Hannah Hendy

Best for:
Fans of ‘cozy’ mysteries; those who enjoyed the first in the series.

In a nutshell:
During rehearsals for the annual Christmas play, a member of staff is killed in a freak accident. Or was it an accident?

Worth quoting:
N/A

Why I chose it:
I’m traveling (which means no cat photos with the books, sadly) and don’t have the brain power to focus on most books. This is keeping me company as I fly, and on my runs.

Review:
I love a series like this where the characters’ personalities are show more able to develop across the books. In a series that focuses just on one detective I don’t get as much in terms of character. Many of the folks from the first book appear in this one, of course with a few new ones.

This is considered a ‘cozy’ mystery in that there’s some humor, and a lot of character, but it is a bit odd how … violent the initial crime is. A women is crushed to death when a bunch of lighting from a stage crashes down upon her. And loads of people witness it, but don’t seem to be super traumatized, which I do find a bit odd That’s a brutal death.

Aside from that, the rest of the book focuses on trying to determine who killed Mrs. Large, and why. There is inter-school intrigue, a missing dog, and possibly stolen intellectual property. And the ending is fairly satisfying.

I’ve already borrowed the next two books in the series because I need all the light reading I can get right now. show less

A Gravely Troubling Discovery by Hannah Hendy is the 5th in the Dinner Lady Detectives series. While it was fine to read as a stand-alone, I feel like I did miss some of the backstory of the relationships, and knowing who people were. I would suggest starting from the beginning of the series.
There was a lot going on from missing people, murders old and new, possible affairs, an audit, etc. so I had some trouble keeping up with all of the players and the clues. It didn’t really matter show more though because the main characters were charming, and their escapades were hilarious. There was a golf cart chase that had me cackling out loud.
This was a fun, cozy read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for providing the digital ARC. show less

Best for:
Those looking for a bit of a cozy mystery.

In a nutshell:
Margery and Clementine are a couple who work together as dinner ladies at the local school. The kitchen manager is found dead in a walk-in freezer, and while everyone else writes it off as an accident, Margery and Clementine aren’t so sure…

Worth quoting:
N/A

Why I chose it:
I like the idea of a sort of simple, cozy little mystery, and it was available from my library.

Review:
I had no idea what to expect from this book but I was show more mostly pleasantly surprised, though I do have some issues with the characters.

As I said above, the book focuses on Margery and Clementine, a couple who have been together for 30 years, and who work together doing the same job at a local school. After their work colleague dies, they decide to look into it further, and find themselves in all sorts of hijinks and silly situations, while also being a bit at risk. No one takes them seriously - not the police, nor other staff at the school, and this does seem to be a bit of a commentary both on how certain jobs are not respected (along with the holders of those jobs), as well as how middle-aged women are generally invisible.

The plot is fine; there are twists and I guess one could see some of them coming but others are sort of out of nowhere, which I found a bit annoying. I was also frustrated by how cruel pretty much every character is to their work colleagues. So much teasing, unpleasantness, and just generally meanness. I’m not a fan of that in general, and it was running throughout this book.

I did, however, enjoy the detail author Hendy put into developing Margery and Clementine. They have such specific ways of going through life, and such a set routine, it’s believable that it would have developed over so many years being together. Some of it feels a bit absurd, but it also works for them, and they are clearly in a loving relationship, so that was nice.

This is apparently the first in a serious of five books - I’m sure I’ll read the rest as they become available from the library. show less

I didn’t have high expectations for this one, and rightly so as it turned out. It is a typical cosy mystery featuring a couple of lesbian dinner ladies. Mild entertainment for an afternoon, but nothing special.

The use of “sat” instead of “sitting” was annoying (e.g. he was sat on the grass, the car was sat in the drive). I realize “sat” is used in spoken language in the north of England, but is regarded as wrong when used in print. As well, the story is not set in the north of show more England nor is Hendy from the region. show less