A review by lastblossom
The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong

adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
A murder mystery dressed up like a gothic novel with a fun, but complicated lead.

Thoughts
Like many gothic novels, this book features a sad, willowy lady in an old mansion that may or may not be cursed. However, this sad lady is not the lead. Rather, our MC is the sad lady's bold, pragmatic friend (and ex-lover), determined to prove there's no such thing as a curse. And honestly? I'm here for it. Ruby's a fun lead, part unruly rebel, part academic thinker. She's got am messy history she'd rather not think about, but she also uses it to propel herself forward into new things. She fits into the genre, but doesn't give herself over to it, and instead we get a nice balance of gothic atmosphere and some solid mystery solving. There are clues to find, and witnesses to interview and a tangle of history to pull at. The middle slows down a bit along with the mystery, with maybe just a few too many people for me to keep track of, but the ending still clicked neatly into place. There's a light smattering of romance here, but it's secondary to the mystery. A good read, owing mostly to how interesting the main character is. It appears she'll be solving more mysteries in the future, and I look forward to reading them.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for a review copy. All thoughts in this review are my own!
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