Stacy Hackney

"Good gracious. What are our good Richmond families coming to? Evelyn sounded disgusted. "Murder is so tacky."

And that's it in a nutshell! Murder is just so tacky! But this was such a wonderful murder mystery, with a wealth of funny, quirky, and interesting characters that, at times, I forgot it WAS a mystery, and I was supposed to figure out who-dun-it!

A wonderful novel with the perfect happily-ever-after that doesn't necessarily include a man!

Lila's life is a mess. Her husband is on the show more run for embezzlement, and she's lost her house and her job. and the friends she's had, and it seems, the respect her daughter, a young and troubled Bea, had for her.

The only thing she can do is help out her mother's boyfriend by cleaning out his mother's old apartment in a very fancy retirement home for wealthy Southerners.

I'll end my recap there, so you will find out soon enough that Lila gets roped into solving an old murder mystery.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this novel, and if there is going to be another (which it looks like there will be), I will be first in line to buy a copy! There were just enough twists in the plot to keep you wondering, but not so many that you couldn't keep up. The characters were realistic and well-drawn (I hope you love Evelyn as much as I did).

A great book for book clubs because it will resonate with people of all ages, and there is a lot to discuss.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher William Morrow/HarperCollins, the author, and NetGalley. show less

An especially good choice for those who enjoy atmospheric reads and sensory details, this is full of descriptives, including the scents and ingredients involved in this family’s use of aromagic charms, definitely the sort of book that paints a picture in your mind.

Friends, family, community, the secondary characters had well thought out and distinct personalities, the mom is more complicated than she initially seems to Marigold and the middle sister, Lou, stood out with her own sort of show more mini-arc. As for Marigold, she’s a great heroine, she cares deeply about family, she’s imperfect and eager to make things right after mistakes, and for those readers who are the youngest member of their families I think they’ll enjoy that the baby of the family is the one who steps up here.

I really liked how even though there’s fantastical elements like a curse and magic throughout this story, the stuff that fills Marigold with anxiety is all very real world, very much relatable to young readers, Marigold’s parents are not entirely reliable and going through a divorce that Marigold in part blames herself for, her sisters are feuding when they used to be close, she’s worried that her oldest sibling will leave home soon and Marigold’s putting too much stock in popularity. While magic does play a role in the resolutions to Marigold’s problems, so does communicating better with her family and learning lessons about how to treat friends, not cheating to get ahead, etc., so for a magic infused story, it’s admirably grounded. show less

Lila Shaw and her ten-year-old daughter Bea desperately need a place to live after her husband is indicted for fraud and goes on the run. Her comfortable suburban existence has been demolished, with their assets seized and her friends all suddenly giving her the cold shoulder. She reluctantly takes up her mother-in-law’s offer to temporarily move into a deceased relative’s apartment at the Primrose, a luxury senior residence, if she will clear out the jam-packed rooms and get it ready show more for sale. When the owner of the building’s penthouse apartment announces a contest to solve a decades old mystery – the murder of his granddaughter – Bea is eager to investigate. She’s obsessed with true crime, the gorier the better.

Lila reluctantly joins in, tempted by the monetary prize and trying to build a connection to her troubled daughter who has been hostile and disruptive ever since her father disappeared. Surely it won’t be too dangerous, Lila thinks – but then there’s another murder, and the police suspect her. Anxious about being separated from Bea, she joins with two neighbors, crotchety socialite Evelyn and Jasper, a shy retired detective, to explore the possible connections between the long-ago disappearance and the murder that might put her in prison.

This mystery follows the trend of featuring communities of elders who join together as amateur detectives made popular by The Thursday Murder Club. What it brings to the familiar formula is the evolution of Lila as a mother and her efforts to reach her daughter. At the beginning of the novel Lila is both concerned and clueless. She has been lying to Bea about her father’s absence, and she dithers about the problems the child is having at school. The investigation proves to be an opportunity to get closer and to eventually understand one another.

The other characters, and there are many residents at the Primrose, are less developed, with many providing comical effect as they gossip and drink lots of wine. The police investigation is less sophisticated than the plots of Bea’s favorite TV show, Murder, She Wrote, and the plot sometimes hinges on lucky coincidences. But it’s a fun, fast read that will appeal to cozy lovers.

Reposted from Crime Fiction Review - https://crimefictionreview.com/the-primrose-murder-society-by-stacey-hackney/ show less

As a fan of Only Murders in the Building, this was a fun murder mystery reminiscent of the show! This book follows Lila and her daughter Bea and shows the challenges they face due to Bea’s dad having left because of being involved in an embezzling scheme. As a result, they have to move into and clean out an apartment belonging to Lila’s mom’s boyfriend in a building known as the Primrose. Their lives become even more complicated when a 2 million dollar reward is offered for solving an show more old murder that occurred in the building. Through working to solve the murder, Bea and Lila grow closer and gain an understanding of each other, and also build relationships with the other building residents.

I really appreciated the interactions between Bea and Lila, they are both very flawed individuals and struggle as a mom-daughter pair. Lila clearly has a deep love of her daughter and is just trying to do the best she can to raise her while Bea is young and struggling with the move and the loss of her father. It felt like a very realistic portrayal of the struggles one might feel in their situation and while Bea sometimes felt bratty, I think her actions make sense in the context of her experiences.

Now to the murder mystery! In my opinion, the mark of a good murder mystery is when I cannot figure out who did it, but once it is revealed it seems logical and I can see that the clues were there. This book absolutely meets that requirement! I had so many theories of who the culprit was and was so far off from the actual killer, but I had totally missed clues that pointed to who it was. There are twists and turns and a fantastic reveal, so this was a great murder mystery to me.

Finally, the audiobook narration was so good! The emotions the narrator conveyed through her tone were so powerful and really brought the whole story together for me and made me feel for the characters. The production quality was clear, and this was such an easy listen in the best way.

If you are a fan of Only Murders in the Building or character driven murder mysteries I highly recommend checking out this book when it releases on March 3 2026!

Thank you to Netgalley, HarperAudio Adult, William Morrow, and Stacy Hackney for the opportunity to read an eARC and listen to an eALC of this book! show less