Review by Kelly Jarvis: Devil in Oxford by Jess Armstrong

Jess Armstrong serves up a round of murder and folklore in her latest installment of the Ruby Vaughn Mystery series The Devil in Oxford. After investigating mysterious murders and hauntings in Cornwall and Scotland in The Curse of Penryth Hall and The Secret of the Three Fates, Ruby, a disgraced American heiress and former World War I ambulance driver, accompanies her octogenarian housemate and employer Mr. Owen to Oxford for the annual meeting of his antiquarian society. Ruby has a penchant for attracting danger, and in typical fashion, she discovers the body of a missing scholar while visiting a crowded exhibition of artifacts. When her old friend, Leona Abernathy, asks for her help in finding the killer, Ruby once again becomes involved in a murder investigation.

Readers of Armstrong’s series will be delighted to know it is not only Ruby roaming the Oxford streets in this novel. Ruan Kivell, a Cornish Pellar who can hear Ruby’s thoughts, once again joins the narrative, and the estranged couple must work through their awkward past while navigating their continued attraction to each other. As they investigate murder, search for missing people, and become embroiled in a seditious world of cocaine and antiquities, Ruby and Ruan’s slow-burn romantic relationship sizzles. In addition to further exploring the series' regulars like Ruby, Ruan, and Mr. Owen, Armstrong offers new and exciting characters like Leona Abernathy and Frederick Reaver, the keepers of the Egyptology Collection, who jump off the page. The twists and turns of the plot kept me guessing, and even as the “devil” was revealed, I was eager to keep turning the pages. Armstrong beautifully resolves her story while setting readers up for a new mystery, proving her series is as addictive as the illegal substances at the heart of the Oxford crime circuit.

Set in 1920’s Great Britain, the Ruby Vaughn series oozes with lush historical detail and evocative settings. I loved exploring Oxford's museums with Ruby, and enjoyed the cozy winter atmosphere that permeates the tale. Gently falling snow and Christmas celebrations perfectly compliment the adventure and excitement. Although Devil in Oxford is firmly planted in the real world of dark academia, the presence of ghosts, the power of witches, and the mysteries of the other-world add a Gothic and supernatural flavor. I love the Ruby Vaughn series and highly recommend it to all who enjoy classic murder mysteries with a side of folklore! You can find it here.

Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Blue Heron Review, Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/