J.M. Hall (1)

When a cleaner finds her employer dead in his holiday let there seems to be no crime, he died of a massive heart attack. However when a witness says she heard shouting there appears to be a link to a vicious OFSTED report which has led to the closing of a well-loved primary school. Now retired teachers and amateur sleuths Liz, Pat and Thelma are on the case.
Hall's cosy crime novels are a real joy for me because they are set in a corner of North Yorkshire that I love and have a focus on show more education. Here there are many digs and the inflexibility of our education system, at faceless Academy chains producing identical schools and mostly at the behemoth that is Ofsted. For this alone I would love this book, but it's also a great little mystery written with verve and love. show less

I received an advance copy from NetGalley.

This second book featuring three nosy retired Yorkshire schoolteachers doesn’t focus on solving a murder, but other insidious drama—someone is sending nasty messages to the staff at their old school. The sorts of vile words that inspire tears, starvation, and other acts from guilt.
I didn’t find this as strong of a book as the first. The start felt rather slow, and the sheer number of characters kept me addled. I kept reading, though, because I show more wanted to find out whodunnit. It turned out that I guessed the guilty party early on, but I’m still pleased with how the mystery plot played out, as it included numerous surprises. show less

I received an early copy of this book via NetGalley.

In this cozy mystery very much in the mold of Thursday Murder Club, three retired school teachers encounter an old colleague and find she's suffering from dementia. Days later, they discover something worse: she's dead. It's quickly dismissed as a pill mix-up because of her muddled mind, but details don't add up and suspects are aplenty as the three old friends begin to investigate.

I found the book slow to get going because it is so show more utterly immersive in the lives of the three main characters, but that's also how it hooked me. Also incredibly appealing: the people and the settling as are Yorkshire as Wensleydale cheese and parkin, and I love Yorkshire so very much. There's a gritty realness to the book but it doesn't delve too deep into that, for the most part--but elder abuse IS a major theme, so if that is a trigger for you, this book may not be the best fit for you. show less

Liz, Pat and Thelma all have issues to deal with but when an ex-colleague tells them a tale of supernatural happenings they are fairly sceptical. However, a chance encounter leads them to look into a couple of suspicious deaths and the three friends are back into their sleuthing mode again.

This is a very gently cosy crime novel which is the latest in an enjoyable series. I love the North Yorkshire setting and the way that modern life impacts on a very traditional set up. It's not high show more fiction and it's fairly predictable but Hall's books are solid and reliable - they're also rather fun. show less