• Chapter and Curse

  • Cambridge Bookshop Series, Book 1
  • By: Elizabeth Penney
  • Narrated by: Henrietta Meire
  • Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (26 ratings)

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Chapter and Curse  By  cover art

Chapter and Curse

By: Elizabeth Penney
Narrated by: Henrietta Meire
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Publisher's summary

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

What listeners say about Chapter and Curse

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

So so …

Started with a good premise but really didn’t take it anywhere. Not sure I will continue the series

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Delightful Find

In this first-in-series, Librarian Molly Kimball moves from her native Vermont with her British mom to help revive the family's historic bookstore - the oldest bookstore in Cambridge. What ensues upon their arrival is the start of a beautiful cozy mystery series, complete with an amazing bookstore, welcoming relatives, estranged family members, new friends, the hint of romance, a touch of humor, old school rivalries, and the obligatory murder. Molly, her mom, and great-aunt handle it all with aplomb. These are wonderful characters with great world building and enticing stories.

The narrator does a great job with the various English voices and a decent job with Molly's American accent. I enjoyed listening.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Cozy Cambridge Mystery

Charming mix of murder mystery and romance. Author does a great job of transporting us to a very charming, modern day Cambridge.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Wasn't a bad listen

If the narrator had been better, I'm sure this would have been a better listen, I did figure out who did it before the ending, but all in all, it was a pleasant listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable

Nice first book in a new series. Although moving from America to England was fuss free (no visa woes) the story and characters were interesting . The mystery was a bit apparent. Will listen to the next in the series.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great setting and Story

Book lovers will enjoy this plot and characters. Cambridge is an ideal place for interesting happenings with historical as well as intellectual endeavors.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Very Poor Choice of Narrator

The protagonist/narrator in this novel is American, but the actual voice actor who narrates this book is British and does a very bad American accent (when she even remembers to do one). Aside from the poor narration, this barely qualifies as a mystery since it just revolves around the day to day lives of the characters in the story. Boring and bland.

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