The Devil in Oxford

Jess Armstrong's Ruby Vaughn historical mystery series just keeps getting stronger. And each volume leaves me feeling more attached to the central characters and eager to spend time with them.

The series is set in the early 20th Century. Ruby Vaughn is a disgraced American heiress who has been shipped off to England to avoid scandal. She's volatile, brave, and deeply uneasy about making deep connections with other people. She also loves (among many things) antiquarian books, which is good since her employer (not that she needs to work)...

... Mr. Owen runs an antiquarian bookstore. He's in his 80s, feisty, and a polymath. Ruby has come to see him as family, is frequently frustrated by his demands, but always delighted by his wit and show more whimsy. In the first book of the series, Mr. Owen sends Ruby to deliver a collection of arcana to...

... Ruan Kivell, a folk healer based in Cornwall. He any Ruby have been doing a slow and tempestuous "dance" around one another. There's a connection between them that transcends the ordinary, but they both have their guard up and do as much pushing away as drawing near.

Book three in the series is set in Oxford where Mr. Owen is attending a meeting of his antiquarian society. Ruby just wants a bit of a vacation and hopes to avoid as many stuffy antiquarian dinners and events as possible. Vacationing and antiquarian-ing are interrupted when an infamous member of the antiquarian society, who was long ago ejected from Oxford for reasons no one will discuss, is found (in a macabre way) dead, and Ruby feels compelled to investigate the crime for the sake of an old friend and the man accused of the crime, who is most certainly innocent. Ruan, rather disconcertingly aware of Ruby's emotions and thoughts, shows up alternately trying to dissuade her from investigating and agreeing to participate in her investigative schemes.

And if that isn't enough to make for an entertaining historical mystery—well, it's enough. Believe me. You're in for a treat.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own. show less

It's December, 1923, and plucky American heiress, Ruby Vaughn is accompanying her octogenarian boss for the annual meeting of his antiquarian society. He has managed to procure two tickets for an archeological exhibit presentation by a former professor of dubious fame. The organizers are miffed as the presenter is AWOL. That is until he's discovered in an exhibit sarcophagus, which certainly has ruined his day and any future he sought. The man's assistant is hauled in on trumped up murder charges. Ruby's friend seeks Ruby's help in clearing the assistant's name. When he also winds up on someone hit list, Ruby is more driven to solve the mystery. Mysterious pellar, Ruan Kivell accompanies Ruby trying valiantly to keep her out of harm's show more way. It's a challenge, to be sure. Hopefully, all will be set to right before another death occurs.

This continuation of the Ruby Vaughn mystery series is as equally engaging as the last, The Secret of the Three Fates. It too includes the Pellar, Ruan Kivell and the sexual tension between him and Ruby continues a bit further along.

This was a highly atmospheric, somewhat dark mystery. The writing is rich and the characters colorful. The scene settings are cinematic in scope and the tension is steady throughout. This was a most entertaining mystery and I eagerly await Ruby and Ruan's next thrilling adventure.

I am grateful to publisher, Minotaur Books, for having provided a complimentary uncorrected digital galley of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: November 4, 2025
Number of Pages: 336 pages
ISBN: 978-1250374653 show less

Ruby Vaughn accompanies her bookselling employer Mr. Owen to Oxford around Christmas, where he is visiting old friends and attending soirees at the university’s museum. She is surprised when Ruan Kivell, the Cornish pellar with whom she shares a tempestuous relationship, arrives there too, but it turns out that he is visiting Professor Laurent, the father of his late friend whom he still mourns. It is not long before a corpse appears, that of Harker, a disgraced archeologist and scholar who has been murdered in a particularly gruesome way. Ruby’s old friend Leona, now working for another archeologist, Professor Reaver, begs Ruby to look into Harker’s death, and she agrees; but her investigation is far more dangerous than she show more anticipated….This is the third Ruby Vaughn book, set in 1920s England; Ruby is a wealthy American heiress who served as an ambulance driver in WWI and saw far too much during that time. In the first book, she is generally running away from her trauma by drinking and partying, but by this third one, she is all doom and gloom. I wanted to like the book, really, but I’m just not interested in romantasy. I also found a lot of little annoyances here: Professor Reaver, arrogant and entitled, steps off the curb to let a delivery boy pass? Please. More to the point, several times Ruby goes somewhere in the morning, has a 10-minute conversation with someone and when she leaves it is somehow late afternoon or night. Was there no proofreader involved? Sigh. I won’t be reading the fourth book, but I wish Ruby and Ruan well in their future lives. 2 ½ stars. show less

Ruby Vaughn is looking forward to a relaxing Christmas in Oxford in the society of the antiquarians but this is not going to be the case. Her friend Leona is hiding something from her and soon after arrival Ruby discovers a dead body. Now her instincts are to investigate and the presence of Ruan Kivell is also disturbing her. What links cocaine smuggling and precious artefacts?
I nearly gave up with this book as the first half is very slow and hints at the previous two novels which I haven't read. However the book really picks up and turns into an enjoyable period romp. A little too much of the supernatural at times for me but a jolly read in the end.

I think I might need to take a break from Ruby -- this was fine, but in a lot of ways felt like a repeat of the previous books. I appreciate that things seem to be improving in her relationships, and I love learning more about the leisure activities of ladies between the wars, but I'd like the mysteries that surround Ruby personally to move forward a little faster than they are.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.

It is 1922 and Christmas time. Ruby Vaughn and Mr. Owens are spending time in Oxford where Mr. Owens is attending an Antiquarian Society annual meeting. Ruby is hoping for a quiet time free from the occult and murder investigations where she can consider her relationship with Ruam Kivell.

However, an invitation to an exhibition of artifacts leads to a dead body stuffed into an airtight container. Ruby could consider it not her problem until a friend comes to her begging for her help solving the crime.

When Ruan also arrives in Oxford, he and Ruby find themselves trying to discover just what is going on. Ruan was a student at Oxford and has a number of acquaintances including the father of his bewst friend who died duting the war.

With show more missing artifacts, a missing book from the Bodleian, and possible drug smuggling, Ruby would have enough to deal with. But piling on is the appearance of another imposter claiming to be her mother who was lost along with her father and sister on the Lusitania.

When Ruby starts seeing things and having flashbacks to her time as an ambulance driver during the First World War, she fears that she is losing her mind and becomes plagued with even more disturbing dreams. Fighting to determine what is real becomes a large part of this story.

I enjoyed the setting and the characters in this third Ruby Vaughn mystery. show less

Ruby Vaughn and Mr. Owen are in Oxford to attend the annual meeting of his antiquarian society and have a relaxing holiday. But when Julius Harker is found dead at an exhibition of his artifacts, Ruby is drawn into investigating when her friend Leona requests her help. When pellar Ruan Kivell joins them in Oxford, he and Ruby team up again to find the killer. Suspects abound, and there are twists a-plenty.

All in all, this is a great Gothic cozy mystery. All the characters you've come to love from the series, and some interesting twists. It's a little slow to start, but it heats up once the investigation gets going.