Murder and a Missing Manuscript

The latest Polly Pepper novel (after Shadows at Midnight) offers plenty of fun for Anglophiles and bibliophiles alike. Polly, a TV and movie star of a certain age, has left Hollywood after inheriting a haunted English castle in the quaint rural village of Abbots Clover. In this outing, while rooting around in her castle’s attic, Polly discovers a 200-year-old unpublished manuscript by Abigail Townsend, an obscure but beloved local literary giant who only published one novel in her lifetime before her early and mysterious death. With dreams of making a mint off her literary find, Polly convinces eminent manuscript expert Dr. Jonathan Fieldstone to authenticate the handwritten novel. But before his work is complete, Fieldstone is murdered, and the manuscript stolen. Jordan’s latest clever book offers fascinating background on the techniques of authenticating manuscripts. It also extends the cozy genre with a welcome hint of the supernatural and a dollop of budding romance.