In The Busybody Book Club, five wildly different members of a dysfunctional village book club are thrown together to solve a real-life mystery when one of their own vanishes—and a dead body is found at his house. Nova Davies, new to town and trying to save the struggling community center, inadvertently finds herself at the center of the chaos. With accusations flying, money missing, and secrets surfacing, the group must channel their inner Agatha Christies to uncover the truth behind Michael’s disappearance. Can they crack the case before the community—and their friendships—fall apart?

This cozy mystery was a charming, big-hearted read, but I’ll admit—I spent the first half convinced I’d already read it. I hadn’t (it’s not even released yet!), but it shares very similar vibes and setting with How to Age Disgracefully, which had me doubting my memory until the pieces clicked. While I enjoyed the concept and the quirky cast, I did find The Busybody Book Club a bit more far-fetched and less engaging overall than both How to Age Disgracefully and Freya Sampson’s own The Lost Ticket / Nosy Neighbors. It’s still a sweet story about misfits coming together for a cause, but the mystery and humor didn’t land quite as strongly for me this time around.

The Busy Body Bookclub is out May 27, 2025. Huge thank you to Berkley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting myInstagram @speakingof.books.
Tiktok @speakingof.books
Website: SPEAKINGOF.ORG

A cute low stakes mystery with heartwarming characters. This was a fun read where I was left guessing the “whodunnit” part until the end. Phyllis the town busybody and lover of Miss Marple was my favourite character. All the characters had decent back stories and satisfactory character development. The main character Nova was my least favourite character. She had a good backstory but she annoyed me at parts. I did like her character progression at the end though. You can tell the author is a big fan of Agatha Christie which I appreciated the Christie love and references as well as the other pop culture references like Star Wars. I would recommend this book to those who enjoyed The Maid or other cozy mysteries.

I very much enjoyed Freya Sampson’s Nosy Neighbors. Anyone who liked that one will want to read this author’s new release. For those who have not read books by Sampson, here is a lovely place to start.

Sampson writes stories that feature quirky individuals who find themselves in interesting situations. The novels are about connections between people, and the plots that surround them. That is certainly the case here.

Nova has moved to a small Cornish village with her partner. They are living with his family which is not easy. Pamela, a bossy future in law, is over organizing Nova’s life. Will Craig and Nova survive as a couple?

At the same time, Nova’s work life is equally challenging. To mention just a few of the obstacles, there is a book club member who may be a thief, Nova’s employer is attacked, and dealing with the idiosyncratic people who come to the center. These include a woman with a smelly dog who sees herself as Miss Marple, an elderly man whose blind wife loves romances in fiction, and a young boy with a crush, among others.

Readers will enjoy finding out how the many people and plots are resolved in a perfect escapist read. Give it a try!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for this title. All opinions are my own.

Nova works at the local community center. She just started this job and it's very important to her as she loves what she does and believes it's very important for the community. One of the many activities she leads at the center is a book club with a mixed group of people and she's not certain it's going to take off as she hoped.

There's Phyllis that only wants to read mysteries. Arthur only wants to read romance novels so he can share them with his sick wife at home. Ash is a quiet teen and Michael who no one has a clue why he's even there.

During a meeting discussing Where the Crawdad's Sing, Michael gets a phone call and races out of the building. The next day there is money missing intended for a new roof for the center. All fingers are pointing at Nova. Shortly after more mysterious things are occurring and unless the book club members can figure out who is behind it all Nova is going to lose her job and possibly face charges. These mysteries all occur while Nova is trying to prepare for her wedding to Craig. It's hard to focus on the wedding when Nova's so worried about everything else. Craig just wants her to stop getting so involved in the mysteries and focus on the wedding.

I really loved this book. It was full of great mystery that kept me guessing right up until the end. I definitely didn't suspect how this would end at all. I really loved all the characters. I could actually imagine a second or third book with these characters. I recently read The Maid by Nita Prose and I would suggest The Busybody Book Club to anyone that enjoyed that series.

This book has it all a cozy mystery, a murder, a theft, romance, a book about books, amateur sleuths and plenty of Star Wars and Miss Marple references. Nova has moved to Cornwall and started a new job at community center. She is in charge of book club and at a meeting money gets stolen which was suppose to fix the roof. Blame is put on Nova as she was last one in the building and now could loose her job. Michael leaves book club early only to disappear after his mother is murdered.

Nova is going to be married soon and her fiancé is less than thrilled that she might loose her job and seems to care more about her book club and the community center than wedding details.

Phyllis has a theory of what happened and has everyone from book club chasing down clues. She believes she knows where Michael went and can find the money and solve a crime. Phyllis -the busybody was my favorite character as she just marches to the beat of her own drum and doesn’t care. She changes through the book and it heartwarming to watch it unfold.

All the book club members are so vastly different and it is endearing how they bond and help each other. Arthur an Octogenarian , Ash a teenager, Phyllis an Agatha Christie fan and Miss Marple wannabe and her English bull dog Craddock make up the book club.

Fun, silly, enjoyable. Sweat pants read for the brain which we could all use more of lately. Super fun and heartfelt.

United States Publication: May 27, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Nova works at the local community center, and her book club has taken an interesting turn. A newer member has disappeared with community center funds, a dead body is found at this person's house, and Nova is under suspicion for it all, plus more. The elderly members of the book club take it upon themselves to investigate this string of mysteries, clear Nova's name, and restore the council's opinion of the community center. Nova is getting married in nine days, but she feels urgency to regain her reputation and keep her job for the sake of herself and the family she is marrying into. Unfortunately, this means she isn't focused on wedding preparations like her future mother-in-law wishes she would be, and her fiance is quickly losing his patience with the whole thing. But the ball is rolling down the hill, so to speak, and Nova has to see it stop. But what will the cost be for Nova, professionally and personally?

My summary of this title is lacking; it doesn't paint the picture of the lighthearted (even though a murder takes place) and enjoyable read this is. I've not read any of Sampson's titles, but after reading this one, I am looking into them. In this title, Sampson created a unique group of characters and brought them together under the umbrella of a book club. It's like a siren song for all bookworms. Phyllis loves Agatha Christie, so Sampson uses this love to drive Phyllis' contributions to the amateur investigation. I found this delightful as I, too, love Agatha Christie and had thought I had read all of her titles, and in reading this book, I discovered I don't think I have! (More Agatha Christie to read? I don't consider that to be a hardship.) But, back to this book and this story... Sampson creates well-rounded characters; my one complaint is the character of Lauren. In the end, her part in the story didn't make sense, and thinking back through the book, there was a distinct lack of foreshadowing about her role in the story and its ultimate conclusion. The older I get, the more I like the dynamics stories hold when diverse people - ages, genders, race, socio-econmic backgrounds, etc - are thrown together or come together to interact. This story has some wonderful inter-generational, diverse interactions. This seems to be something Sampson likes to do. I've read summaries of her other titles, and she brings together people in ways that I can't help but think if more of that happened IRL, this world might be a better, kinder place.

Freya Sampson is known for writing heartwarming stories with quirky characters. She’s done it again with The Busybody Book Club. The five members of the St. Tredock book club range in age, book interests and biscuit preferences. In fact, there’s nothing much they agree on. On the night of the book club, £10,000 goes missing, money meant to repair the community center roof. Suspicion falls on Nova, the community center worker who leads the book club and Michael, a new member who isn’t known by the other members.
The book is told from their various POVs, which keeps the story moving right along. Phyllis is a Miss Marple wannabe and determines they need to investigate. Of course, she gets more wrong than right. And poor Nova just can’t seem to catch a break.
The plot often veers into unbelievable territory. This is a book one enjoys because of the characters, not the plot. But it’s great for when you just want to read something that brings a smile to your face.
My thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

Nova Davies started a book club so she could impress her fellow workers at the community center.

The book club turned out to not be very impressive, though. Nova held her breath every month wondering if anybody would show up.

The people that do show up are a young boy who reads romance and is trying to hide it.

A man who reads to his wife who is losing her sight.

A woman who is a fan of Agatha Christie along with her smelly dog and uses the skills she learned from reading the books to help solve murder cases and in this case missing money as well.

And a man named Michael who rarely says anything, and who ran out before the book club was over.

No one thought anything of his running out until they heard there was a dead body found in his house, and it wasn’t his body.

Another sweet, heartwarming read by Freya Sampson with an odd, but lovable cast of characters who try to solve the mystery of the missing money and who the murderer was. 5/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

4 book club stars

This is my third read by this author, and I do love her characters and writing!

We meet Nova and learn about her job at the local community center. She has organized a book club called the St. Tredock Book Club. The cast of characters in the book club is excellent. We have Arthur, an elderly man caring for his ailing wife, Ash, a shy teenager, Michael, a recent attendee, and the star of the book, Phyllis.

I loved all the literary references in this one and how people relate to books.

We also learn about Nova’s fiancée, and there’s an event in her past that has caused anxiety.

There’s a terrible theft at the community center on the night of the book club. A large chunk of the funds to replace the center’s roof has disappeared. Suspicion falls onto Nova and Michael, one of the book club members.

Phyllis, a want-to-be detective, rallies the group to solve the case and searches for Michael. There is a lot of amateur sleuthing that happens, but this group of people bonds and becomes found family by the end.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery set in Cornwall. Do you have busybodies in your neighborhood?

A fun read of a small town book club that gets involved in trying to solve a robbery and a murder. One member is an Agatha Christie fan, so there are lots of references to her books. A good quick read.

The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson

The St. Tredock Book Club is almost on it's last legs. Nova Davies has recently started the book club, wanting to make a good impression at the community center where she's been working for just a few months. Arthur and Phyliss are the members with the most miles on them, then there is newcomer 60-ish Michael, a man no one knows, and teen sci-fi fan, Ash. The group, mostly Arthur and Phyliss, argue about everything so not much book talk gets done.

Right after Michael's second visit to the book club, the community center office is broken into, money is missing, and a lot of other things aren't quite right. Nova seems willing to let everyone run over her so it's not hard for co-workers to convince her it's all her fault. She must have lost keys, forgot to lock to door, this and that. Now the ailing community center, which was going to get a new roof with the money that was stolen, is going to need to close.

Nova's fiancé and in-laws don't mind, they didn't think Nova should not be working anyway and instead should be making a good impression as Craig's wife after their upcoming wedding. It's only later that we find out there is a reason Nova's lost confidence in her opinions. When we meet her she seems to be very low energy and willing to let everyone tell her what to do.

It took a bit for the story to make an impression on me but it was really Phyliss who reached out and grabbed me. She went from a grumpy, bossy oldster, who loved her old dog but maybe no one else, to someone I adore by the end of the book. She's a gem under her crotchety-ness. Arthur is a sweetheart too and he's taken shy Ash under his wing. All these people need friends and I finished the story feeling very good about this little world I came to know. This was a fun buddy read with Jayme and DeAnn.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC

Freya Sampson, the QUEEN of heartwarming “found family” novels is back with a whole new cast of Busybodies!

Nova Davies has recently moved to Cornwall, and she really needs this fresh start and her new job to work out so she starts the St. Tredock Book Club to impress her boss Sandy-but so far it’s been a “less than impressive” beginning.

There are only 5 members, including herself, in the club, and rounding out the group are :

Arthur, an Octogenarian who gets around town on his tractor and reads romance novels to his wife who has lost her sight.

Ash, a shy teenager who hopes to impress his secret crush.

Micheal, the newest member, who is a mystery to the others so far.

And, (scene stealer) Phyllis, -a wannabe “Miss Marple” who knows every one of those Agatha Christie stories forward and backwards, and never leaves home without her elderly, arthritic English bulldog named Craddock.

The book opens with a delightful book club scene where the members are discussing “Where the Crawdads. Sing” (no spoilers!) but during that meeting, Micheal gets a text that sends him running and then it is discovered that six thousand pounds has been stolen from the community center sometime that evening.

To make matters worse, later that night, a dead body is found at Michael’s home and he is reported as missing!

Now, Nova’s job is at risk, and if the money isn’t recovered the center won’t be able to get a new roof and will be closed down.

This gives the group a whole new sense of purpose as Phyllis knows that British Police never manage to solve a crime without the help of an amateur detective, and she has been waiting her whole life for this moment!

“What would Miss Marple Do”?

Now, you may think that you have had your fill of “senior citizen detectives” but, even though this started out as Nova’s story-over the course of the 9 days-Phyllis and Craddock steal the show!

This is a delightful, cozy mystery story that can be read in one sitting and the book that finally got me out of my book slump and had me wanting to pick up a book again!

Loved the final chapter too!

Available May 27, 2025.

Thank You to Berkley for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley! As always, these are my candid thoughts!

I've enjoyed the handful of Freya Sampson novels I've read in the past, so I was excited to pick up The Busybody Book Club for another dose of warm and fuzzy connections among misfits. I'm sad to say that my reading experience of her latest book was, however, a miss for me.

As part of the staff of the local community center, Nova is in charge of running the book club. It's during one late-night meeting when the community center's fund for a new roof is stolen — putting Nova's job and reputation at risk. When the book club's members begin to believe that one of their own is getting framed for the theft and a recent death, they band together to solve the mystery, save Nova's job, and restore their beloved community center.

Unfortunately, I found the plot a bit too predictable for my taste and the writing quality felt a little below the standard I've come to expect from Sampson. It's worth noting that The Busybody Book Club sas strong echoes to the plotline of Nosy Neighbors — group of loosely connected strangers, most of them lonely, must work together to save a worn-out building from its demise, solving a cozy mystery along the way. That said, The Busybody Book Club does have its own unique merits, and avid readers will get a kick out of the many literary references woven throughout. 2.5 stars rounded down. This book wasn't for me, but my past track record with the author will have me coming back for more.

The St, Tredock Book Club is small but mighty. Their facilitator, Nova is new to the town and is employed by the local community center. She's soon to marry a local resident. The eclectic group includes an elderly farmer, a shy teenaged boy and Phyllis who is a sixty-something Agatha Christie fan and a force to be reckoned with. An on again, off again member, Michael appears irregularly. Michael receives a text during the group discussion and leaves in a hurry. The next morning the money raised for the new community center roof is missing. Nova admits to not being sure she locked the office door. Michael is suspected of the theft due to his hurried departure.
The theft sets in place a hilarious attempt to solve the crime before Nova loses her job. Phyllis is the ringleader and ultimately leads the group into danger and follows that up by causing a scene at Nova's wedding. The plot is well done and the characters are each unique and their stories add to the books charm. Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the ARC.

There was some charming moments, especially between the characters, but the story was a bit cliché and predictable. I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. I did love all the literary references. Very good for cozy mystery readers who don't mind a slower pace read.

It is a super fast read, but I don't think that is always a good thing. I think it took me about 2 1/2 hours to read through this book and it was pretty straightforward and leaning on a lot of the same tropes that they were talking about in the book itself. I really hated Craig. This is fine for an entry into cozy mysteries, but definitely lacking any depth.

The Busybody Book Club begins with a character you root for the entire novel. Nora has just moved to Cornwall with her fiancé, and was lucky enough to land a job at the community center as a child care worker. Nora also started a book club to impress her new coworkers. However, the book club seems to be a disaster. Then a real life mystery happens: money goes missing and so does one of the book club members. The group takes it upon themselves to try to solve the mystery using the methods of their favorite fictional detective. This feel good novel will keep you reading and rooting for the characters to find not only the solution to the mystery, but to find the key to setting themselves free.

I received a free DRC of this book through Netgalley. I have read at least 3 of her other novels including Nosy Neighbors which I adored. This book is about a group of people who meet up for book club at a community center because they are all feeling very alone. I really liked the characters and the mystery that they worked together to solve. I was glad that it wasn't the typical happily ever after ending too.

3.75 stars

I have enjoyed every book have read by this author and each one is different. But they each have wonderful quirky characters who get thrown together in novel ways.

There is a community center in a small town in England which is constantly under threat of closure due to financial concerns, even though it gets used all the time by different segments of the town. Nova, formerly a youth social worker, is employed there and runs a sparsely attended book club.

One night the book club has one member run tearing out of the building, while meanwhile (they discover later) the roof fund gets stolen from the manager's office. Nova is in jeopardy of being fired and meanwhile trying to get ready for her wedding in 48 hours. There are a million problems - primarily that Nova's prospective mother in law has hijacked her wedding and Nova isn't too excited about it.

She and the remaining book club members, including an old farmer, and an elderly Agatha Christie fan, try to solve the theft. Along the way there is a dead body, a disappearance, and various other adventures. It's a fun journey. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.