A Beginner's Guid to Murder by Rosalind Stopps is a thriller with a twist that captivated and engaged me in equal measure. It's funny, smart, well-written, and has good storyline and characters. I highly recommend that people go out and purchase this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360, HQ for this copy.

A Beginner's Guide to Murder is follows Meg, Daphne, and Grace who recently met at a fitness class for the elderly. Nina, who runs into a cafe where the three ladies are getting tea, is trying to hide from a man who wants to kidnap her. The ladies work to hide Nina and when the man manages to kidnap Nina again, they begin to plot a way to get rid of him for good.

This is a unique story and not one I can compare to any other book I've read before. Three old ladies who are plotting a murder and also hiding secrets of their own. It was intriguing from the get go and I enjoyed the four varying points of view as we heard from Meg, Daphne, Grace, and Nina. I did feel as though the stories were very heavy on narration from Meg and Nina, but it's also possible it felt that way because much of the story takes place in Meg's house and centers around finding a way to help NIna.

While the story itself was interesting, I felt that as we got to the action about halfway through the book it became a bit long winded with certain scenarios and characters being added just to add in extra flavor. For example, Gordon and Susannah didn't really play a huge role in the climax of the story, and they were only introduced 75% of the way through.

Furthermore, I would have loved an epilogue to see how the characters faired after the trauma. Did Daphne, Meg, and Grace stay friends? Did Nina get to go to college? Did Ronnie get healthy? Do all the characters stay in touch and become the family they all so desperately needed? Lots of unanswered questions so it would be a great set up for a sequel!

Ultimately, A Beginner's Guide to Murder could have been about 100 pages shorter, but it was an interesting read and definitely served the purpose of entertaining!

I was really looking forward to reading this book after reading the description. In my opinion this book had so much more potential. Nina, a teenager is kidnapped by “toad man” and escapes. She runs into a cafe where she runs into 3 older women who help her get away from him. This story had a bunch of twists that I wasn’t expected and goes into each characters backstory which I really liked. However, overall I think it could have been better.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read his book for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book because the synopsis sounds so good. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for me. The story was too slow moving and it was hard to stay interested in reading the book.

This book involves trafficking, abuse, kidnapping, and more so it feels wrong to describe it as “cute,” and yet, that’s how I feel. Meg, Daphne, and Grace make an unlikely trio of rescuers but age and fear are not going to stop them from trying to help Nina who approaches them desperately in a cafe.

There are very serious, and at times heartbreaking themes but throughout you get to experience a deepening friendship among the ladies that is heartwarming. By the end there is a beautiful found-family that is created and you get a satisfying resolution to the main dilemma and mystery that is the main driver of the plot.

4/5 stars for a fun and unique take on a very serious subject.

I was drawn to this book based off of its description (swipe to read it) and it was a fun read. Reading in both the point of views of the three women in their seventies and a girl the age of seventeen was different for me. I found it amusing how the author was able to write it (in a good way)! The only thing that really confused me about it was that while Meg’s and Grace’s view were in first person, the other two were in third person limited. Other than that, I liked the way this was written, all of the details and the descriptions given, the dark humor of it all. I loved the diversity of the characters. And the ending!!!

The description of this book got me hook, line and sinker! Three elderly ladies become hitwomen? Yes, please.

Meg, Grace and Daphne are all in their 70's, meet at a Pilates class, and come together to help the 17 year old Nina who is being abused. The relationships in this book pull at the heartstrings, and as we peel back the layers of all of their back stories, a dark, off beat crime story is born.

I really wanted to like this book and really wanted to read it. However, I struggled getting into this book for some reason. I ended up stopping at 32%. I love the idea that these elderly women that could be Nina’s grandmother’s are protecting her while she’s in need. I’m also a huge fan of them all being brought together over the same goal. It shows that friends are needed at any age and age of those friends do not matter.

I truly enjoyed this book. The older ladies in this book were so encouraging and brave. I pray to be as strong and willing as they are to help others. Some bits of this book was slow, that's why I took off a star. However, majority of this book kept me on my toes. The ending was so unexpected but so thankful it played out the way it did. Such a good read!

I received this book from NetGalley and the publishers to read and review. All statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

Interesting book not my favorite but still enjoyed it. The premise had potential and still could but not a five star for me

How far would you go to protect someone you love?
How far would you go to protect a complete stranger?

This book is a slow start, but it grabs your attention in the middle and does not let up until the end. It left me with a lot of thoughts about what I would do in this situation. I think it is a unique take on justice and friendship as well as asking the question "when is murder worth it?"

It's rare that I don't finish a book but I realized I just kept pushing this off. While I enjoyed the quirky relationship between the characters the story seemed to drag out for me.

This book wasn't really what I was expecting from the blurb. I enjoyed the first chapter but it has consistently gone down hill from there. Maybe I'll try this again at another time and have better luck.

A Beginners Guide to Murder was perfect. Loved the premise, the writing and the characters. Definitely a summer hit!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story!
Never underestimate old ladies.
This was full of humor, regret, anger, love and happiness. Well written with excellent plotting and characterization. This is a thriller with a difference that captured from the beginning. I rooted for these "ladies" throughout the entire book.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I'm sorry!! I wanted to like this but it was all over the place. I could see that the author tried for humor but it missed the mark. Some may love it, but it wasn't for me.

Sadly, this is a DNF for me. The beginning is humorous and drew me in. However, the laughs stop after the first chapter and it becomes much more serious. At 30% there had been no further laughable moments. I feel the book description as a comedy is misleading in that regard. In the end it just was not for me.

3.5 stars rolled up to a 4.

Three elderly women meet for the first time at a nearby café after an exhausting Pilates class. While there they meet teenage Nina who is desperate to escape her current situation. The women band together, determined to do whatever it takes to save the young woman.

Although previously published in July of 2021, this NetGalley ARC is scheduled for a July 5th release. I've received this for a far review. Thanks to HQ and Harper 360 for their generosity.

This was not what I expected. Probably my bias, but despite it clearly stating that these seniors were considering committing murder, I was thinking more "Snoop Sisters" vibe or even a cozy mystery. Definitely not! I wouldn't even call it much of a mystery, more a thriller. It was a bit difficult to get into at first. We start almost mid-thoughts through the POV of Meg, scrambling to figure out what is going on. With chapters given over to the four main characters, with bits and bites of backstories, it takes a while to get to the action portion of the book.

However, as the story moved on, I found myself speeding through, waiting for what would happen with our three ladies, especially Meg, their charge, and the people that gather around them to support and help. My favorite part would have to be watching Meg grow into herself, breaking through the emotional abuse dumped on her by her husband (and later herself).

The story does require an incredible level of belief suspension and going with the flow, like fantasy level, so be aware that logic is on vacation here. For instance, despite it being set probably in 2020-2021, based on the 2021 original publication date, and the emphasis of law enforcement and courts on fighting trafficking, the ladies immediately dismiss going to the police for help, certain that Nina would end up in prison, blamed for everything that happened to her. Perhaps that might happen, even in London, but I gauge that to be so miniscule a chance as to need a microscope to see.

While the ending was satisfying, I like that Meg and the others are well aware that the events will echo through the rest of ALL their lives. I would definitely recommend this to readers of domestic thrillers (is that even a thing?). Content warnings would include physical violence, sex trafficking of minors, emotional self-abuse, domestic abuse, so be aware.

Unfortunately, this is a DNF for me. I loved the concept of three older women committing a murder to help a younger woman in trouble. But the story moved extremely slow, didn't feel high stakes and I wasn't really a fan of the fact that these older women weren't really friends. They more hung out together as an obligation because they were all in the same workout class. I also felt like a lot of the story was providing background on all the characters. Which is alright, but it took precedence over the main story. I wish we could've just jumped right into these women plotting to kill the man and getting the job done.

I tried several times to finish this. I walked away and came back to it and unfortunately it just hasn't kept my interest. Thank you for giving me an advanced copy!

This is one of those books whose characters are probably going to live in my head forever, and that's not a bad thing. Three elderly ladies end up banding together to plan a murder and save a 17 year old girl who's being trafficked. They each have their own hidden tragedies that have kept them from having friends, being happy or fully living their lives, which are revealed over the book. There are dark themes in the book and it can be a difficult read at times but I loved the women and enjoyed the quirky characters.

I will say that it's difficult to fully get into a book told through multiple POVs when they all sound the same, but I liked the book and the women so much that I can get past it.

I read a digital ARC of this book for review.