Chapter and Curse cover art

Chapter and Curse

Cambridge Bookshop Series, Book 1

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Chapter and Curse

By: Elizabeth Penney
Narrated by: Henrietta Meire
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

In Elizabeth Penney's Chapter and Curse, Molly Kimball is used to cracking open books...but when a poetry reading ends in murder, she must use her skills to crack the case.

Librarian Molly Kimball and her mother, Nina, need a change. So when a letter arrives from Nina's Aunt Violet in Cambridge, England, requesting their help running the family bookshop, they jump at the chance.

Thomas Marlowe - Manuscripts and Folios, is one of the oldest bookshops in Cambridge, and - unfortunately - customers can tell. When Molly and Nina arrive, spring has come to Cambridge and the famed Cambridge Literary Festival is underway. Determined to bring much-needed revenue to the bookstore, Molly invites Aunt Violet's college classmate and famed poet Persephone Brightwell to hold a poetry reading in the shop. But the event ends in disaster when a guest is found dead - with Molly's great-aunt's knitting needle used as the murder weapon. While trying to clear Violet and keep the struggling shop afloat, Molly sifts through secrets past and present, untangling a web of blackmail, deceit, and murder.

©2021 Elizabeth Penney (P)2021 Tantor Cosy Mystery Crime Murder Fiction Suspense

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Hems and Homicide cover art
Bodies, Baddies, and a Crabby Tabby: A Bliss Bay Cozy Mystery cover art
The Bodies in the Library cover art
Wine and Punishment cover art
The Reverend Annabelle Dixon Cozy Mysteries: Books 1-4 cover art
Mabel Gets the Ax cover art
Purrs and Peril cover art
The Secret, Book & Scone Society cover art
The Kensington Kidnap cover art
Sugar Shack Witch Mysteries Boxed Set cover art
The Murder Mystery cover art
Elementary, She Read cover art
Pushing Up Daisies cover art
Curiosity Thrilled the Cat cover art
A Date to Die For cover art
A Very English Murder cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
I enjoyed this story but was so frustrated and distracted by how unrealistic it was in its depiction of life and particularly the class system in 21st century England - never mind the assumptions about the 60s - there wouldn’t have been electric kettles or teabags then!. I’m depressed by how this strange image of England starting with misplaced perceptions of the regency era in Bridgerton and coming right up to date with books like this are becoming all too common. A great story but too many incorrect details that jar with the people who live in these places.

Bridgerton comes to Cambridge

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great read. The plot line was interesting and the story carried through to the end. The story had it all, mystery, intrigue, mild love interest, nostalgia and a general feel good factor with a Keystone Cops moment towards the end. It would make a great TV film or series. There is also a mistake in the text of transatlantic origin, see if you can spot it. So you get 2 for 1 with this book.

Well worth the credit

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
it was very descriptive, I felt that I was actually in Cambridge amongst accedemia and all the historical buildings and the murders themselves.
I enjoyed this book. because it was so descriptive, I thought the narrator was excellent.

Descriptive

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Friendly main characters, old and new mysteries, a little romance - all set in cosy surroundings. Well read by the narrator.

Enjoyable escapism

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Totally undemanding, good descriptions of Cambridge, decent narration. Perfect for relaxing with during Christmas holidays.

A nice listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I kept wondering whether the narrator was English trying to do the American accent or the other way around, not too annoying but there all the same.
As for the story so obviously written by an American as we English don’t get over excited by the son of a lord and definitely not to the extent of a photo of a girlfriend going ‘viral’ in moments, and no one bar his friends would know who he is. Also we don’t call ale ‘ale’ unless we are 80 years old. Other other than those minor irritations it’s ok if you can get past the fawning over a nobody, the story is a nice cosy mystery in a cosy setting. I won’t buy the next one though.

It’s ok

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed the idea of the story and it was certainly readable. However, sadly the reader’s ’jerky style’ delivery spoilt my enjoyment of it

A lovely little story, spoilt by the reading

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A good story, well read, but, for an American audience. As a Brit I found the language that was supposed to be spoken by my fellow English speakers jarring and uncomfortable. The author is obviously not familiar with English as spoken by the English, nor of the way we live. We do not ask for an ‘order of crumpets’, if we want crumpets with our coffee we ask for crumpets. Having lived in a village outside of Cambridge, the idea of a tea shop only having filter or cafetière coffee is barmy. You might find a greasy spoon cafe only offers instant coffee, but a tea shop near, or in, Cambridge!!!!!
Not sure about tea bags and electric kettles for students in the 1960’s either, they were both very new then and expensive.
I will have to stick to books set in England that have been written by the English, and keep American authors for books set in their own country.

Cringe worthy Americanisms

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
To a Brit, the sheer number of Americanisms and inaccuracies about English life will be incredibly jarring. The odd one or two issues could be overlooked, but they crop up unforgivably frequently. This may not bother listeners who aren’t au fait with British English or life in the UK. The story itself is not bad.

Jarring to a British listener

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Not the best cozy mystery that your ears will come a cross, fine if you like changing awful accents, Americanisms, and pantomime drama.

Not the best

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews