The Curse of Penryth Hall
1922. While delivering a box of rare books to the Cornish village of Lothlel Green, disgraced American heiress Ruby Vaughn confronts Tamsyn, the best friend and love who abandoned her during the Great War to marry Sir Edward Chenowyth. Seeing her friend has become an anxious young mother and a miserable wife, Ruby isn’t heartbroken when Sir Edward turns up murdered in his own orchard. Ruby is more disturbed by the dream she had that night of being attacked—and fighting back.
With bruises on her throat and a gutted Sir Edward suggesting that the ancient Curse of Penryth Hall has returned, Ruby decides to protect Tamsyn and her son by helping the exasperating Ruan Kivell, the Pellar—the Cornish version of a witch or folk healer—bring a murderer to justice. As mysteries stack up, with a wraith, a witch, a poisoner, and a blackmailer all stirring the pot, old murders and fresh twists come to light. Ruby must not only grapple with old griefs but also new threats to the armor around her guarded heart—not least of which is the Pellar himself.
Armstrong keeps the tension cranked high, and with nasty surprises and tormented memories dotting her days while creepy visions disturb her dreams, poor Ruby doesn’t get a moment of rest. With her sharp humor and prickly determination, however, Ruby is equal to every obstacle. Characters are rounded and distinct, the setting remarkably realized, and the blend of Gothic gloom with rustic charm and war-hardened pragmatism makes a highly palatable formula. The prose style is rhythmic and assured, as long as one doesn’t mind frequent fragments. Fans of Gothic mystery as well as more realistic detective fiction will enjoy this confident debut.
