Toby's Folly

Penny Spring and Sir Toby Glendower #8

by Margot Arnold

Penny is looking forward to a lengthy visit from her son, Dr. Alex Spring, when she receives a summons from Scotland Yard. Where is Sir Tobias Glendower? It happens that a young Russian ballerina is being held in custody as a primary suspect in the bizarre bludgeoning-to-death of one of the members of a visiting Soviet corps de ballet. But she will speak only to Sir Toby, who she claims is her father! Toby is eventually reached at his private archaeological excavation deep in the Welsh country--the "folly" of the title--and plunged headlong into mayhem and danger.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy

251 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1990

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

*Marguerite Marie Dominique Monro Arnold (1879-1969), British novelist.
aka
Margot Arnold.

*Petronelle Marguerite Mary Crouch Cook (1925-2016), British-American novelist, author of Penny Spring and Sir Toby Glendower Series
aka
Petronelle Cook and Margot Arnold.

Reviews

[Laura Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this installment. The storyline involving Alex and Sonya was easy to guess from the get-go, however. Ended just as I suspected it would.

Now Penny and Toby can share a grandchild without having to have a secret love child between themselves. I'm guessing this might be Ms. Arnold's reason for taking this path. I, personally, love it. Too bad she didn't write a bunch more. There are only four to go, so if there is a grandchild, we won't see him/her grown up.

[Libraryassistant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm. I liked the main characters pretty well. However there were a lot of hard to believe aspects. Still, I’d probably read another with Penny and Toby— they’re likeable, though curmudgeonly, smart, older protagonists. Which is fun.

[Kelly Peña · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars I’ll be thankful for this book because it got me out of my reading slump 😂. First book I read in 2023.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just okay.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series I really enjoy. This one introduces Toby's daughter, a Russian ballerina who's a murder suspect. Her ballet company is visiting England on a tour when one of the officials accompanying the troup is murdered.

CMB

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice mystery with a fun duo as protagonists. Some parts are very dated by contemporay standards, but overall a good read.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't figure out quite why this book underwhelmed me, but, alas, I won't be reading others in this series. Will be interesting to hear other views from the book discussion group in December...