An Entertaining And Well-Written Cozy Mystery | “Peril at Pennington Manor” by Tracy Gardner (2022) Book Review

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an Advanced Reviewer Copy; all opinions expressed in the review are my own.

Until now, I have only ever read a few cozy mysteries and they very rarely connect with me. But the summary of “Peril at Pennington Manor” caught my interest and I decided to give it a try and I am very glad I did so. It is the second book in the Avery Ayers Antique Mystery series. I hadn’t read the first book in the series but I was able to follow the story mostly.

This book primarily follows Avery Ayers and her team of antique appraisers, when they are invited to appraise the contents of a Duke’s manor and they are mired in the mysterious events occurring in it, particularly in the murder of the housekeeper. The extraordinary circumstances prompt Avery to once again start her amateur sleuthing, particularly to help the police gather information about the inmates of the manor, along with her ex-boyfriend Art, a police officer. Who is behind the nefarious activities? Why are they doing them? Read the book to know the answer to these questions.

Gardner is a very good writer who has a crisp and very clear writing style. She is able to pull in the reader from the very first page of the story and manages to hold our attention throughout by throwing in several small mysteries relating to the secondary characters. We are not only invested in finding out what is happening at the manor but also eager to find out what is going on with the other characters as well. I loved the way she has written the development of Avery and Art’s relationship; it is very organic and romantic.

Overall, “Peril at Pennington Manor” is a very well written cozy mystery which manages to entertain the reader completely. Do check this book out if you are into interesting cozy mysteries.

This book gets 5 out of 5 stars.