Thelma, Liz, and Pat are friends who are retired but all still somewhat connected to their old school, St. Barnabus. They all become aware that various members of the school staff and administration have been receiving very mean anonymous letters. The head of the school, Kayleigh Brittain, although on the receiving end of several of these letters, pressures people not to contact the police about the situation. She doesn't want the negative publicity and thinks it will all blow over soon. As the three retired teachers begin to see the stress and strain the letters are causing in the community, they decide to do some investigating themselves. In addition to this, they are each also dealing with various personal and family problems that keep them up nights worrying. As they work to find the culprit behind the letters, they also worry that the person might step up their game (beyond some potentially related vandalism) and actually hurt someone.

I found the story quite interesting, but it sort of bogged down in the middle. Also, with the events happening in a school, there were SO MANY characters to keep up with! I had a hard time remembering who was who (a chart of characters would have been helpful). The story and setting (Thirsk, of James Herriott fame!) were charming and the pace meandered along like a visit to the garden center. ( )

St Barnabus Primary School is part of the Lodestone Academy Trust and is run by a fearsomely efficient headteacher called Kayleigh Brittain. However all is not well at St Barnabus, anonymous letters have been sent to members of staff and are causing distress. One marriage has crumbled, another is on the rocks and staff are off sick, into this mess come the retired teachers, Liz, Pat and Thelma. Each has issues of her own with family but are are passionate about their local school and the impact of academisation as well as the letters.
This is the second outing for these three middle-aged sleuths and I had not read the first so it took a while to separate the characters. However the setting in Thirsk, with plenty of references to Ripon (and even Bradford) had me hooked and I found myself warming to the gentle pace and actually not very threatening plot. Everything is handled discreetly and the whole book is just as cosy crime should be - fun and light ( )

In this second book in a series, retired teachers Thelma, Liz, and Pat combine forces to try to discover who is writing nasty notes to the teachers at the local school. In addition to this problem, there seem to be issues with the school accounts, a malfunctioning boiler, vandalism, not to mention secret liaisons. The idea of schools being operated as businesses are also explored. There are several mysteries to be dealt with, as well as the personal and family life situations of the three retirees.
The atmosphere of the story seems dark and brooding. There is no overt violence or any descriptive adult scenes in this book. A reader does not need to read the first book to find out what is happening in this one. However, there were a lot of characters to keep straight and some obscure references to the first book led to some confusion.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own. ( )

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 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. ( )