The Case of the Purloined Pages

Gravesyde Priory Mysteries, Book 5

By: Patricia Rice

Narrated by: Jayne Entwistle

Minerva Peniston, intrepid spinster and book lover, is determined to capture the villain who tried to shoot a duke at a book auction—imperiling her father's position and the only home she's ever known. And now the same wealthy bibliophiles are gathering at Wycliffe Manor . . .

Paul Upton, overeducated and impoverished curate, has volunteered to assist the residents of Wycliffe Manor in preparing for a book auction to save the village and the manor's future. When an intriguing wallflower drags him into aiding her quest to find a potential killer, he agrees for her safety, and to keep trouble from upending the long-awaited nuptials of the manor's owner.

Despite their efforts, Minerva's chatty book-collecting friend is strangled before the auction begins. A killer on the loose threatens to upend both sale and wedding. Paul and Minerva must determine what secrets the garrulous victim revealed . . . and to whom . . . before the murderer strikes again.

With valuable manuscripts at risk and a half dozen more potential victims on hand, only an unlikely white knight and mousy spinster can save the auction and the wedding. As much as Minerva adores books, even she knows they aren't worth dying for.

©2023 Patricia Rice (P)2025 Tantor Media

Complicated series

I have listened to this whole series, although I’m not sure why. All of the titles have complicated plots involving many different characters. As the series progressed, more and more characters were added and continued on into the next book until it was difficult to keep everyone straight. There are several obscure mysteries that continue throughout the series, interspersed with regular murders that are solved within the book that introduces them. The several romances were not major parts of the books and kept dragging on from book to book. The mysteries and the romances are why I kept reading, hoping for some resolution. The narration is slow with indistinct character voices. I listened to it at 1.2 to normalize the pace. There is one more book that is not yet available on audio. I’m not sure if I will listen to it. It depends on how many of the mysteries get resolved in this one. (I’m not quite finished with it).