The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp

It has been an eventful morning for Agnes Sharp and the other inhabitants of Sunset Hall, a house share for the old and unruly in the sleepy English countryside. Although they have had some issues (misplaced reading glasses, conflicting culinary tastes, decreasing mobility, and unruly grandsons), nothing prepares them for an unexpected visit from a police officer with some shocking news. A body has been discovered next door. Everyone puts on a long face for show, but they are secretly relieved the body in question is not the one they’re currently hiding in the shed (sorry, Lillith).

It seems the answer to their little problem with Lillith may have fallen right into their lap. All they have to do is find out who murdered their neighbor, show more so they can pin Lillith’s death on them, thus killing two (old) birds with one stone (cold killer).

With their plan sorted, Agnes and her geriatric gang spring into action. After all, everybody likes a good mystery. Besides, the more suspicion they can cast about, surely the less will land on them. To investigate, they will step out of their comfort zone, into the not-so-idyllic village of Duck End and tangle with sinister bakers, broken stairlifts, inept criminals, the local authorities, and their own dark secrets. show less

The seniors who live in Sunset Hall, in Duck's End, struggle quite a bit more with physical and mental limitations than others in similar novels. While sometimes their mental confusion got me lost while reading, I admired the dose of realism.

The novel is translated from German into English, and may have lost something in translation. I did have an easier time reading the last third of the book.

The quirky cast of characters are Hettie the tortoise, Agnes Sharp herself, Edwina, Bernadette, Winston, Marshall, Charlie, and Brexit (the dog). Charlie and Brexit move into Sunset Hall and upset the apple cart in a very Barbara Pym-esque manner. Straight humor and dark humor are plentiful as the story is told from different viewpoints (including show more Hettie's)! Agnes in particular tends to stumble into dangerous situations, considering she can't even climb the stairs.

Agnes is the owner of Sunset Hall and she does not want dogs in the house, or grandchildren. However, the appearance of Charlie with her dog Brexit, and the later appearance of Marshall's food-adoring grandson, cause minor upheaval compared with not one, but two murders of women of a certain age in this peaceful English town. It will fall to Agnes, with the help of the inhabitants of Sunset Hall, to solve the murders. The twists at the end are surprising and satisfying. show less

I've discovered I have a newly found affinity for mysteries with seniors as the protagonists. Why? Maybe because I'm getting closer to that age group!

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann is one of those books.

Swann opens the book with Hettie perusing a curious set of shoes. Hettie just happens to be a tortoise! But she's one of a group of characters that populate Sunset Hall. The Hall is home to a group of seniors that live as a family. They're determined to not be sent to a institutional care home. They're a quirky bunch, all with some health issues, with memory loss being one of them. Swann alludes to their past employments, but I'll let you discover what those might be.

A body is found in their greenhouse (classic) and then show more another next door. There's no doubt about it - these are both murders and it's definitely too close to home! And of course, they start their own investigation. Given that memory loss is at the top of the list, we have more than one unreliable narrator.

The past and present collide many times. What's now and what's then? As a reader we don't know and the path to the final aha moment doubles back on itself more than once.

I quite enjoyed this book, the characters, the premise and the plot. I do think it could be shortened up a wee bit though. show less

This is if The Thursday Murder Club was written by Fredrik Backman. Humor, heart, mystery, fun, reality, dark subjects and an adorable little boy that loves Nutella, all in one book. An excellent cast of characters and quite the mystery make this an excellent start to a series that I am looking forward to continuing.

a fun, engaging, and entertaining read from start to finish. Once I got into it, the story and my need to know the answers pulled me along to the end, and I enjoyed the ride.

One thing that really stood out to me was Swann's handling of her characters' advanced age. Agnes and her cohorts are much more ravaged by the passage of time than the members of The Thursday Murder Club, for instance. Swann's depiction of her character's inner worlds as they struggle with the more mental aspects of aging - memory loss, slips into the past, brain fog, among others - is deft and evocative.

This isn't a perfect book - there are a couple of subplots that I think could have been excised entirely, given how little impact they end up having, and Swann show more wraps them up a little too perfectly in a way that feels both artifical and tacked on. And while the resolution of the mystery felt satisfying and well delivered, the resolution of the police investigation could have been communicated more clearly.

All of that said, though, I do think that this is a good book. Swann has written a good cozy mystery with some real substance to it that elevates it beyond just fluff. I do recommend this book, and I will probably get round to the sequel one of these days. show less

I'm not a fan of cozy mysteries and I would not have read this one except that the description was so odd. I'm glad I took the plunge. The book is more Agatha Christie (if Dame A could be silly) than a cozy. A TV producer would say "zany!". Anyway, the important thing to understand from the beginning is that all of the persons of advanced years who live in this sprawling old house, were once cops or spies. They may not be fully compos mentis, but but they definitely have skills. And there is a tortoise.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGally.com.

Several years ago, I read Leonie Swann's Three Bags Full, and although I enjoyed it, it felt as though some undefinable thing were missing. I've had this happen before with other authors. Every once in a while, I come across a writer who comes up with ideas that delight me and grab my imagination, yet there's something lacking in the finished product. After reading The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp, I feel the same way about Leonie Swann; however, in her case, my problem may lie in the fact that humor doesn't always translate well into other languages.

Agnes Sharp has gathered together an interesting group of people with various skill sets that will ultimately help them find the killer of Duck End despite their individual infirmities. (One show more is blind, another is in a wheelchair, Agnes won't take her meds, etc.) She did this so that they could all be independent yet not die alone, which is an admirable aim indeed.

They find themselves in all sorts of predicaments, including babysitting a grandson, and Agnes herself goes undercover in a nursing home. I think my favorite part of the book was when one of them drugged and locked a police officer in the cellar. I didn't expect that to be so amusing, but it was.

But as the story unfolded, I began to wonder just how reliable Agnes was as a narrator, especially since she refused to take some very important medication. In addition, the story had so many twists and turns that I began to get confused. As I sorted everything out, I began to visualize a tapestry with many loose, tangled, and knotted threads, and that's a reading experience I don't enjoy.

Leonie Swann's The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp has a surprising cast of lively old hippies... and a tortoise named Hettie who likes hands bearing lettuce. I may not want to sit down to tea with them, but I do admire their persistence and inventiveness.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) show less