Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Date of publication: December 5th, 2023
Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Gothic, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Historical, Thriller, Suspense, Adult
Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat
Goodreads Synopsis:
An atmospheric gothic mystery that beautifully brings the ancient Cornish countryside to life, Armstrong introduces heroine Ruby Vaughn in her Minotaur Books & Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut, The Curse of Penryth Hall.
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.
First Line:
There are three things a girl wanted after the night I had.
The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong
Important things you need to know about the book:
Pace: The Curse of Penryth Hall had a slow to medium pace.
POV: The Curse of Penryth Hall is told from Ruby’s 1st person POV.
Trigger/Content Warning: The Curse of Penryth Hall has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:
- Death
- Infidelity
- Murder
- Suicide
- Violence
- Blood
- Alcohol
- War
- Gore
- Toxic Relationship
- Grief
- Injury/Injury Detail
- Mental Illness
- Death of a parent
- Death of a sibling
- Pregnancy
- Classism
- Suicide
Sexual Content: The Curse of Penryth Hall has minor sexual content.
Language: There is minor swearing in The Curse of Penryth Hall. There is also language used that people might consider offensive.
Setting: The Curse of Penryth Hall is mainly set in Cornwall. Some scenes are set in Exeter, and some are flashback scenes to Ruby in the United States and France (for The Great War).
Age Range: I recommend The Curse of Penryth Hall to anyone over 16.
Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):
When The Great War ended, Ruby was happy to return to England and work at a bookstore selling rare books. When her roommate (and co-worker) asks her to run a parcel of books to a remote village in Cornwall, Ruby refuses. Initially, Ruby wants to avoid taking the books. Her dear friend (and former lover), Tamsyn lives there with her husband, Lord Edward Chenowyth, in a foreboding manor called Penryth Hall. But she eventually agrees and makes the journey. When she arrives, what she encounters surprises her and piques her interest. Within a day of her arrival, Lord Edward is murdered by what the locals call a curse. According to them, Tamsyn and her son are next. Ruby vows to find Lord Edwards’s killer but is met with resistance from the townspeople and their local Pellar, a handsome man named Ruan Kivell. The closer she gets to the truth, the more the lines between normal and paranormal are blurred. Will Ruby discover who killed Lord Edward and protect Tamsyn? Or will she end up with another causality of the curse?
Main Characters
Ruby Vaughn: I liked Ruby. She was bright, bold, and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. Of course, those traits did get her in trouble at various points in the book. I liked that even though she and Tamsyn were estranged, she was willing to look into Lord Edward’s death and protect Tamsyn (and her son).
Lady Tamsyn Chenowyth: I wasn’t initially sure what to think of her. She still wanted Ruby but was afraid to act on it. But she was a devoted mother. Once I got past my initial dislike of her, I saw her as a woman who was forced to conform to what society wanted from her instead of doing what she wanted. It made me feel a little sad for her because of that.
Ruan Kivell: He was a mystery wrapped in an enigma. It took me forever to realize what a Pellar is (fun fact: a Cornish sorcerer). He did have an otherworldliness about him that made me wonder if what the villagers thought was true. I liked how he dealt with Ruby and how their relationship evolved.
My review:
I am an anomaly in the reading/blogging world. I try not to read and review anything Gothic. The layers that those books have are difficult to discuss. And when I do, I realize I am leaving something important out. I was surprised when I accepted the review request from St. Martin’s Press for the above reasons. I was also surprised that this book was easy to discuss (layers and everything).
The main storyline in The Curse of Penryth Hall centers on Ruby, her investigation into the death of Lord Edward, and the curse that haunts his family. I found the storyline to be well-written. I also loved the layers to this story. Once one was peeled back, another appeared, and another connection was made. I loved that I couldn’t tell if the curse was human-made or supernatural. The author kept that under wraps until the end of the book. Even then, when it was revealed, I still had my doubts.
The storyline with Ruby and Tamsyn, their relationship, and Ruby’s investigation into Lord Edward’s death was interesting. While the author didn’t come out and say that Ruby and Tamsyn were ex-lovers, the behaviors of both cemented my questions. Ruby’s investigation went in circles and, at times, did point to Tamsyn. But, like her, I thought it was too convenient, and I was glad when she decided to press on. Of course, Tamsyn’s behavior didn’t help her with that.
The storyline with Ruby and Ruan Kivell and their investigation into Lord Edward’s death was one of the better storylines I have read this week. I loved how Ruby and Ruan pulled and pushed at each other, but at the same time, there was respect. Their relationship transcended everything in the book, and I looked forward to their interactions. I liked how Ruan’s Pellar status came into play at the end of the book.
The mystery angle of The Curse of Penryth Hall was excellent. I had zero clue who the murderer was, and the author had quite a list of suspects. I was also taken by surprise by the murder weapon. It was mentioned in the middle of the book and brought back up at the end, which surprised me. There was also a twist regarding Lord Edward and heirs. Now, that twist was super convoluted and did confuse me in places. But when the murderer confessed, that person also explained the connection. Which, again, surprised me.
The end of The Curse of Penryth Hall was fantastic. The author wrapped all the storylines in ways that I loved and believed. I was saddened by specific events (including what happened to the murderer and why that person did what they did). I was left with questions about Ruan and Ruby’s relationship and whether it would deepen if the author wrote other books.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Jess Armstrong for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Curse of Penryth Hall. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
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Nice review, Jolie. I don’t read a lot of Gothic stories either, but you have intrigued me with this post.
Thank you!! I hope that you end up reading it!!