It said ‘for fans of the Thursday murder club’ but I am a fan of Thursday Murder club and found this book to be very boring. It’s incredibly rare that I think about leaving a book unfinished. I did plough on with this but it was hard work. I’m really sorry but it wasn’t my cup of tea at all.

A Spoonful of Murder by J M Hall

This book is a joy, I really really loved it.. I really liked the three ladies and I was invested in their lives.

Every Thursday, three retired school teachers have their 'coffee o'clock' sessions at the Thirsk Garden Centre café.

But one fateful week, as they are catching up with a slice of cake, they bump into their ex-colleague, Topsy.

By the next Thursday, Topsy's dead.

At first it looks like a accidental death caused by the dementia that Topsy is suffering from but something is not sitting right with the 3 ladies and they start to making enquiries into Topsys life and her nearest and dearest.

It is about small close communities and everyone being connected and knowing everything about each other.

What I liked most was the juxtaposition of the absolute mundane routines of these ladies lives such as watching garden rescue, planning for the families dinner, making lists for a shopping trip with the extraordinary - trying to solve the murder.. life goes on even when murder is involved

I totally recommend this book, it is a contemporary murder mystery with 3 older protagonists who investigate murder while balancing their ordinary lives.

A five star read

#England #Mudermystery #cosy #modern #Aspoonfulofmurder #Netgalley

When 3 retired school teachers bump into an old friend little did they realise that in less than 24 hours she would be dead, wanting to know if it was murder or an accidental death our 3 plucky retired ladies decide to investigate

Whilst this sounds like a captivating read i did struggle at times to keep track of what was happening but persevered and did finish

Three retired school teachers enjoy their “coffee o’clock” sessions every Thursday at the Thirsk Garden Café center. Until one day, they bumped into a former colleague, Topsy Joy.

Next Thursday, they found out that Topsy was dead.

“Was she murdered?” or “Was it a tragic accident?”

For Pat, Liz and Thelma, they think the questions never quite feel resolved. It’s for them to find out what have really happened to Topsy.

It’s cute and charming to have elderly people teamed up to solve a crime. Although the beginning of the story is a slow-paced for me, I’m glad to be entertained by these three nosy retired teachers who have involved themselves in solving a mystery.

As the story progresses, I find it difficult to keep myself attentive in the story. Each chapter all throughout, there are new characters or code names introduced. It makes me confused who is who. Even if I take down notes of the important characters (and clues) to help myself solve the mystery, the author's writing style has managed to make me engaged in the story as I follow the journey of the main characters to reach the revelation. In the end, I have made myself extremely annoyed. The author has created a good villain that I will never like.

Overall, A Spoonful of Murder by JM Hall, is a cozy crime mystery about three people embracing their messes and finding justice for an ex-colleague’s unclear cause of death.

If you are looking for a crime adventure without those dark disturbing violence, this could be a good read for you.

Many thanks to @netgalley and Avon Books UK Publisher for providing me an e-ARC in exchange of honest feedback.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me as it was near so ridiculously slow! I had high hopes for this book having loved Richard Osman’s series, and seeing a slight synergy with this, but I only got to about 12% of the way through before I gave up as the events mentioned on the blurb hadn’t even happened at that point, so I felt the introduction was unduly long, which would rush the meat and ending of the story

A Spoonful of Murder is a cosy murder mystery with quality writing not often found in its genre. I was delightfully entertained with its determined bunch of characters who took it upon themselves to investigate a crime and bring justice to a former colleague. The writing was witty and sensitive, with gentle humor evident throughout the story. However, the only complaint I have for this book is the whiplash of characters that were introduced in the first part of the story, which was difficult to contend with. I believe it takes skilled hands to properly handle this specific matter, which the author clearly fell short of.

I absolutely loved this cosy mystery story. I really enjoyed how the characters had their own lives layered into the storyline, and how relatable they all were. The writing reads well and keeps you turning the pages. It's an easy read and perfect for these cold winter nights.

Quick, cozy little read. The pacing was a bit slow for me, but it was an okay story. The story and characters fell a little flat for me, but I'd be willing to try another book from this author.

I want to try to read more cozy mysteries to get a handle on the writing styles and see if its they're a genre I might be interested in more.

Thank you to Avon UK and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have really enjoyed recent cosy murder mysteries featuring older people such as The Thursday Murder Club and The Marlow Murder Club and thought this might be similar.

There are a lot of characters in this book. Liz Thelma and Pat each have their own lives and families as well as the victim, her family and their friends. There are a lot of different elements to the mystery and it takes a while to put them all together.

Because of this the pace was a bit slow for me. And while the old characters are experiences memory loss and trying to stave off the onset of dementia, I found the repetition a little tiresome although it was sin keeping with the characters.

The book certainly highlights how vulnerable some of the elderly can be to unscrupulous tradesman and fraud.

Overall this was a decent enough mystery that I’m sure lots of readers will love.

Thank you to Netgalley for the gifted digital copy of A Spoonful Of Murder

I requested this title on @netgalley because I am a big fan of Richard Osman’s books and this sounded similar. Well, it’s certainly going for the same crowd - the gang who set out to solve the crime even meet on a Thursday! This book was a gentle read, definitely in the cosy crime genre, which is just what I was looking for when I picked it up. If I am being 100% honest, the gang who solve the crime were completely interchangeable to me. Even now I couldn’t tell you their individual names. I think I would have preferred it if there was just one well developed sleuth in this book instead. The actual mystery part was entertaining though, and I didn’t guess whodunnit. All in all I have mixed feelings about this book and if it becomes a series, I am not sure I will continue the series. Just an okay read for me.

Cosy With An Edge…
When three retired teachers bump into an old colleague at a garden centre a catalogue of bizarre events ensues not least involving a death and, possibly, a murder. A cosy crime with an edge as the tragi-comic events unfold with a credible and well crafted cast, a keen sense of wry humour and of character and an entertaining, immersive storyline. Enjoyable reading.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Avon Books UK and #NetGalley for my honest opinion. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Wonderful debut! I look forward to many more from J. M. Hall.

Even though the three friends aren’t detectives they get together to solve the murder. Took me longer to read and get into, but once I had it was enjoyable.

Rating: 2.0/5

Unfortunately, this cosy mystery failed to hold my attention. According to its billing, it should appeal to fans of Richard Osman's, "The Thursday Murder Club" and there are certainly some obvious parallels - not least the group of pensioners who get together for their regular "coffee o'clock sessions" in the café at the local garden centre on a Thursday! However, I think it is unlikely that "A Spoonful of Murder" will go on to enjoy anything like the success that Richard Osman's creation has achieved.

It isn't that this book doesn't have its merits. The writing is generally of a more considered quality than is often found in cosy mysteries. It avoids the overtly cheesy style that is often utilised in the genre. There are pleasant moments of well-observed human behaviour and some warm, gentle humour is also in evidence. But against that, it is also quite protracted and excessively pedestrian.

It doesn't help matters that there are a lot of characters to for readers to contend with. It is easier to get away with having a large cast in a television drama, where the audience has more cues available to help remember who everyone is, but in a novel it is much more difficult. It can be done, but it takes skilled handling on the part of the author to pull it off successfully. Failing that, the writer relies on the reader being prepared to make copious notes along the way, which isn't everyone's idea of an enjoyable way to read a book.

Sadly, in spite of having some plus points, I found this becoming too much like hard work - and that is one thing that a cosy mystery can never afford to be if it is to work well.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

This is the story of three retired school teachers who meet for coffee once a week at their local garden centre and end up getting involved with solving a murder, the theft of £425K and a suspicious builder. Pat, Liz and Thelma are all upset by the death of their friend Topsy but certain things don’t make sense to them, Topsy thought someone wanted her dead and the three sleuths want to see if she was right.
There are some great moments in this book, I loved the Zumba Insanity class, I could definitely relate to that! I also like how the characters get their own chapters meaning we can have an insight in to their own personal stories and the back stories are beautifully written.
However, I did struggle when I started with this book though as it has a lot of characters being introduced throughout. There are the three main ones, then their partners and families, we then meet ex colleagues and ex pupils and their families, along with a lot of other people including cleaners, the over 60’s social group and even male strippers! I had to have a little who’s who written down next to me when I was reading to keep track. Don’t let that put you off though, the story itself is a delight to read touching on some very emotional subjects as well as a giggle or two.
I don’t think this will be the last we here of Pat Liz and Thelma.

Three retired schoolteachers enjoy coffee and cake each week at the Thirsk Garden Centre café. It’s a chance to relax and have a gentle gossip about their nearest and dearest. Until one morning when they meet an ex-colleague, Topsy, a woman who was so well put together when working, and who has failed terribly since the death of her husband. Her daughter, KellyAnne, is there to help but Liz, Pat and Thelma appreciate it must be difficult. However, by the following week, Topsy is dead. The three friends know that there’s more to their ex-friend’s death than meets the eye, and don’t believe it was natural or a byproduct of her recent onset confusion. So what do you do in that case? Well, accidentally get entangled in a murder, naturally, and work together to get justice – and resolution – for their deceased friend. This feels like a cosy crime mystery but with added bite, and cake. Liz, Pat and Thelma are curious and inquisitive and you’ll warm towards them and their sometimes unpredictable ways of discovering clues.

A Spoonful of Murder is a debut book by J.M. Hall.

Three retired schoolteachers regularly meet at a local garden centre for cake and coffee. On one of their outings, they bump into an old colleague, Topsy Joy and her daughter.

Topsy announces that people have been in and out of her house, Kelly, her daughter, explains that her mother keeps getting confused, muddles her medicines and is generally declining mentally.

Thelma, Liz and Pat decide to go and visit Topsy, where it's revealed she has been defrauded of a substantial amount of money. Within a few days, Topsy has been found dead, a tragic accident with the mix-up of her meds, or is it something more sinister......

I really enjoyed this book, liked all the characters, and the family dynamics that also ensued.

The majority of loose ends were tied up, but did I skip over what happened with Mandy??

Highly recommended and look forward to reading another one by this author.

A Spoonful of Murder by J.M. Hall is a great cozy mystery that takes a trio of retired educators and turns them into amateur sleuths…a murder/mystery novel that was quite the enjoyable ride.

I really enjoyed reading along as the three friends and retired school teachers work their way through an unintentional post-retirement position: amateur sleuths solving a murder/mystery plot involving an ex coworker. Not what they had planned…but stumbled into nevertheless.

I enjoyed learning the backstories between the three main characters: Liz, Pat, and Thelma. Learning how the characters have become how they are, and how they are currently connected gives then depth and a sense of realism. Each has their own issues, but getting to the bottom of a suspicious murder…well that takes precedence.

I enjoyed as they weeded through the suspects and solved the mystery. Maybe they will be able to solve additional crimes in future books? I would be interested in reading those as well.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Avon Books UK for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 3/17/22.

This really just wasn’t for me. I love cozy mysteries so I was excited to read this, but it fell flat. I felt like the characters were all interchangeable and I never could tell them apart. The mystery itself was fine, but I didn’t enjoy this very much.