1922. Since the Great War, Ruby Vaughn has made a life for herself running a rare bookshop alongside octogenarian Mr Owen. She thought that she had consigned painful memories of Penryth Hall, deep in the Cornish countryside, to the distant past. Returning to the hall, home to a once dear friend, Tamsyn, leads Ruby to cross paths with Tamsyn’s sinister husband, Sir Edward Chenowyth. Desperate to leave, Ruby’s plans are thwarted when Penryth’s bells ring for the first time in thirty years. Edward has been brutally killed in the orchard prompting fears that a dormant curse has been awoken.

The Pellar, Ruan Kivell, is summoned. The locals believe that this unsettling man can break the curse. Sceptical Ruby doesn’t believe in curses or Pellars but to protect her friend, she must work alongside him to find out what really happened that night.

It’s a tricky one when the idea of magic is raised in a murder mystery. One can have something that appears to be magical but has a rational explanation. One can go to the other extreme as well, and fully embrace the magical world. Or you can try and have a bit of both.

And the problem with the “bit of both”  is that it tends to leave aspects of the story unexplained, which never sits that well with me. In a murder mystery, I want to see answers for everything and yet in the Gothic genre, that isn’t something that you get.

Which is a shame, as there is quite a lot to like here, with some interesting character work with Ruth and Ruan, and the setting and lore of Cornwall being a real strength. There is a feel of unreality about the location and the people involved making this an interesting and original setting.

This isn’t really the book for me – I’m not a fan of “real” magic in stories, and, to be honest, the murderer could have done with a few more appearances  – but this book should find the right audience in those that like their whodunnits with romance and mysticism. Take a look at the other stops on the blog tour to see what others thought.

The Curse Of Penryth Hall is out on June 20^th from Allison & Busby. Many thanks for the review e-copy.