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…

Molly has moved from Vermont to the British town of Cambridge with her mother to help her great-aunt run the family’s bookstore.  Her boyfriend Kiernan owns and runs the bicycle shop next door as well as being the second son of an aristocratic British family.  Molly is hired to catalog the contents of the family library and she and Kiernan also begin a search for the true identity of one of Kiernan’s ancestors who wrote a famous Gothic novel, A Fatal Folio.  When the original manuscript is stolen during a conference being held at Kiernan’s family home it seems tied to the murder of a student the night before. Suspects abound including Kiernan’s cousin Oliver. Once again Molly is involved in the search for a murderer.

I really enjoy this series. This time the action in present day is interspersed with the text of the historic A Fatal Folio so this is literally two stories in one book. 

The characters are likable and the setting is wonderful. We have three generations of women running the bookstore and each has a nice, believable, gentleman friend. The auxiliary characters are also likeable and all the character are being fleshed out more with each book.  Molly’s investigating is kept in a believable realm as her curiosity leads her to question people and reach conclusions while also keeping the police apprised of her actions and suspicions.  I suspected the murderer fairly early on but watching Molly come to the same eventual realization was enjoyable. I look forward to the next entry in this series.  Highly recommended. ~~ Stephanie L Bannon

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