Penney’s second Ravensea Castle mystery takes place as herbalist Nora Asquith’s brother, Will, has set up a Viking festival on the castle’s grounds the following week. Now running the castle as a bed and breakfast, her actress sister Tamsyn arrives to lend hand at the festival. Also arriving a few days before are a crew of ghost hunters, filming for the BBC for Britain’s Got Ghosts.

With her detective boyfriend, Finlay, coming to dinner to see the first filming, Nora is in a great mood when her father introduces the sisters to an unexpected guest: Professor Norman Tweedy from the University of York. Tweedy has found research that indicates Rusla, the Red Maidan Viking, may have left a treasure hoard at Ravensea. He proposes to assist Nora’s father in searching, for a split of the profits once sold to a museum, of course.

But things get off to a rocky start when the four members of the film crew arrive and realize they have their own history with Tweedy, and it’s not positive. Then the accidnets start. Two of them along with Nora find themselves locked into a dungeon under the castle; one of the filmmakers suffers from an odd poisoning, and soon after, despite wonderful ghost sightings and great footage for the series, a murder occurs during the Viking festival.

Penney uses the history of the area, along with Finlay’s expertise, to aid Nora’s sleuthing as she fears continuing accidents at the castle foretell yet more death to follow.

Penney’s recurring characters are well drawn and provide a nice background to the newer participants as the mystery deepens. Will a murderer be found? And what of the hoard, which would provide nicely for the repairs needed to other castle?

A delightful cozy read~