK-set series centered on a family trying to make their old family castle into a small B&B. Their soft opening quickly gets overtaken by murder, smuggling, and secret identities. The main characters are likable, and the setting in Yorkshire is well done. A few elements of the mystery itself felt a little quickly thrown together, but still a very enjoyable cozy read with the promise of more to come. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. All views are entirely my own and offered voluntarily.

Bodies and Battlements by Elizabeth Penney is the first in a new series. Nora Asquith and her family have been in residence in their castle for hundreds of years. They are now beginning to convert it to a B&B and are welcoming their first guests. Plans go awry when a local village woman is found dead in the gardens.
This is a breezy cozy mystery with all the expected elements: a nearby, quaint, small village; lots of mostly hidden trails/gardens between outbuildings on the property, smart well behaved cat and dog, castle ghosts, and a detective (and love interest) unexpectedly arriving as a guest just when needed. My favorite part is the setting of a castle by an overlook out to the sea, with a trail down to a beach, and a hidden cave where bootleggers have run their illicit goods in the past. It sounds amazing!
The characters themselves are fine, if a bit formulaic. The mystery wasn’t particularly difficult but did have some red herrings to spice it up. The couple of times that Nora was “in danger” were pretty low stakes but I also appreciate that she let people know where she was going or took someone with her rather than heading straight off blindly into a worrisome situation.
I enjoyed learning about Nora’s herbal bath and body sideline and hope this will be featured more in the series. I’ll look for the next one to see how the relationships between the main characters progress.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC.
3.5 Stars

Nora is ready to open up a bed and breakfast in Ravensea Castle, that has been in her family for generations. Nora has a well-known feud of sorts going on with a local woman named Hilda who has been trying to stop the opening of the bed and breakfast.

After welcoming her first guests, Hilda is found dead on Nora's property and because of the well-known feud they had, Nora is considered the prime suspect. Together with her sister Tamsyn And the castle's ghost sir Percival Nora is determined to prove her innocence and find the true culprit.

This book was so fun. It was full of fun, little twists and turns and all of the characters were so great. I love how the solving of the mystery really became a family affair because at some point even her father gets involved. For a first book in a new cozy mystery series this was such a great setup.

I struggled with this one from the opening lines. The concept is a fun one, but it didn't have a cozy feel and the writing felt oddly formal to me for the cozy mystery genre. I couldn't get into the writing style as a result. This one just wasn't a good fit for me.

4+ stars

This book is a great start to a new series, and the first book I’ve read by the author.

In looking for ways to save her family’s castle, Nora turns the castle into a bed-and-breakfast. Not long after the first guests arrive, Nora find a dead woman in the garden. The victim had caused Nora all sorts of problems, being adamantly opposed to the castle being a B&B.

The mystery kept me guessing and the setting is great. The characters are great too – Nora’s family and castle staff, the hunky detective, and, of course, the castle’s resident ghost.

I very much enjoyed the start to this series and look forward to more of this series.

Bodies and Battlements is the first book in the Ravensea Castle series. It takes place in the village of Montewell in Scotland. Raversea Castle has been in the Asquith family for centuries. Arthur Asquith is the official host of the castle along with his daughters, Nora, Tamsym and son, Will. To keep the castle in the family they have opened it as a B&B. Janet Fagan is the cook and housekeekper. Her husband, Gus takes care of the grounds. Rolf is an English Mastiff dog. Sir Percival is the ghost knight that lives in the castle. They are expecting their first guests; Lorna and Gavin Cargill owners of a high end wine shop, Brian Taylor who is a bird watcher. and Finley Cole and his dog Lady, Father Patrick isthe parish priest. Hilda Dibble and her friend, Sandra Snelling were trouble makers trying to stop Nora from getting the permits needed to open the castle B&B.

Nora owns Castle Apothecary. She makes bath and beauty products as well as selected herbal remedies. Tamsyn is a TV actress with the lead role in Highland Lass. She has come home as her show has been canceled and her boyfriend has gone back to his wife who is pregnant. Will owns Monkwell Mead Honey Wine. The best in England. He lives in a cottage next door to his factory. He has invited the Gargill's for a free weekend hoping to get them to carry his mead. He did this without telling Nora. Hilda and Sandra decided to stay for the welcoming coctail hour but abruptly leaves before she goes into the room. At night when going to her room Lorna is frightened seeing Percival and freaks out. Nora and Tamsym tell her about the ghost and calms her down.

The next day Nora goes into her gardens to do some weeding, etc. Upon entering she sees something in the fountain. it is Hilda Dibble dead. Before she calls the police Finley comes across her and the body while walking his dog. He calls the police. He is a police detective inspector recently moved to this police force and is staying at the castle until his apartment is ready for him. He sends her back to the castle and asks her to not say anything to the other guests but Gavin sees the ambulance so she has to tell the other guests what has happened and that they are not to leave the castle. Shawn Boswell is a stonemason along with his helper, Joe, are outside working on the stone path and overhear everything.

When Nora and Tamsyn are able to leave the castle they go into town so Nora can make her delivery to Tatiana Bower shop owned by her friend, Darby Welsh. They tell Darby what happened and their plan to find out who killed Hilda. Darby tells them that Hilda was one of her best customer. Loved female things. While there Sandra Snelling walks into the shop. She is upset over the death of Hilda and says she knows who killed her = Joe Lumley, the stonemason. He had threatened her. Said he woiuld see her in hell before she got his parole revoked. After leaving the store Nora and Tamsyn go next door to see their friend, Lia Becket who owns The Lazy Mermaid ice cream store along with her husband, Tom.

Arriving home they go into their father's study and see a letter offering a cash deal to buy the castle. Their father was upset about the letter. It was from Patrick Horn who is moored just near their property and is a good friend with Gavin Cargill who is staying with them. At cocktails that night Arthur tells the guests the story of Sir Percival and they find it quite entertaining. Finley tells Nora that his apartment is ready. It is over the ice cream shop.

Walking on the beach with her sister, Nora notices boat marks of a boat pulled ashore in the sand along with foot prints going up the stairs. She takes pictures of the marks and foot prints. They walk into the woods to the chapel. While there they hear foot falls and lock themselves in the chapel. They call Ben to come and get them. They tell him about the boat marks and the foot prints.

Sandra calls them and asks them if they want Hilda's kitten, Primrose. They agree to take the kitten and go to the house to meet Sandra to pick the cat and all her things up. The neighbor, Marvis Boswell comes over and tells them about a young man in trendy clothes banging on Hilda's door yelling "you need to talk to me. You can't hide forever". When they get there they find the house ransacked. Nora calls Finley and he tells them he will be there and not to touch anything. Finley and Constable Emily Burns arrive. While waiting for the police they see a white van with Cargill's Wine Shops on it. They also see pictures on the mantle she sees a picture of Hilda and her sister, Celia at the Horn House for New Year's Eve. They find the back door tampered with. Going home with the kitten in the carrier they are tailed by the white van.

When they get home their father tells them he is being framed for Hilda's death. A policeman had come to the castle that morning telling him they had gotten a tip that he had thrown Hilda out of the castle. He told them that Hilda had come to the castle a few days before the guests came asking for money she wouldn't cause anymore trouble. The stone masons were there and Joe heard the conversation. Because Sandra told the police about Joe he told them about Arthur. Arthur was also on the bluff the day that Hilda was killed. He also told them that Hilda knew Patrick as she and her sister had been at the house. So had Arthur and his wife as they were good friends with Patrick's brother, Dennis. Dennis and Celia had been killed in a car accident that weekend. Patrick inherited everything. The police felt the accident was from going too fast.

Nora and Tamsyn decide they will pretend they are interested in what Patrick has to say about buying their castle. They make arrangements to met with him. This is where the story takes off. There is so much to tell to put on paper with another death, Joe's, kidnaping, smuggling, romance etc. I will leave it to the reader to enjoy to the exciting and surprising ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC.

I was excited for the opportunity to read Bodies and Battlements by Elizabeth Penney. It is her first installment in the Revensea Castle series. The Asquith family has owned the castle and grounds for hundreds of years and are in danger of losing it due to increasing costs to maintain. Turning it into a B&B seems a logical although obvious solution.
The book got off to a bit a slow start for me but did pick up the pace and become quite interesting. I did not immediately warm to the characters but they grew on me as the story developed. I did enjoy Sir Percival and the ghost aspect. I hope to see him play a larger role in upcoming books. And who doesn't love a dog that is more the size of a horse!
Good, entertaining mystery and lots of promise to further develop the characters and the location. I look forward to the next installment!

I received a free DRC through Netgalley. I really enjoyed this book. I would classify it as a cozy mystery, but it wasn't as predictable as a lot of those are. The ghost in the castle and the real life villains made it a fun story to read. I would read more by this author.

Nora Asquith wants to turn her family's Ravensea castle into a successful bed and breakfast. When a local woman is murdered in the garden, things start to fall apart for Nora's dream. Even worse, she's a prime suspect. One of the first guests at the castle is Detective Inspector Finlay Cole. As he begins his investigation, Nora and her sister begin their own sleuthing. They get some hints from the castle ghost, Sir Percival. I enjoyed the humor from Sir Percival, plus the lighthearted and charming tone of the mystery. Add in colorful characters and a twisty plot and you have a winner! Don't miss this one! Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for this advanced reader copy to review.

“Bodies and Battlements” (The Ravensea Castle Series, #1) by Elizabeth Penney
One Sweet Romantic, Cozy Mystery
I got totally caught up in this cozy story with more twists and turns than a bowl of spaghetti. I really did lose total track of time passing because I was so deep into this story. Now is the really hard part about getting drawn into a story; for I am at loose ends: the story ended, and all the people have gone on without me. Will you figure out who is guilty? And what they are guilty of? A truly busy story. Happy Reading ! !