Elizabeth Penney

Elizabeth Penney's Chapter and Curse is the first in a brand new cozy series introducing Molly Kimball and set in one of the oldest bookshops in Cambridge, England...

Chapter and Curse

Welcome to the quaint village of Blueberry Cove, Maine, where an expert seamstress turned amateur sleuth is getting measured for murder. . . Iris Buckley is sew ready for a change. After the death of her beloved grandfather, Iris decides to return to her Maine hometown to help out her widowed grandmother, Anne—and bring her online hand-made apron designs to real-time retail life. Her and Anne’s shop, Ruffles & Bows, is set to include all the latest and vintage linen fashions, a studio for sewing groups and classes, and a friendly orange cat. The only thing that they were not planning to have on the property? A skeleton in the basement. Anne recognizes the remains of an old friend, and when a second body shows up in the apron shop—this time their corrupt landlord, whom Anne had been feuding with for decades—she becomes a prime suspect. Now, it’s up to Iris to help clear her name. Enlisting the help of her old high-school crush Ian Stewart who, like certain fabrics, has only gotten better-looking with age and her plucky BFF Madison Morris, Iris must piece together an investigation to find out who the real killer is. . .and find a way to keep her brand-new business from being scrapped in the process.

Hems and Homicide

Faith Newberry's dream job may be morphing into a nightmare. Newly hired as the librarian at the upscale and pet-friendly Castleton Manor literary retreat, Faith sees her move from Boston to the quaint Cape Cod village of Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts, as a boon. But things turn ugly when she discovers that the first edition book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle proudly displayed in the library is a counterfeit and not a very good one at that. Who could have absconded with the real volume? Could it have been the former librarian when she mysteriously disappeared leaving only a cryptic note of resignation? Or has someone else duped the handome heir to the Castleton estate, Wolfe Jaxon? Whichever is the case, it soon becomes clear that someone will stop at nothing to keep her from learning the truth.

A Novel Murder

Foal Me Once

A Treacherous Tale is the second in a charming new cozy series from Elizabeth Penney, set in an English bookshop and following Molly Kimball, who has a habit of bookmarking trouble...

“A cozy mystery that will delight your booklover’s heart and satisfy your hunger for intrigue―and crumpets!” ―Paige Shelton, New York Times bestselling author of the Scottish Bookshop series on Chapter and Curse

Lately, Molly has been feeling that she might have fallen into a fairy tale: she's reinvigorated the family bookshop Thomas Marlowe―Manuscripts and Folios, made friends in her new home of Cambridge, England, and is even developing a bit of a romance with the handsome Kieran―a bike shop owner with a somewhat intimidating family pedigree.

Having recently discovered The Strawberry Girls, a classic children's tale, Molly is thrilled to learn the author, Iona York, lives nearby. But while visiting the famous author at her lovely cottage in nearby Hazelhurst, an old acquaintance of Iona's tumbles off her roof to his death.

Then, when one of Iona’s daughters―an inspiration for the original Strawberry Girls―goes missing, Molly begins to worry this story might be more Brothers Grimm than happily-ever-after. Especially after Molly learns about the mysterious long-ago death of Iona’s husband and co-author of The Strawberry Girls…could past and present crimes be linked? Molly must put the clues together before someone turns this sweet tale sour.

The Cambridge Bookshop Series (The Cambridge Bookshop #2)

Treacherous Tale

Antique shop mysteries 

Pieces from the past

In Elizabeth Penney's Chapter and Curse, Molly Kimball is used to cracking open books . . . but when a poetry reading ends in murder she must use her skills to crack the case. "With its bucolic British setting, engaging heroine, and unsolved murder dating back decades, Elizabeth Penney has penned the perfect cozy."–Ellen Byron, USA Today Bestselling Author Librarian Molly Kimball and her mother, Nina, need a change. So when a letter arrives from Nina’s Aunt Violet in Cambridge, England requesting their help running the family bookshop, they jump at the chance. Thomas Marlowe—Manuscripts and Folios, is one of the oldest bookshops in Cambridge, and—unfortunately—customers can tell. When Molly and Nina arrive, spring has come to Cambridge and the famed Cambridge Literary Festival is underway. Determined to bring much-needed revenue to the bookstore, Molly invites Aunt Violet’s college classmate and famed poet Persephone Brightwell to hold a poetry reading in the shop. But the event ends in disaster when a guest is found dead—with Molly’s great-aunt’s knitting needle used as the murder weapon. While trying to clear Violet and keep the struggling shop afloat, Molly sifts through secrets past and present, untangling a web of blackmail, deceit, and murder.

Safe Harbor

Ellie Alexander

Diane Kelly

Vivien Chien

Donna Andrews

Cate Conte

Carolyn Haines

Ashley Weaver

Ellen Hart

Susan Cox

Jane K. Cleland

Looking for a new cozy series? In the new edition of Cozy Case Files, Minotaur Books compiles the beginnings of eleven charming cozy mysteries publishing in Fall 2020 for free for easy sampling. The tenth edition of Cozy Case Files features the latest cozies by the following authors: Ashley Weaver, Jane K. Cleland, Ellen Hart, Carolyn Haines, Donna Andrews, Ellie Alexander, Cate Conte, Diane Kelly, Elizabeth Penney, Vivien Chien, and Susan Cox. In 1930s England, Amory Ames must sort through secret identities and whirlwind romances to uncover the killer in the crowd in A Deception at Thornecrest. Or in Hidden Treasure and In a Midnight Wood, things from the past shake things up in the present. Christmas is threatened to be canceled in A Garland of Bones, The Gift of the Magpie, and A Whisker of a Doubt. Then after the holidays are over, a murder in the midst of preparation for the town’s annual IceFest means brewer Sloan Krause must serve a pint of hoppy justice in Without a Brew. In Bending the Paw, murder without a body is like a dog without a bone. Need an excuse to order takeout? Thread & Dead and Killer Kung Pao have you covered with a lobster festival or the popular Ho-Lee Noodle House. And finally, San Francisco is calling your name in The Man in the Microwave Oven.

Cozy Case Files, A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 10

Paige Shelton

M. C. Beaton

Looking for a new cozy series? In the new edition of Cozy Case Files, Minotaur Books compiles the beginnings of five charming cozy mysteries starting in December 2019 for free for easy sampling. Travel cross country – and across the ocean – with the latest cozies by the following authors: M.C. Beaton, Vivien Chien, Diane Kelly, Elizabeth Penney, and Paige Shelton. Start in Cleveland in Egg Drop Dead, where a dinner party catered by Ho-Lee Noodle House has deadly consequences. From there pop down to Nashville, where the real estate market is to die for, in Dead in the Doorway. Travel to Maine in series debut Hems & Homicide; this apron shop will have readers on pins and needles! You’ll finish your journey across the pond. In The Stolen Letter, pandemonium ensues in Edinburgh when bookseller Delaney Nichols meets a woman who believes she is Mary, Queen of Scots, reborn. And in Beating About the Bush, Agatha Raisin must investigate a case of industrial espionage at a factory where nothing is quite what it seems.

Cozy Case Files, A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 8

Mariah Fredericks

Looking for a new cozy series? In the new edition of Cozy Case Files, Minotaur Books compiles the beginnings of six charming cozy mysteries publishing in Winter 2021 for free for easy sampling. The eleventh edition of Cozy Case Files features the latest cozies by the following authors: Ellie Alexander, Vivien Chien, Mariah Fredericks, Diane Kelly, Elizabeth Penney, and Paige Shelton. It’s 1914 New York, and a killer is stalking Broadway in Death of a Showman. A treasure hunt through Edinburgh gives way to a search for a villain terrorizing the city in Deadly Editions. It’s the end of a beautiful Maine summer in Bodies and Bows, and apron shop owner Iris Buckley must track down a killer before her best friend is arrested for murder and everything unravels. In Murder with a View, the body of a popular country music singer turns up in Nashville carpenter Whitney Whitaker’s latest real estate investment. Oregon’s favorite bakery Torte’s newest venture - a pop-up ice cream shop - is swirling into a nightmare in Chilled to the Cone. And in Fatal Fried Rice, a delectable cozy set in Cleveland, Ohio, Lana Lee may be next on the chopping block when her cooking class turns deadly and Lana is forced to investigate to clear her name.

Cozy Case Files, A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 11

Hems & Homicide

Liz Eckardt, owner of the Olde Mansion Inn in Pleasant Creek, Indiana plans to make a delicious home-cooked feast for her guests. Residents of the small town eagerly await the pumpkin pie bake-off and the national spotlight it will shine on their town when the event is broadcast on a popular TV show. Mary Ann Berne, Liz's good friend and fellow member of the Material Girls quilting group is expected to win the pie contest, but one of Liz's guests is also a strong contender. With the cameras rolling and everyone in town watching, the judge tastes Mary Ann's pie and collapses to the floor.

Humble Pies and White Lies

In the third in Elizabeth Penney's delightful Cambridge Bookshop series, The Fatal Folio, Molly Kimball is learning that every killer has a story... After moving to Cambridge, England, Molly Kimball has found a lot to love, including—of course—her family’s ancestral bookshop, Thomas Marlowe—Manuscripts and Folios. And though she’s not quite ready to use the “L” word when it comes to her boyfriend Kieran, she’s definitely fallen for his intimidating family’s library. His family is paying her handsomely for an updated catalog when Molly discovers the original manuscript of a Gothic novel, A Fatal Folio by the pseudonymous Selwyn Scott. Kieran’s cousin Oliver, a professor specializing in Gothic literature, is eager to publish a paper on the mystery—especially because a troublesome student, Thad, is threatening to file a complaint against him and prevent his long-awaited promotion. On Guy Fawkes Night, Molly, Kieran, and her friends set out to enjoy the costumes, fireworks, and fun—at least until a stray firework starts a panic, and the group stumbles upon a prone body, their face covered by a mask. It’s Thad, and he’s been stabbed to death. It soon becomes clear Oliver isn’t the only one with a motive, and Molly must once again put on a few masks of her own to sleuth out Thad’s killer, prove Oliver’s innocence, and discover what Selwyn’s novel might have to do with this most atmospheric mystery...

The Cambridge Bookshop Series

The Fatal Folio

In Madrigals and Mayhem, the fourth in Elizabeth Penney's charming Cambridge Bookshop series, Molly Kimball finds that even the holidays can come with a healthy dose of mystery. Molly is eager to experience her first English Christmas with family and friends now that she's adjusted to her move to Cambridge and her restoration of her family’s ancestral bookshop, Thomas Marlowe—Manuscripts and Folios. When local toyshop Pemberly’s Emporium reopens, Molly is excited to meet the new owner, Charlotte Pemberly, who is determined to make the toy store a success after unexpectedly becoming her grandfather Arthur’s sole heir. Arthur's new wife Althea Winters and her unpleasant family loathe Charlotte for inheriting what they believe was theirs and have set their sights on a valuable Madame Alexander doll that's gone missing. When Althea's grandson is poisoned by cakes from Tea & Crumpets, Charlotte becomes the top suspect. Molly believes Charlotte was the intended victim and investigates the Pemberly’s home, only to discover that Arthur had been murdered. To get closer to this treacherous family, Molly and her boyfriend Kieran go undercover by volunteering to act and sing for a madrigal dinner directed by Althea and her daughter at St. Hildegard’s College. Molly must help her new friend clear her name while searching for the missing doll and wrangling her own family during the chaotic holiday festivities at the bookshop.

Madrigals and Mayhem

R.W. Green

Mindy Quigley

Korina Moss

Looking for a new cozy series? In the new edition of Cozy Case Files, Minotaur Books compiles the beginnings of seven charming cozy mysteries publishing in Fall 2022 for free for easy sampling. The sixteenth edition of Cozy Case Files features cozies by the following authors: Diane Kelly, Mindy Quigley, Korina Moss, Elizabeth Penney, M. C. Beaton with R. W. Green, Carolyn Haines, and Donna Andrews. Ready for your cozy-themed Fall vacation? Hit the road and head to the Blue Ridge Mountains in A Trip with Trouble, where life in the fast lane could end in a crash. Forgot your snacks? Check out Six Feet Deep Dish and the perfect recipe for a delicious first entry to a series: Fresh mozzarella, tangy tomato sauce, and murder. Double down on the cheese in Gone for Gouda, where things are going from gouda to bad to ugly for the local cheesemonger. Fancy a trip across the pond? In A Treacherous Tale, visit an English bookshop with a habit of bookmarking trouble. Or tag along in Devil’s Delight, where there’s a dead body... if Agatha Raisin can find it before she’s the next one to disappear. Love Christmas? In Bones of Holly, a library decorating contest leads to a deep dive into the history of Bay St. Louis and Al Capone. Finish the season in Dashing Through the Snowbirds. Can Meg Langslow crack the case in time to keep the Yuletide bright?

A Cozy Mystery Sampler

Cozy Case Files, Volume 16

Join Emma Cotton, Kelly Grace, and the members of the Nimble Thimbles quilting group in the quaint seaside town of Mystic Harbor, Massachusetts, as they piece together new clues found in an old quilt that could help solve the mystery surrounding the death of their dear friend Rose fifteen years ago.

A Deadly Pattern

Nantucket is a place for the stars when the yearly film festival comes to town. As the festival’s volunteer coordinator, bookshop owner Meagan Poe works hard to make sure each event runs smoothly. She’s so busy preparing for it all that she has little time to think clearly, let alone wonder why Luke Harris, the attorney next door, is hanging around so much, trying to grab her attention. Meanwhile, Avery Sheridan’s niece Eliza comes to visit for the summer. She’s awhirl with questions as she tries to navigate her uncertain future. While working part-time around the island, jewels from a robbery fifty years old are discovered at one of Eliza’s job sites. It’s not long before she is swept up in one of Nantucket’s greatest unsolved mysteries. - publisher website

Reading the Stars

Celeste Connally

Looking for a new cozy series? In the new edition of Cozy Case Files, Minotaur Books compiles the beginnings of eight charming cozy mysteries publishing in Fall 2023 for free for easy sampling. The nineteenth edition of Cozy Case Files features cozies from the following authors: Ellie Alexander, Donna Andrews, M.C. Beaton with R.W. Green, Cate Conte, Celeste Connally, Diane Kelly, Korina Moss, and Elizabeth Penney. Check out the historical series debut Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord, it’s Bridgerton meets Agatha Christie. Find out what in the bleu blazes is happening in Case of the Bleus. Or discover if an arrow really did go astray in Dead on Target. Who doesn’t love a good holiday? Don’t be a scaredy cat around Halloween and read Nine Lives and Alibis. Or double, double, toil and truffle in Catch Me if You Candy. Celebrate Guy Fawkes Night across the pond in The Fatal Folio. A fire and a hot beverage make the perfect pairing for these Christmas mysteries: Snow Place for Murder and Let it Crow! Let it Crow! Let it Crow!

Elizabeth Penney

Books

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