Murder in the Margins

August 15, 2020
An American transplant investigates the death of a British busybody. It looks as if gothic novelist Penelope Parish may turn out to be a one-hit wonder. After realizing modest but genuine success with The Lady of the Moors, Pen finds herself stymied by writer's block. Fortunately, she's able to parlay her talents into a stint as writer-in-residence at the Open Book bookshop in the village of Upper-Chumley-on-Stoke. She arrives just in time for Worthington Fest, an annual hoo-hah sponsored by Arthur Worthington, the village's resident aristocrat. Unfortunately, the Fest is marred by the discovery of Regina Bosworth's body in the wine cellar of Worthington's castle. To tell the truth, bossy Regina isn't much mourned in Upper-Chumley-on-Stoke. Her husband, Gordon, quickly finds solace in the company of barmaid Daphne Potter while Pen's new friends Gladys Watkins and India Culpepper whisper avidly about the secrets Regina held over the heads of her fellow Chumleyans. It isn't until Charlotte Davenport, Arthur's fiancee, asks for help that Pen decides Regina's murderer really ought to be caught. Charlotte is much envied by the villagers both for her success as a novelist and for her conquest of the village's own duke, who they think should be marrying an English girl (preferably one of their daughters) rather than an upstart Yank. But Pen, who isn't envious, agrees to help her fellow American. Soon the inquisitive writer is probing Regina's past and finding more spice than she's enjoyed at the local takeaway. A lively series debut for an engaging heroine.

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October 1, 2020
Penelope Pen Parish moves from New York City to Upper-Chumley-on-Stoke, outside London, to be writer-in-residence at a bookshop run by a former MI6 agent. She hopes to overcome writer's block and finish her second gothic mystery, but, as she laments to her writer's group, she has her heroine stuck in a TSTL?Too Stupid to Live?situation. In setting up the bookstore's table for a village fair, Pen locks horns with the high-handed Regina Bosworth, chairperson of the fair. Later, the butcher's wife, retrieving more meat pies for sale, finds Regina's body in a cellar freezer. Pen does not set out to investigate, but she is intrigued by what looks like a coded notepad she finds during the post-funeral reception at Regina's house. She dutifully turns the notepad over to the attractive detective, but only after photographing it. As the clues unfold, Pen finds that she herself might be TSTL. This first in a new series, with plenty of supporting characters waiting to be developed, will appeal to fans of Paige Shelton's Scottish Bookshop series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)