The Poison Pen

This book was enjoyable, though I wish I would have realized that it was a sequel before I started it. It definitely makes me want to read the first one! Overall, it was a kickback book, which took me only a few days of light reading to finish. I was fully enthralled by Detective Chief Inspector Hayward and his adventures, and I almost felt like I was transported into the story and the times.

This is a fantastic cosy mystery set in a little town near London. The manager from a department store was found murdered with arsenic. DCI Richard Hayward and his team have to solve the puzzle. It isn't an easy task because the dead man has been hated by everybody and therefore everyone was quite happy about his death and aren't very forthcoming in helping the police. DCI Hayward has his own method of solving a mystery which isn't always acceptable with his surrounding.
Next to the professional business he has also some familiar matters to struggle with. His young wife is due to deliver their first child and his DS is hopelessly fallen in love with his sister-in-law.

I enjoyed this book from ‘cover-to-cover’! Detective Chief Inspector Richard Hayward is introduced in the 1st sentence of the novel and as I continued to learn about his character he reminded me of the character of newspaperman Jim Qwilleran as created by Lilian Jackson Braun. Although Jim Qwilleran is a bachelor and Richard Hayward is married, the personal qualities of each character are equally charming and endearing. In this case, the setting is Wall’s Department Store, one of the few remaining independent department stores in the country (U.K.). Or as Richard says, “Straightforward enough…That’s the overture, I suppose. Let’s have the rest of it.” The author then draws you into the mystery to question each new show more character as a possible suspect and the reader wants to find out “whodunit” and “whydunit”. Absolute intrigue and fun for a mystery lover! Absolute fun!

I later learned that “The Poison Pen” was not the 1st introduction of this character by the author but a second mystery of the “Richard Hayward Series” and originally introduced in the novel “The Ladies of Class”. As a former librarian and cataloger of books, following a ‘read’ of a novel, I enjoy looking and reading other parts of the book (i.e. copyright page, dedication, about the author, back cover, etc.). I was very sad to read on the copyright page of this novel – “Written permission has been obtained by Michael Owen on behalf of the Estate of Marjorie Owen, via her last will and testament, for the publication of this work.” With this information, it became clear that more titles in the series would be of limited availability and I had to investigate more about this author. I am so grateful as a reader to Michael Owen for pursuing the course to bring his Mother’s writing to publication to share with the world. If you normally don’t take the time to read the “About the Author” pages, please take the time to read about Marjorie Owen. It truly sounds as though she was a phenomenal woman that I would have loved to have met in person and listened to her life story and/or the advice that she might have shared.

I was lucky enough to receive a pre-publication copy of this title as an “Early Reviewer” from Library Thing. show less

This follow-up to Marjorie Owen’s debut novel “Ladies of Class” takes us back to the fictional village of Burshill and lets us continue the tales of Dectective Chief Inspector Richard Hayward, fresh from his recent case. DCI Hayward literally steps back from vacation with his attractive wife Kate into investigating a curious death at the local department store. Was the death of manager Mr. Berwick a suicide or murder? Who would have wanted to kill such a non-descript man? As DCI Hayward peels back the layers of the case, taking only brief moments out to check on his pregnant wife, and to keep tabs on the burgeoning romance between her sister and his own assistant Jim Findon, he discovers that Mr. Berwick may not have been as show more mild-mannered as originally thought and that the shop itself holds many secrets.

I reveled in this throwback to an era where a mystery needed to be solved using wit over Wikipedia and good old sensibility over social media. Sit back with a cup of brewed tea and enjoy. show less

An enjoyable cozy mystery. The story flowed nicely without being tediously long winded in its attention to detail. I would happily read the rest of the series. However, I found the intermittent American spelling and grammar at odds with the setting of the story - a very English department store in the mid 20th century.

All the ingredients for a typically British 'old-fashioned' detective novel are here. A very nice and homely little novel, a hugely enjoyable read. It kept me guessing 'till the end, and with some nice and charming characters (Jim Findon in particular)

Once I got into the rhythm of writing, I really enjoyed this book. It felt like a step back in time - - another era. I loved the characters and the Agatha Christie-type mystery. I was sorry when the book ended!