Vows and Villainy is the fifth book in Elizabeth Penney's delightful Cambridge Bookshop series set in Cambridge, England, where celebrations are about to commence.

It’s wedding season in Cambridge, and Molly Kimball is thrilled that it's almost time for her best friend's special day. With the help of her boyfriend Kieran Scott, she is determined to be the best maid of honor for Daisy and Tim. Daisy’s heart is set upon a Shakespeare-themed wedding to be held at Hazelhurst House, Kieran’s family’s home. The Scotts are also hosting a Shakespeare troupe for the summer, and the actors have kindly agreed to be part of the festivities.

But all goes awry with the discovery of Sir Nigel Peck, a famous actor with a checkered past and present-day misdeeds, floating dead in the moat with flowers strewn around him, à la Ophelia. When Kieran’s brother Alan becomes a top suspect, Molly and company must investigate to uncover the ugly truth behind this picturesque scene . . . before more bodies pile up.

Can Molly solve the murder before Daisy and Tim say “I do”?

Molly is swamped with wedding preparations for both her friend Daisy and her great-aunt Violet as well as a Shakespeare event on the estate of her aristocratic  boyfriend’s family. As if everyone was not stressed and busy enough, one of the actors is murdered, found floating in the castle moat.  Molly turns some of her focus from wedding prep to murder as she investigates mysterious accidents to the actors and threatening texts to several people, including herself.

This was a quick read with enjoyable characters. For an amateur sleuth, Molly is maybe a bit too eager in her decisions to investigate the murder but her actions never really go too far from just being nosy and putting things together.  There were several viable suspects for the murder and though the culprit made sense the motive was a bit flimsy.

I enjoy the setting and the characters, even those who are not the main focus are fully formed and interesting. I look forward to more entries in this series. Recommended. ~~ Stephanie L Bannon

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