Penned In
by Lynn Cahoon
Penned In is a novella in Lynn Cahoon’s excellent Farm-to-Fork series which does not typically contain paranormal references. This novella has a paranormal twist to it, however. The story takes place on the night before Halloween at the old Idaho Penitentiary where the County Seat Restaurant’s staff goes for a team building exercise. The book contains a little history which is interesting. As a novella, neither the plot nor character development are extensive.
My enjoyment of the novella was probably colored by my dislike of both paranormal novels and team building exercises. As a diversion, it was satisfactory, but not something I would ever reread. If you are a fan of locked room mysteries, you would probably enjoy this little mystery!
I would like to extend my thanks to NetGalley and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. Would work as a standalone.
2. Includes paranormal, but is not scary.
3. Locked room mystery.
4. Includes a recipe for chocolate chip muffins.
Publication: August 31, 2020—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
“Anyone that mean, he has to be the killer. The other people are nice. Tad doesn’t have a nice bone in his body, as my grandmother would say.” Hope leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. No one was going to mess with her logic.
“They said I wasn’t smart enough to sell computers. Hell, I could sell ice to Eskimos.”
It was all just posturing for him. He didn’t want her but he wasn’t sure he wanted her to be happy with another guy.”
education pathways 
I remember this penitentiary, my Girl Scout teamed tour it while was still in use. We were allowed only in the guest shop and never saw any inmates. It is now the site of Idaho Botanical Gardens.
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I thought of you as I was reading this book, wondering if you had toured it. I hadn’t thought about it still being in use. Botanical Gardens sounds like a great use of the site.
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Thanks for the honest review. I’m not into paranormal as well.
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As a reviewer, I can’t warn of everything, because we all have different tastes and tolerances, but this seems like something people either do or don’t want included in a mystery–no gray area.
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I have read Lynn Cahoon and several books in this series, but I’m not a fan of her kitchen witch series or anything paranormal, so I appreciate your honest review, thanks Linda~
Jenna
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I am a Lynn Cahoon fan, but I don’t read her kitchen witch series either. It is easy to see from the title and previews that it is paranormal so I just don’t go there.
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You summed up my feelings as well. I read the first book in her Kitchen Witch series and won’t be continuing for the same reason. This was a very different diversion from the usual in this series.
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Yes, if it becomes typical, I will stop reading the series, but I don’t think that will be the case. She generally separates the two types of writing so you can make choices.
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Yes, it was definitely out of the norm for that series. I hope it doesn’t continue as well.
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