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When an elderly former colleague suffering from dementia dies, it all seems perfectly understandable that she would have mixed up her pills’ dosages and overdosed. Retired teachers and friends Thelma, Liz and Pam are saddened by Topsy’s death, and would never have thought anything was off about the situation, but a word here and there sets each off into asking questions and poking at situations to find out whether Topsy really did accidentally overdose or was murdered.
I enjoyed as they weeded through the suspects and solved the mystery. Maybe they will be able to solve additional crimes in future books? I would be interested in reading those as well. The girls must work together like never before, confronting dangerous gangs and sinister private detectives to solve the crimes and discover the villain - before it's too late. It's the sixth murder mystery for The Detective Society! This time, though, one of them is the suspect... Without a hint of condescension, J.M. Hall imbues his senior citizen characters with warmth, humour and humanity. Certainly Liz, Thelma and Pat have their foibles and flaws, but there’s no writing off people just because they might be retired. Their collective experience of previously working in a school is pitch perfect, so that all three women are warm, quirky and just like anyone you might know in real life. This makes them so endearing and believable. And if it hadn't been a Thursday . . . if it hadn't been the garden centre cafe . . . they wouldn't have met Topsy and KellyAnne and, crucially, Thelma wouldn't have come across Topsy crying in the toilets, which they all agreed was really the start of things.As the story progresses, I find it difficult to keep myself attentive in the story. Each chapter all throughout, there are new characters or code names introduced. It makes me confused who is who. Even if I take down notes of the important characters (and clues) to help myself solve the mystery, the author's writing style has managed to make me engaged in the story as I follow the journey of the main characters to reach the revelation. In the end, I have made myself extremely annoyed. The author has created a good villain that I will never like. The Yorkshire setting feels absolutely right for the narrative and J.M. Hall’s style made me think often of Alan Bennett or Victoria Wood so that reading A Spoonful of Murder brought a real smile to my face. That said, as the threads of the plot are drawn together so successfully at the end, there are moments that bring an emotional lump to the throat too. It's always great for me to begin a new cosy mystery series, and this is especially true when the setting is relatively local. The characters were well done and the ending was satisfying. The plot flowed at an even pace, and there were numerous moments of hilarity. Red herrings were plentiful and there was a multitude of suspects who might have been responsible for Topsy's death. Well worth a look if you're partial to cosy mysteries.
Warm characters and wonderful writing... It's steeped in Yorkshire like a mug of hot, strong tea... I loved it' SJ Bennett, author of The Windsor Knot Daisy and Hazel think baby Teddy is enough to deal with, but as always the girls are never far from a mystery.This was a fun cosy mystery in which three retired school teachers become involved in a case of possible murder. When Hazel Wong's beloved grandfather passes away, Daisy Wells is all too happy to accompany her friend (and Detective Society Vice-President) to Hazel's family estate in beautiful, bustling Hong Kong. Hazel and Daisy’s sixth adventure is going to be published on the 8th of February 2018. It’s going to take place in Hong Kong, and feature Hazel’s family. The plot flows at an even pace, with numerous humorous moments. There are a veritable plethora of red herrings and multiple suspects who could be responsible for Topsy's death, but WHY? Why would anyone want to murder a harmless, if slightly befuddled, old lady?
Recently there has been an upsurge in cosy mysteries featuring more mature amateur detectives, a modern take on Miss Marple. Certainly as an older reader, I appreciate this trend. In between seeking answers we learn more about the friends’ lives. Three Miss Marples for the price of one… The plot is carefully assembled, rather like a patchwork quilt, with each element placed just so’ NetGalley review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A terrible thing has happened, a thing that the Detective Society must investigate. But this time I am not just a detective, I'm a witness. And I think that I might even be a suspect...”There must be a thing now with older amateur sleuth stories, as I’ve read more than I had expected to recently. This trio muddled their way to the solution, and a resolution for their other personal cares, in a way that held my attention to the end, and has me looking forward to their next sleuthing adventure.
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