The Devil in Oxford (Ruby Vaughn #3)

Ruby Vaughn is a magnet for trouble and in this third book of the series she's found it once again. How she’s still alive is honestly the biggest mystery!

When she and Mr. Owen, her octogenarian employer and rare books collector, go to Oxford to attend a meeting of antiquarians, it seems like a chance for her to finally catch her breath from the murderous events of the past two books and catch up with her old friend Leona. It’s also a chance to put some distance between herself and that pesky growing connection she has with Cornish pellar/folk healer Ruan Kivell. (Is she deluding herself? Of course!)

When local curiosity museum owner Julius Harker doesn’t show up for a planned presentation of Egyptian artifacts and is found murdered inside one of them, Ruby finds out just how dangerous the world of antiquities can be and just how far people will go to collect them. She also has to admit she needs Ruan’s help once again, which he’s only too willing to give.

I won’t go into much more detail than that, other than to say this is a historical mystery, so it was both an engaging whodunnit and an illuminating look at the darker side of collecting and archaeological artifacts. There’s a great new cast of possible culprits and some returning faces, including Ruby’s awesome housekeeper Mrs. Penrose and her adorable cat, Fiachna.

If I had any complaints at all it would simply be the pacing. While something is always happening, a lot of the sleuthing happens at night when most people are asleep which can make the story itself feel just a little bit slow and meandering at times. I also hope they get a proofreader on this before publication, because there were a lot of errors. Nothing major, but enough to be distracting.

All-in-all, this was another fun, solid mystery.  I love watching the connection between Ruby and Ruan grow and evolve. She’s stubborn as all get out, but his patience and gentleness with her is sweet, and her ‘act first, think later’ approach is bringing out a more adventurous side of him, mostly by necessity to keep her alive! 

This remains a solid series and one I continue to look forward to - especially after the enticing cliff-hanger it ended on!

★★★ ½  (rounded to 4)

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur, NetGalley and author Jess Armstrong for this digital ARC to honestly review. It’s out now.