Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door is book #2 in the Jane Darrowfield Mystery series by Barbara Ross.

Jane Darrowfield is a retiree who has opened a business as a professional busybody. She helps settle matters between neighbors that are too small for taking to the police. Her next door neighbor, Megan, hires her. She disappears and Jane feels guilty that she may have played a part in it.

This is the first book I’ve read in the series and I wasn’t sure what to expect based the title. I really enjoyed this story. Jane is delightful and so is her gentleman friend, Harry. The ladies in the bridge group care for her and provide humor.

I’ve already purchased the first book to catch up on the first book.

Thank you to the author, Kensington, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Jane is a busybody and has a knack for helping people sort things out and that can lead her to solving mysteries. Being retired seemed to be enough but this new direction fits in very well. Her new mystery is brought to her by her next door neighbor, a 30 something lawyer with a chance at making partner. Megan is single, lives in a modern house and has a cat. Her reason for seeking out Jane's help is to find out if she is going crazy or is somebody gaslighting her. She hears voices, thinks she's being followed to name just a few strange happenings. Before Jane can sit down with her to discuss some ideas about the situation, Megan and her cat vanish. The cat is found but still no sign of Megan. It looks like foul play and Jane joins forces with the police to help sort out the puzzle of the vanishing lawyer.
I devoured the first in the series as well as the author's Maine Clambake series and my hope is that this series will have a long run. Spending time with Jane is a pleasure. She's 50+, divorced and retired with a sharp and organized mind. The mystery had me guessing to the very end - a real surprise there. I have set aside a spot on the must be read shelf for as many more of this series as Barbara Ross can write.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Jane Darrowfield And The Madwoman Next Door is the second book in the Jane Darrowfield series by Barbara Ross.

Jane Darrowfield is a sixty-something retired woman. Jane may be a busy body, but she is a busy body that I would love to know and be her friend.

Jane’s next-door neighbor, Megan, asks Jane to help her find out if she is crazy. Jane tells her that that is above her job description. Megan, who has recently moved into her renovated house and since moving in, has been experiencing flashing lights, lost periods of time, thermostat settings being changed, garage door opening and closing at different times, and other disturbing things. Megan explains that she doesn’t want to undergo a medical examination as she is up for a partner in the law firm where she works, and that would undoubtedly put an end to becoming a partnership. After Megan shares her life story, Jane agrees to help.

When Jane tries to contact Megan a day or two later, she cannot reach her. Megan has shared her security codes with Jane, so Jane enters the house to see if Megan is alright. She finds that Megan has left in a rush along with her much-loved cat. Jane calls Detective Alvarez, who Jane has worked with before, to report her missing. He explains that the police need something more than Jane’s feeling that something has been kidnapped. Jane starts looking for information that she can use to convince the police to look into Megan’s having gone missing. Jane soon learns about digital gaslighting, where someone can hack into a resident’s security system. Jane soon learns that Megan was relatively free with sharing her codes and has many suspects to investigate.

I’m really enjoying this new series, and I found this book more interesting than the first. The book is well-written and plotted. The story contains an enjoyable, well-developed, and believable cast of characters. There were enough red herrings that kept guessing until the end of the book to the identity of the guilty person.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this entertaining series.

Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door is part of a cozy mystery series by Barbara Ross. Jane is a year or two into her retirement, and she’s already travelled and planted a garden. She's become known in West Cambridge, Massachusetts as the go-to person for situations that need discreet fixing. Some might refer to her as a professional busybody and she is hired by her next-door neighbour, Megan, a single mid-30s lawyer, in the hopes of getting to the bottom of several concerning and odd occurrences. Megan doesn’t know if she is imagining the strange happenings or if someone is harassing her so she asks Jane for her impartial and no-nonsense opinions, but then Megan disappears...

Jane has to race against time aided by Detective Alvarez to find Megan. I found Jane realistic, intuitive and immensely likeable and an excellent amateur sleuth. The narrative was smooth, the dialogue smart, and I was totally invested in the involved mystery. A fun and entertaining read.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Kensington Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

This book was so much fun! Jane Darrowfield is an older woman who likes to keep active and has set herself up as a "Professional Busybody." She is there to help others with life's little problems and certainly has her work cut out when her next door neighbour drops by.

Megan is a single professional woman who has recently moved in next door. She asks Jane to decide for her whether she is going mad. There are certainly indicators - she hears voices, she wakes up sweating in the night even when it is not hot, she 'loses' time. Jane takes her job seriously and quickly comes up with some alternative reasons for these issues other than madness.

I really liked Jane and her friends. The author writes well and she provided several good possibilities for the perpetrator of the crimes. She led me up the garden path - I suspected completely the wrong person! Everything tied up neatly at the end and I was left with a warm, comfortable feeling. This is a cosy after all! Now let me get at book 1!

I love the fact that this series features an older protagonist. The plot was clever and not one that has been overdone, which was refreshing. Looking forward to the inevitable mystery where Jane deals with her son and/or her ex. More, please!

Jane Darrowfield was on a strange case where her neighbor thought she was going crazy, but Jane's research showed otherwise. I loved how she went about her research doing both online and some old-fashioned legwork. Jane still reminds me of a twenty-first Jessica Fletcher who I'm pretty sure would've embraced all the technology available to her right now. Although I'm not sure being compared to her would make Jane all that happy, lol. I loved it when Jane and Harry got together. They were just so cute!

There were enough suspects that I didn't really trust anyone except Jane herself and Det. Alvarez. I was suspicious of someone early on, and while my attention was caught by all the other distractions, I was right to be suspicious of the person. The question eventually was whether there was a murder now or not? What happened to this neighbor who thought she was going nuts?

Jane's discovery led to a good ending as well as a nice little ending for her and Harry. I hope there're going to be more books in the series, but if not, I feel like this did end in a place I can live with. :) Don't miss it--the book comes out Tuesday December 28th.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Kensington via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

This is one of my favourite new series, and the second book is just as good as the first. Jane is a retired, mature, single woman who has set up a business around being a busybody. She takes on jobs that others don't have time for or are having trouble resolving, and this has previously lead her to helping solve a murder at a retirement village.

In this book, Jane gets involved in the disappearance of her neighbour, Megan, who recently approached her with concerns that she thought she was going crazy - lights flickering in her house, hearing voices, etc. Jane works with the police to pick apart the puzzle and figure out what happened to Megan.

This is a clever, well-written series and I like that Jane, estranged from her son and divorced for decades from an awful husband, has found new love with a slightly mysterious man that she can't *quite* bring herself to entirely trust just yet. The mysteries are well done, the red herrings liberal, and the resolutions are tied up neatly. We are also getting a little bit closer to Jane and her figuring out the estrangement between her and her son.

Recommended!

The first novel in this series was excellent, this is even better.
I was glad to catch with Jane, her friends and to travel to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
This is an excellent cozy mystery with something more because it features some very current topics and I appreciated how the author dealt with them.
The mystery is complex, tense, and full of twists. The solution surprised me and I loved it.
The characters are fleshed out and likeable, the setting is lovely
I can't wait to read the next book in this series, this one is highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Book 2 takes of the new Professional Busybody Series takes a slightly different tack in that she is asked by Megan Larson, her mid-thirties single lawyer neighbor next door to ascertain if she is having mental problems or there really is someone out to drive her off the rails. She’s been seeing things, having lights turned on or off, hearing things. Or is it just the “smart” house that is running amok?

No prob. Jane is on the job and shortly comes up with a theory just about the time the woman goes missing. Oh, yes, this one doesn’t take long to go from 0 to 60.

Jane is an independent woman, fully capable, intelligent and solid with the Detective Alvarez as well as a new and developing love interest, Harry. This is a slightly more serious cozy, following the basic formula and switching it up with twists. Not too difficult to figure out the culprit, but the deepening mystery pushed some tension and made for an engaging and entertaining read.

A great sophomore effort sure to cement some old as well as new fans to the series and author. I like the theme of a capable and caring senior, connected but subtle in her methods. An easy and well-paced novel.

This is the second in the series. This book was better than the first and I enjoyed the first tremendously. I found the premise interesting with an updated means to accomplish the desired outcome. The route of most evil is the desire for tons of money.

I rate this as a 4.5 but since I can’t do that in the current system, I’ll round up.

In this installment a young woman, Megan, moves in next door. Her home doesn’t fit into the neighborhood. It is extremely upscale & was marketed as a luxury home with many fancy electronic upgrades.
The woman asks Jane to help he determine if she is losing her mind. This needs to be kept on the down low as her business reputation cannot sustain a hit of this magnitude.

Jane has some thoughts after the Megan goes missing. She investigates and it’s amazing the things she finds out. Prodding Jane on is a co-worker who cares about Megan and Megan’s mother once she is informed of her daughter’s disappearance.

Jane is estranged from her son and we really don’t know why. She is divorced and has a new man in her life. Will she be able to trust another with her heart. Only time will tell.

I like this series. I don’t think Jane is a busybody. She is wise beyond many grandmothers. Her life experiences allow her to ferret out the details and assist her clients in getting resolution to their predicaments.

I was given an advanced copy from Netgalley and am not required to leave a positive review.

In Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door, Jane is retired, single and lives in Cambridge. She works for herself as a Professional Busybody (as shown on her business cards). She solves strangers’ problems that are too small for the police.

Jane’s neighbor, Megan, asks for her help. Megan believes someone is stalking her or she is going slowly insane like her mother. When Megan soon disappears, Jane decides the first option is correct and investigates.

The characters seem genuine and have logical emotions. The plot is very twisty. There are many clues but even more red herrings. It’s fun to try to keep up with Jane’s deductions!

Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door is an enjoyable cozy with a challenging mystery to solve. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars!

This book is the second in the series but works fine as a standalone.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I like the character of Jane. I am very curious about her relationship with her son, however. Why did he cut her out of his life? That mystery is really catching my attention, maybe more than the main one in the story. I like that Jane is older and has had a 'previous' life but is still going forward in what is happening now.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Set in a pretty town in Massachusetts, this enticing cozy mystery lured me in from the first sentence and kept me riveted until the end which came all too quickly. And that fetching cover and title! It is the second in the Jane Darrowfield series and it is impossible to say which I enjoyed more as they are both wonderful.

Compassionate, intuitive and quirky Jane Darrowfield is a woman of a "certain age" who is retired and perfectly qualified to be a "professional busybody". She is also eccentric, fun and has secret sorrows of her own, the kind of woman who would be fantastic to have chatty tea with. Her young new lawyer neighbour, Megan, seeks Jane's help as she wonders whether she is going out of her mind. A bit unusual. But Jane investigates and discovers much more than she had imagined with a plethora of secrets and buckets of deceptions. A cat or two enter the story as well.

One of my favourite aspects of this book is the fact that the sleuth is not an immature twenty something. Not only is the story extremely likeable but the characters are fascinating and for a cozy are beautifully three dimensional. Jane is believable, realistic and sensible. This cozy has that little bit more which elevates it including the lovely writing style resplendent with quick wit to the descriptions and characters to care about to the layers of mystery and the promise of more in future.

If you are seeking a new cozy mystery series (or even if you're not!), choose this one first. You will be refreshed by its charm and gentleness and escapist qualities. It really is endearing and makes me yearn for more like this.

My sincere thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this marvellous book! I eagerly await the next in the series and in the meanwhile will read all I possibly can by Barbara Ross.

Entertaining characters and a well written whodunit.
I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Jane's neighbor Megan, a high powered attorney, hires her to figure out if someone is gaslighting her and then things get dark when Megan disappears. Jane, who is retired and merrily finding her way in her new community, discovers that Megan's smart house might be more than either of them thought. Where's Megan's cat? Well, the cat is eventually discovered in a secret panic room but that doesn't solve the question of Megan. Only Jane (and Detective Alvarez) can do that. The men in Megan's life-her BFF and her ex-both come under scrutiny but is there someone else to look at? I like this series (this is only the second one) for Jane, who is a strong character with a good sense of right and wrong. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good cozy read.

Loved this cozy mystery.
Jane is a professional busy body, and is approached by her neighbor, Megan, to investigate if Megan is crazy or not. It appears strange things are happening while she in in her house, and Jane is determined to uncover the truth. But, as she investigates further, things take a nasty turn and Megan turns up missing. It is a race against time to find the truth and save Megan's life.
Great characters with enjoyable banter. Truly enjoy and look forward to another book in this series.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jane has decided to hire herself out as a "professional busybody," but is surprised when Megan, the young woman who recently moved in next door, wants Jane to determine whether or not she's going mad. Despite an elaborate security system, Megan disappears and Jane is determined to figure out what happened – and why.

This is the second book in the Jane Darrowfield series, and I enjoyed it even more than the first. Since the setting and the recurring characters were established in the first book, the author was able to devote more time to the mystery here, and she did a very good job. There weren't many viable suspects, so the reader has to sift through the meager clues to try to figure out whodunnit. I had a short list of possibilities and zeroed in one particular character – and I was absolutely wrong. Boy, do I not see that coming! I can't wait to read the next book to see what Jane and her neighbors come up with next.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley # netgalley

So great and the setting was spectacular!

So, the 2nd book is better than the 1st, and I enjoyed them both. Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door is the latest installment from Barbara Ross, and by finishing this one, I'm fully current on both of the author's series. I am now ready for her new releases in 2022.

I chose this book because I enjoyed the author's initial series, Maine Clambake Mysteries, and I read the first in this collection earlier in the week. I received this book from NetGalley last month, and I devoured both within a few days.

Massachusetts. A retired woman who is estranged from her son and divorced from a lousy husband. She's organized and direct. And she plays cards. Of course, I'd love the setup. When a neighbor begs for help, I'm all in. Let's solve this together. A panic room, a lost cat, and a string of confusing stories. When it all comes together, it makes sense and I am thrilled with the progress of the tale.

I have a few niggles, as a friend would say. We find out what happened to the neighbor, but we don't get much time post crime resolution to reflect. The house seems not to fit with the neighborhood. The woman's family is distant yet excruciatingly focused on finding her. I think the book needed some massaging, and then it would be a 5-star for me.

I am thirsty for more from the author, and I will definitely be first in line to read the next one.