Elizabeth Penney has 8 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 8 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4★ across 2 ratings. The most-rated is Hems and Homicide.
Hems and Homicide
Summary
Welcome to the quaint village of Blueberry Cove, Maine, where an expert seamstress turned amateur sleuth is getting measured for murder... Iris Buckley is sew ready for a change. After the death of her beloved grandfather, Iris decides to stay in her Maine hometown to help out her widowed grandmother, Anne-and bring her online hand-made apron designs to real-time retail life. Her and Anne's shop, Ruffles & Bows, is set to include all the latest and vintage linen fashions, a studio for sewing groups and classes, and a friendly orange cat. The only thing that they were not planning to have on the property? A skeleton in the basement. Anne recognizes the remains of an old friend, and when a second body shows up in the apron shop-this time their corrupt landlord, whom Anne had been feuding with for decades-she becomes a prime suspect. Now, it's up to Iris to help clear her name. Enlisting the help of her old high-school crush Ian Stewart who, like certain fabrics, has only gotten better-looking with age and her plucky BFF Madison Morris, Iris, must piece together an investigation to find out who the real killer is ...and find a way to keep her brand-new business from being scrapped in the process.
©2019 Elizabeth Penney (P)2019 Tantor
A Literary Offense
Summary
It's Gatsby Week at Castleton Manor, the elegant retreat for booklovers in Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts, and the roaring '20s are in full swing. Charlotte Jaxon, owner of the manor, arrives to put on the ritz and oversee the festivities celebrating the work of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Faith Newberry is sitting pretty when she receives a brief respite from her duties in the library to assist Charlotte in organizing the events that have everyone jazzed up, including a fashion show, an antique car race, and a Gatsby Ball. But then something happens that’s not on the agenda: one of the guests starts receiving threatening letters. Avis Roth is a powerful - and ruthless - literary agent, so everyone around her quickly dismisses the intimidating letters, assuming they're from an author who was in a lather over being rejected. When Avis is involved in a frightening incident at the manor and then a freakish mishap at the country club, the plot thickens. Were they merely accidents, or is someone determined to put the big cheese agent out of commission? As Faith and her fellow Candle House Book Club members search for clues, they discover that not many people consider Avis to be the bee's knees. She and her associates are rarely on the same page, and some have a serious beef with her. It's past time to deliver the goods on the perpetrator, but will Faith - aided by her clever tuxedo cat, Watson - determine who's on the level and who's feeding her a line? Or will the culprit avoid getting caught and remain on the lam?
©2018 Elizabeth Penney (P)2020 Annies
Homespun Homicide
Summary
Pleasant Creek, Indiana's first annual summer arts and crafts fair has Liz Eckardt beaming. Tourists are coming out of the woodwork to get their hands on Amish-inspired goods, and the Olde Mansion Inn, her bed-and-breakfast, is full to the rafters. But when sawbucks start disappearing from the vendors, and Mayor Jackson Cross' furniture samples are marred, it's clear someone is trying to throw a monkey wrench into the festivities. Unfortunately, Jackson has bigger worries. His ex-employee is mad enough to spit nails, and when he is found polished off - murdered with a distinctive table leg - Jackson becomes the prime suspect. Liz decides to investigate when she suspects that some of the guests under her roof are not on the level - a mysterious Texan, two very nosy ladies, and a gentleman clearly using an assumed name. And what about the family who've arrived in Pleasant Creek ostensibly looking to dust themselves off and make a fresh start? Are they who they seem to be, or are they responsible for the sinister handiwork around town? Liz and the rest of the Material Girls will need all the tools of the trade to hammer out a solution to the crimes in Pleasant Creek before Jackson is sent to the Big House - permanently.
©2017 Elizabeth Penney (P)2020 Annies
A Murder Unscripted
Summary
It's lights, camera, action at Castleton Manor, the exclusive literary retreat in Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts. Faith Newberry's role as librarian expands to include assisting the producer in filming a remake of Alice in Wonderland. Faith and her friends in the Candle House Book Club thrill in the behind-the-scenes drama, and even Faith's loyal cat, Watson, eagerly pursues his big-screen debut. But the production falls down the rabbit hole when the star playing Alice enters the maze to shoot a scene, then vanishes. The actress has a history of disappearing, and some claim she's mad as a hatter. Did she leave of her own volition? Or is there something more sinister going on? The situation gets curiouser and curiouser when more trouble and turmoil occur on the set, culminating in a serious crime. Faiths friend Midge is found at the scene, and she's hardly grinning like a Cheshire cat when she becomes the prime suspect. Faith vows to find the real culprit, but as she attempts to solve the great puzzle, she realizes the task is easier said than done. It's up to Faith and the rest of her friends in the book club - along with Watson who shows up right on cue to make a startling discovery - to clear Midge's name. But will they be able to pull a white rabbit out of their hat in time? Or will it be the final curtain for Midge?
©2020 Elizabeth Penney (P)2020 Annies
A Novel Murder
Summary
Faith Newberry's dream job may be morphing into a nightmare. Newly hired as the librarian at the upscale and pet-friendly Castleton Manor literary retreat, Faith sees her move from Boston to the quaint Cape Cod village of Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts, as a boon. But things turn ugly when she discovers that the first edition book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle proudly displayed in the library - also his first in the Sherlock Holmes series - is a counterfeit, and not a very good one at that. Who could have absconded with the real volume? Could it have been the former librarian when she mysteriously disappeared leaving only a cryptic note of resignation? Or has someone else duped the handsome heir to the Castleton estate, Wolfe Jaxon? Whichever is the case, it soon becomes clear that someone will stop at nothing to keep her from learning the truth. Just as Sherlock Holmes had his Watson to help solve mysteries, so does Faith. Only hers is a lovable stub-tailed cat bearing the same name. Faith rescued Watson as a kitten from behind a dumpster on a freezing New England night, and he - like the fictional doctor - has become her loyal sidekick. He is Faith's friend, confidante, and sometimes her rescuer in times of peril. Together they set out to uncover the truth. The members of the Candle House Book Club, a lively group of women headed by her aunt Eileen Piper, also join Faith in her quest for answers. Will they be able to find the missing librarian and the missing Sherlock Holmes volume before this chapter of Faith's life comes to a fatal close?
©2017 Elizabeth Penney (P)2020 Annies
Second Edition Death
Summary
It's late March in Lighthouse Bay, and Castleton Manor is undergoing spring-cleaning. Librarian and archivist, Faith Newberry, envisions a little downtime while the manor is closed to guests. But her reverie is cut short when she is pressed into service for the organizers of the Gothic Studies Conference, who are meeting in a nearby seaside home. Though reluctant to leave her cozy cottage on the Castleton estate, Faith agrees, especially since her faithful cat, Watson, is invited along. No sooner has Faith arrived at Wintersea than she realizes all is not as it seems at the creepy mansion. Her hostess, Gothic scholar Ava Winterbourne, is experiencing eerie phenomena: lost objects, somnambulism, and a constant feeling of being watched. Is she mad? Or is someone mad at her? Ava's husband, Winslow, seems loving and attentive, and yet Ava lives in the deep shadows of his first wife, Regina, who committed suicide. Faith finds herself getting caught up in Ava's delusions. But she can't help wondering if Ava truly is a dreaming damsel in distress - or if she's a dark, dangerous dame. Meanwhile, Faith's boss, Wolfe Jaxon, is being haunted by a nightmare of his own. Years ago, his fiancée drowned when she fell overboard from Wolfe's yacht. Now someone's been possessed to blackmail him, claiming that Valentina's watery death was no freak accident. He needs Faith's help. But is he putting her in peril, too? Solving the mysteries of Wintersea will take all of Faith's sleuthing skills, but fortunately she'll have the support of the members of the Candle House Book Club and her preternatural pet, Watson. Can she reveal the secrets...before the veil descends on another victim?
©2017 Elizabeth Penney (P)2020 Annies
Humble Pies and White Lies
Summary
Thanksgiving is only a week away, and Liz Eckardt plans to make a delicious, home-cooked feast for her guests at the Olde Mansion Inn while she revels in the holiday festivities in Pleasant Creek, Indiana. Residents eagerly await the pumpkin pie bake-off and the national spotlight it will shine on their small town when the event is broadcast on a popular TV show. Mary Ann Berne, Liz's good friend and fellow Material Girl, is expected to win the pie contest, but one of Liz's guests is also a strong contender. With the cameras rolling and everyone in town watching, the judge tastes the final round of pies. But when she takes a bite of Mary Ann's pie...she chokes and collapses to the floor. Someone poisoned Mary Ann's pie, and Liz and the other Material Girls quickly set out to find the culprit. But who would want to harm the judge? As they desperately search for answers, they discover numerous secrets and lies, old high school conflicts that have never been resolved, and simmering resentments ready to boil over.... During this season of thankfulness, Liz witnesses estranged families attempting to reconcile while she strives to make the holiday joyous and memorable for her family and friends. Will they all have a reason to be thankful this year, or will it turn out to be a Thanksgiving they would rather forget?
©2017 Elizabeth Penney (P)2020 Annies
Thread and Dead
Summary
Tragedy strikes in Thread and Dead, the second book in Elizabeth Penney's cozy mystery series - and now everyone in Blueberry Cove, Maine, is on pins and needles.... Iris Buckley is busier than ever this July, with the town's annual Lobster Festival fast approaching. In just a matter of days her apron shop, Ruffles & Bows, will be jam-packed with tourists eager to lay eyes on its world-class collection of aprons and linens - and Iris' inventory is running low. Then, just when all hope seems lost, Iris gets a call from Eleanor Brady, a wealthy, reclusive spinster who just happens to have trunks full of vintage fabrics. Would Iris like to come down to Eleanor's cottage estate Shorehaven and have a look? Before long Iris is on the scene - and on the case. Turns out that Eleanor has rented Shorehaven to the handsome, charismatic environmentalist Dr. Lukas de Wilde and his flock of students. What begins as an apron-scouting endeavor soon morphs into a full-blown murder investigation when Dr. de Wilde's beautiful young teaching assistant turns up dead. Now it's up to Iris - along with her partner in love and crime, Ian Stewart - to unravel the mystery before the Blueberry Cove killer strikes again.
©2020 Elizabeth Penney (P)2020 Tantor