MADRIGALS AND MAYHEM, the fourth book in The Cambridge Bookshop mystery series by Elizabeth Penney, finds Molly Kimball investigating the dastardly deeds of a family who feel they have been robbed of their inheritance. This family will stop at nothing, including murder, to get their hands on a missing Madame Alexander doll worth a fortune.
Molly, her mother, and her great aunt are busy running their family bookstore, Thomas Marlowe—Manuscripts & Folios, as the Christmas season approaches. Their town of Cambridge, England, is full of decorations and holiday spirit, especially with the anticipated production of Madrigals & Mayhem that will be shown live on BBC. Molly is ecstatic to see Pemberly’s Toy Emporium across the street is reopening, and she soon meets the new owner, Charlotte Pemberly. Charlotte inherited the store from her deceased grandfather, but there is strife with her step-relatives regarding the terms of the inheritance. When Charlotte and Molly find Barnaby, Charlotte’s late grandfather’s stepson sprawled and vomiting in the backroom, Molly quickly deduces he may have been poisoned by a box of tea cakes with blue frosting. The bakery box is from Tea & Crumpets, but the owner, Daisy Watson, never uses blue frosting. Who is trying to frame the bakery owner? And were the tea cakes intended for Charlotte? As Molly inserts herself into the mystery, she joins the Madrigals and Mayhem production to get close to the suspects, untangles eerie clues from a dollhouse, follows a scavenger hunt to the missing Madame Alexander doll, and confronts the killer before they complete their final act.
MADRIGALS AND MAYHEM takes place in charming Cambridge, England, and is an atmospheric mystery with an ancestral bookstore, a delicious bakery, and an antique toy store. Family dysfunction is on full display in the mystery where a predatory woman battles her late husband’s granddaughter for the inheritance. Filled with awful step-relatives, devious plots, several poisonings, and cunning accomplices, this mystery weaves and whirls and settles into a nice rhythm until the final act sheds light on the malicious killer's deeds. Molly is a charming character learning more about herself through her romantic relationship with local royalty Kiernan Scott, and discovering more about her mother’s childhood and family estrangement. MADRIGALS AND MAYHEM is filled with smart sleuthing, crafty characters, holiday mayhem, and an off-the-rails play production that makes it a perfect holiday cozy.
InMadrigals and Mayhem, the fourth in Elizabeth Penney's charming Cambridge Bookshop series, Molly Kimball finds that even the holidays can come with a healthy dose of mystery.
Molly is eager to experience her first English Christmas with family and friends now that she's adjusted to her move to Cambridge and her restoration of her family’s ancestral bookshop, Thomas Marlowe—Manuscripts and Folios. When local toyshop Pemberly’s Emporium reopens, Molly is excited to meet the new owner, Charlotte Pemberly, who is determined to make the toy store a success after unexpectedly becoming her grandfather Arthur’s sole heir.
Arthur's new wife Althea Winters and her unpleasant family loathe Charlotte for inheriting what they believe was theirs and have set their sights on a valuable Madame Alexander doll that's gone missing. When Althea's grandson is poisoned by cakes from Tea&Crumpets, Charlotte becomes the top suspect. Molly believes Charlotte was the intended victim and investigates the Pemberly’s home, only to discover that Arthur had been murdered.
To get closer to this treacherous family, Molly and her boyfriend Kieran go undercover by volunteering to act and sing for a madrigal dinner directed by Althea and her daughter at St. Hildegard’s College. Molly must help her new friend clear her name while searching for the missing doll and wrangling her own family during the chaotic holiday festivities at the bookshop.
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