A Spoonful of Murder: The first book in a hilarious and totally unputdownable cosy murder mystery series for fans of The Thursday Murder Club

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I was hooked right up until the end and I had many guesses as to who was responsible for Topsy’s death, and what was going on. There must be a thing now with older amateur sleuth stories, as I’ve read more than I had expected to recently.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Avon Books UK, and HarperCollins Audio for providing both a digital and an audio ARC of A Spoonful of Murder by J. For all ebook purchases, you will be prompted to create an account or login with your existing HarperCollins username and password. Also, Hall’s background as a primary school deputy head gave him inspiration in creating his main characters and his love for the works of Agatha Christie informed his approach to writing this intriguing mystery. I've been to most of the towns described in the book and I really liked that I could visualise where they were. The actual culprit is quite obvious from the opening chapter but the devil is in the details and getting to the reveal is the most fun as the ladies trip around Yorkshire getting involved with male strippers and teenagers with a thing for older women.

Pat is bright and attractive, the wife of Rod, (a builder) but worries about her youngest, teenage son, Liam. I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with these lovely ladies and if they were ever to set out on another murder investigation, I’d quite happily join them on that mission. Watching them being pushed out of their comfort zone was quite entertaining and I think the author really managed to portray it wasn’t always easy for them.

Now with those other books, I still have a clear, strong image (months after reading the last) of the differing characteristics of Elizabeth, Ibraham, Ron and Joy.Jan, Liz and Thelma and their supporting cast of friends, family and suspects are all well drawn out.

They uncover a rather shocking trail of elder abuse - worst of all that Topsy had been conned out of her life savings by somebody masquerading as a bank employee.

The style was slow and meandering, especially at first, and I often put the book down, wondering when it would ignite, but each time, I was drawn back to pick it up to read ‘just another couple of chapters’ until I was hooked. While on the whole A Spoonful Of Murder is a light and entertaining read, the issues around financial abuse of the elderly are very real and disturbing. M. Hall is a fun cosy mystery in which three retired school teachers become involved in a case of possible murder.