Honestly i found this book quite hard to follow, the characters were quite confusing and as a whole i was very confused reading this book

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Sorry, but couldn’t get in to this book and did not finish. I found that I didn’t really care for the character who died.

I absolutely loved this book right from the very first page! The character descriptions and the attention to detail really captivated me and I love the writing style.

Not my usual read, I was thoroughly impressed with how much I enjoyed this and it was refreshing to read a novel with older protagonists rather than twenty/thirty-somethings which usually dominate today's writing.

Highly recommended!

Not my cup of tea at all, although the plot was appealing. Three retired schoolteachers, Pat, Liz and Thelma, get caught up in the mystery of how their former colleague, Topsy, died. Although Topsy appeared to have dementia, there were many loose ends that created a questions as to what happened. There were too many superfluous characters, and the story took too long to unfold. I liked that the main characters were older, but the frenetic nature of the activities in each chapter were not for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Every Thursday retired schoolteachers Liz, Thelma and Pat meet for coffee and cake at their local garden centre. Which is where they bump into their ex-colleague Topsy. One week later Topsy is dead. They know there’s more to Topsy’s death than meets the eye but can they prove it?

This is very similar to Richard Osmans Thursday Murder Club - which I loved. It has the same sense of humour, suspense and light-heartedness. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

Thanks to NetGalley and all for an ARC in return for an honest review.
I enjoyed the plot line of this book but unfortunately not much else. I found the language in the first 1/2 of the book hard to follow. I didn't find the characters very distinctive and it was hard to tell them apart. The point of view changed often and the timeline would skip ahead without clear notice which I found to be a bit jerky and confusing at times.

A cosy crime and a lovely read. I wanted to know what would happen next but it wasn't an edge of the seat page turner. There were lots of clues along the way, including lots of red herrings which kept me guessing. There were a few twists and turns but most of them you could see coming. I would read another book by this author.

This book was right up my alley and I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a wonderful debut novel! Three friends come together to find out who killed one of their former colleagues. You get some back story on the ladies which was a little slow to get going. I would love to have them as my friends. I would highly recommend this one!! Thank you netgalley for the ARC!!

3⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thankyou #netgalley #jmhall #avonbooks for the arc copy of this book for a honest review.
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Hmm. Almost a 3 stars. I would give a best one for the British humour on this book. The story plot was very light, cozy . The story was flat as I was expecting it to more twisty or a little dark as per title itself but it was a great effort .

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❤️Shaye.reads

I like the originality of the characters and storyline in this cosy style mystery. There is an engaging balance of humour and poignancy and a good mystery to solve. As the story progresses, the reader gets to know the amateur sleuths' past lives, and they have a good dynamic.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

A group of retired educators use the sixth sense that only a teacher has to solve a murder. The pacing was a little slow and the text repetitive in parts.

A interesting premise with many interesting characters. There is a good book contained within the text, but perhaps a little more editing would have really made it sing.

A Spoonful of Murder is a murder mystery surrounding a group of retired teachers. When one of their former colleagues dies (supposedly as a result of her dementia), the three main characters decide something doesn't sit right with the event and each begin their own style of inquiry into the matter. I did appreciate the interesting choice of the less-common protagonist and the problems that these middle-aged women deal with. Initially, I found the writing style quite cute and, for lack of a better word, "quirky". It had hints of Lemony Snicket too it (very very vague hints though) and I thought I was going to really enjoy the unique personalities each of the characters would bring through this writing.

I felt like as the story went on, the book failed to fulfil its initial promise. The three main characters were often blending into each other in a way that unless they mentioned their specific husband or child, I had absolutely no idea whose POV I was in. The quirky details as well got to be a bit too much. The book could have been a good 100 pages shorter if every paragraph wasn't interrupted with irrelevant information as part of the style. I think the book could have been much better with more editing and the limiting of details. I'm paraphrasing here but this is what a normal sentence would often look like: "oh no, do you think that person killed her" Liz said as she stirred the milk into her Tesco tea (she needed to remember to buy some teabags later, her husband liked them), "well, a murder has definitely taken place" said Thelma, thinking about the cute orange top she had seen in the shop down the road on Monday.
Do you see what I mean? It was just SO distracting and overdone, it made the book really easy to skim over as there were whole chapters in which absolutely nothing significant was happening.

The story itself is an interesting one, if a bit predictable. And I do hope the author is able to maintain the style but hone and trim it down as I'd be curious to read more about these types of characters. I leave you with a quote that I think sums up the book really nicely:

"Something happened, then something else, and then something else on top of that."

this is for fans who like The Thursday Murder Club and Agatha Raisin.
i could not put this down. the plot was well thought out with some good twists.
the characters were great and full of good humour.
i really hope this will be a series of books.

This was for me a thoroughly enjoyable cozy crime. I liked it that it featured the more mature female characters with all of their usual day to day dramas but still trying to solve their friend's murder.
I found the story was written with flair, sometimes wit and a good pace. Overall it is a book that you could happily curl up with and enjoy.

A light & entertaining Murder Mystery set around the vulnerability of Elderly people even in close knit communities where everyone has known each other for Generations . I also enjoyed reading this story because it was set in area's of the Country I have come to know well over the years .#NetGalley, #Goodreads, #FB, #Instagram, #Amazon.co.uk, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/358a5cecda71b11036ec19d9f7bf5c96d13e2c55" width="80" height="80" alt="100 Book Reviews" title="100 Book Reviews"/>,#<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>,#<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>!

I’m sorry I know this should not be compared to The Thursday Murder Club, but I couldn’t help hoping it would be as good and it sadly wasn’t for me, I couldn’t warm to the women at all and I found it quite slow thought they plot was quite clever. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this early copy.

I struggled to find this book entertaining. It felt like an old women telling a story that could have been told in 5 minutes. The tension building was unfortunately also very slow and drawn out. Overall the book felt slow and perhaps written for women in old age.

I was drawn in by the synopsis for this book and a very well designed cover. I imagined this book would be reminiscent of the Thursday Murder Club or even Murder, She Wrote with lots of humor and a solid mystery. I'm not sure if my expectations were too high or if the execution just wasn't quite there, but this one didn't quite work for me. I was underwhelmed by the mystery and had worked out the murderer, means, and motive within a few chapters. I also felt pretty disconnected from all three of the main characters - Pat, Thelma, and Liz. There were certainly moments where I could appreciate their various personal struggles, but overall I just didn't care much about what was happening. The pacing also felt problematic - for what seemed like it should be a cozy mystery it felt way too long. This one wasn't for me, but I know that it work for other readers; I'd encourage readers who enjoy older protagonists, family drama with mystery tied in, and British humor to give this one. a try.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

Unfortunately after reading up to 30% (chapter 14) I've given up.
A spoonful of murder gave me absolutely no joy whatsoever, the writing was terrible, the 467 characters were thrown about all over the place and in all honesty I had no idea what I was reading about, it was just a load of words.

Topsy seemed like a cracking old girl though, shame she died right at the start, maybe she would have been this books redeeming quality.

A big fat no from me, sorry!