Death at the Book Club
The Bloomsbury Bookshop Mysteries #2
by Imogen Penrose
Published: September 1, 2026
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Short Read, Cozy Mystery, Animals, Ghost
Blurb:
Cleo
Marchmont has nearly got used to the ghost. She has almost made peace
with the cat. She was not prepared for the body in the wing-back
chair.
Hester Lockwood ran the book club the way she ran
her literary agency: by knowing everyone’s secrets.
She dies after the September meeting. The doctor says her heart. The relief in the room is general.
Cleo says nothing. She is looking at the book in the dead woman’s lap.
No bookplate. Wrong edition. Not the copy Hester came in with.
A
celebrated scholar. A novelist she dropped. A dealer who would rather
not discuss provenance.
One of them took what Hester had tucked
inside that book.
The file is closed. The suspects are grieving beautifully. The next book club is in three weeks.
A tidy verdict is a very good place to hide.
Death at the Book Club is the second Bloomsbury Bookshop Mystery. For readers of Lucy Connelly, Verity Bright, and Jackie Baldwin.
My Review:
Death at the Book Club is the second book in Imogen Penrose’s The Bloomsbury Bookshop Mysteries series, and it is a fantastic addition. Like the first book, it drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end, with not a single dull moment in between. This charming series completely holds my attention.
The story follows Cleo Marchmont, who moved to Sussex after inheriting a cottage, a struggling London bookshop, and a tabby cat named Boswell from her late Great-Aunt Vivienne—who also happens to stick around as a ghost! Both Vivienne's spirit and Boswell are incredibly charming, and completely stole my heart from the moment they appeared in the story.
When Cleo starts a monthly book club at her store, things take a dark turn. At the end of the September meeting, one of the members, Hester Lockwood, suddenly dies. Because Hester made it her business to keep tabs on everyone in town, she held secrets on nearly everyone—a fact well known to the locals.
While the police believe Hester died of natural causes, Cleo is convinced otherwise. She has a unique talent for spotting details at crime scenes that others miss, and she manages to convince the police to investigate further. The underlying question of who is right—Cleo or the police—unfolds through many twists that can only be fully appreciated by reading the book.
What kept me hanging on every word was Cleo’s persistence in trying to solve Hester’s death. She knew deep down that something was wrong, and that someone wanted to keep these secrets hidden. But what exactly were they hiding, and why?
I cannot wait to dive into the third book, The Mecklenburgh Square Affair, to see what mystery falls into Cleo’s lap next. I highly recommend picking up a copy of Death at the Book Club, as well as the rest of this wonderful series, today!
Check out all the books in the Bloomsbury Bookshop Mysteries seriesI’ve read.
The First Edition (Prequel to Murder at Marchmont & Bell)
Murder at Marchmont & Bell #1
Death at the Book Club #2
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