The first in a new cozy mystery series by Elizabeth Penney investigates a suspicious murder in a haunted British castle-turned-bed and breakfast.

Herbalist Nora Asquith is delighted to welcome Ravensea Castle’s first guests to the picturesque village of Monkwell, Yorkshire. After a thousand years of ownership, her family has decided to convert the castle into a bed and breakfast. But when Hilda Dibble, a self-appointed local luminary, is found dead in the knot garden the next morning, Nora’s business is not only at risk—she’s a prime suspect.

Hilda had opposed the hotel plan every step of the way, and although she didn’t succeed in stopping the venture, her disagreements with Nora seem to only further her motive. One of Ravensea’s guests happens to be Detective Inspector Finlay Cole, who is new to the area and now finds himself with a murder case in his lap.

Nora and her actress sister Tamsyn decide to investigate for themselves. They look into the entangled dealings of their newly arrived guests, while also getting hints from Sir Percival, one of the castle ghosts. As they learn, Sir Percival’s tragic death centuries ago sheds light on present-day crimes. Surely they can get to the bottom of this mystery while keeping their new business afloat . . .

Nora Asquith lives in the same castle her family has lived in for over a thousand years but that may come to an end if they don’t up their income. Her plan to turn it into a bed & breakfast is finally coming into fruition despite the vigorous objections of villager Hilda Dibble but that may all come crashing into ruin when Hilda is found dead in the garden when the first guests are in house. Convinced she or her father will be suspects Nora starts and investigation while also finding herself attracted to the new detective inspector in town, Finlay Cole.

The pros - We have a great setting, a haunted castle with a ghost that actually interacts with our characters.  The obligatory cat, then a kitten, a huge goofy dog and the new cop has a rescue dog as well. The characters are pleasant and we want to get to know them better, especially why Fin Cole transferred from London to a small coastal town.  The murderer is not obvious and was not on my radar until just before the reveal.

The cons - They are small ones but a bit distracting. There seem to be some continuity errors or at least ambiguities. What seems to be the next day may or may not be two or three days later. It is not really clear if the whole thing beginning to end takes place over less than the week the guests were to stay or longer. Nora seems overly obsessed, even for a cozy mystery, that she or her dad will be accused when there is no indication that the police suspect either one of them. One big plot twist, which was fairly evident at a certain point, is not really explained - a character is the illegitimate child of a person who died, probably murdered, decades ago but there is no explanation as to why the child was given up for adoption instead of the parents just getting married.

I enjoyed the book, I look forward to more in the series. The author’s other series, The Cambridge Bookshop mysteries, doesn’t have the same, maybe lack of editing, issues so I have high hopes for the next one in this series because the characters are all interesting, even the minor characters. Recommended. ~~ Stephanie L Bannon

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