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    A Spoonful of Murder
    A Spoonful of Murder
    A Spoonful of Murder
    Audiobook10 hours

    A Spoonful of Murder

    Written by J.M. Hall

    Narrated by Julie Hesmondhalgh

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    ‘Fabulous, cosy, mystery… Wonderful… Absolutely perfect for fans of Richard Osman!’ NetGalley Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    Introducing the three unlikeliest sleuths you'll ever meet…

    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.

    The last thing Liz, Thelma and Pat imagined was that they would become involved in a murder.

    But they know there’s more to Topsy’s death than meets the eye – and it’s down to them to prove it…

    Sit down with a cup of tea and this perfectly witty, page-turning cosy crime novel. Fans of Agatha Christie, Death in Paradise and Midsomer Murders will be hooked from the very first page.

    Readers love A Spoonful of Murder:

    ‘Warm characters and wonderful writing… It’s steeped in Yorkshire like a mug of hot, strong tea… I loved it’ SJ Bennett, author of The Windsor Knot

    ‘Outstanding… I read this in and day and could not put it down… Had me gripped from the first page… Made me howl with laughter…If you loved The Thursday Murder Club you going to love this book’ NetGalley review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    ‘Three Miss Marples for the price of one… The plot is carefully assembled, rather like a patchwork quilt, with each element placed just so’ NetGalley review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    ‘Oh how brilliant was this book?! I must have read it in about two servings as I just couldn't put it down… Had great comical moments throughout. A really good murder mystery book’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    ‘What a fantastic read! It gave me all the cosy… Really enjoyable characters that you feel like you've known for years once you finish the book. It was the perfect pace, and easy to follow. Love, love, loved this book’ NetGalley review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    ‘Absolutely loved this book!! I really enjoyed the characters and the sweet story line!! I was up all night reading and couldn't put the book down!’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    ‘I absolutely loved this cosy mystery… Keeps you turning the pages. It's an easy read and perfect for these cold winter nights’ NetGalley review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    ‘Charming… The plot is cosy and tricky, with just the right blend of Miss Marple, interesting and quirky characters, secrets… colourful cardigans, and of course, heaps of tea and warm companionship. I loved this book’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    ‘Cosy mystery at its best with a cast of loveable characters, a truly satisfying read!’ NetGalley review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    ‘Poignant and relatable, I want these ladies as my friends!’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    ‘A joy to read… Lots twists and turns, this is a great debut’ NetGalley review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    ‘This book is a joy, I really, really loved it… A five star read’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateMar 17, 2022
    ISBN9780008509637
    Author

    J.M. Hall

    J.M. Hall is an author, playwright and deputy head of a primary school. His plays have been produced in theatres across the UK as well as for radio, the most recent being Trust, starring Julie Hesmondhalgh on BBC Radio 4.

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    Reviews for A Spoonful of Murder

    4/5

    96 ratings14 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Really enjoyed this book. Plot was amazing. A little bit hard to keep track of who was who.
    • 5/5
      Loved this book and narration. Lots of characters so you really need to pay attention. The narration is excellent, but not a lot of variation between characters voices. Already started the second in the series. The three main characters, Pat Liz and Thelma are brilliant.
    • 1/5
      Very predictable.
      The accent of the narrator made it difficult for a non Englishman like myself, to follow the story. Perhaps it would have been better consumed via text
    • 5/5
      Well written, cosy mystery. Love the three ladies and their tenacity in solving the (almost) perfect crime.
    • 3/5
      A fun time to be had with this book, definitely recommend.
    • 5/5
      A really easy going, enjoyable read that kept me guessing
    • 5/5
      Wonderful book. It made me laugh and cry.
      Perfect portrayal of life, without being bleak.
    • 3/5
      Completely predictable so that might frustrate some people. I enjoyed the narrator and loved the characters to bits.
    • 5/5
      A Spoonful of Murder is an engrossing mystery, which in most respects fits the "cosy" genre, but also raises some very pertinent social issues around how elderly people, particularly those suffering with some form of dementia, can be manipulated and abused by those around them.
      The audiobook narration by Julie Hesmondhalgh is absolutely wonderful, with her characteristically northern delivery. It also includes an illuminating recorded interview between Hesmondhalgh and author J.M. Hall at the conclusion of the book.

      Retired Yorkshire school teachers Liz, Pat and Thelma meet up every Thursday morning for "coffee o'clock" at the Thirsk Garden Centre Café. During one such meeting, they bump into their former colleague, the once-redoubtable Topsy, accompanied by her daughter KellyAnne. It quickly becomes clear that Topsy is no longer the woman she once was - she's fast deteriorating with a dementia-type illness.

      The women resolve to keep an eye on their old friend, but within a fortnight Topsy is in fact dead, apparently having "mucked up" her medication while KellyAnne was away on a mini-break in Portugal.

      The three friends aren't satisfied that Topsy's death was the simple accident it appears, and begin a surreptitious investigation of their own into the events leading up to what has occurred.

      The course of the women's investigatory efforts is interwoven with the narrative of each of their own home lives and the goings-on around the town of Thirsk. All three are engaging characters, and I especially loved Pat's no-nonsense approach to life and humorous self-deprecating asides. I loved the sense of setting in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, and the very distinctive usage and vernacular in the character's dialogue. The Thirsk Garden Centre and Coffee Shop is a real place, to which J.M. Hall pays homage in his acknowledgements.

      A Spoonful Of Murder is J.M. Hall's first novel, and is obviously based substantially around his own experiences. I'm pleased to see that a second novel (A Pen Dipped in Poison) is scheduled for release in early 2023 - I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!

      I'd enthusiastically recommend A Spoonful Of Murder to any lover of traditional-style character-based mysteries. Having read an advance e-copy and listened to the excellent audiobook edition, I'll be purchasing a physical copy of the book for my own collection and to share with friends.

      My thanks to the author (Jonathan) J.M. Hall, publisher Harper Collins UK Audio / Avon Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this charming and enthralling story.
    • 5/5
      I highly recommend A Spoonful of Murder by J.M. Hall. Three retired primary school teachers solve a mystery – several mysteries in fact – and the author does an excellent job of setting out the clues and connecting them all up by the end of the book. But what makes this mystery stand out against others in the genre (such as Richard Osman’s) is the character development. By the end of the book, you are cheering for each of the women as they resolve their personal and family issues.
    • 5/5
      The "chooser" in our monthly book group has set a challenge. We are reading 3 cozies that all share the same title. So here is the first, and the other two will shortly follow.Thelma, Pat and Liz have all retired after successful careers in primary school classrooms at the St. Barnabus' Primary school. Their coffee session on a Thursday at the Thirsk Garden Centre Cafe is an extension of the sharing that they used to do when they were working. They have all maintained "outside" interests at charity shops, Keep Fit, and book groups. At coffee o'clock on Thursdays they catch up with their various news: what their families are doing. On this particular Thursday who should walk in but another ex-colleague whom they haven't seen for a while: Topsy Joy. She is on the arm of her daughter Kelly-Anne whom the group all remember. But they are taken aback at the change in Topsy: "stooped, bewildered, slightly shaking...wondering where she was". Kelly-Anne spots the little group and brings her mother over to sit with them. 18 months before Topsy's husband Gordon had died unexpectedly, and it is obvious to the group that Topsy has "gone downhill" since then. In the following minutes it is obvious to the group that Topsy has dementia and that Kelly-Anne is "doing it tough". Topsy refers to her husband in the present tense, as if he is not dead. I enjoyed the way the book went on to explore what was happening in each of the lives of the main characters, and then to reveal what happens to Topsy. Each of the three sleuths feels that what has happened to Topsy is "not right", but is unsure what to do about it. They feel their way to working it out.Very readable.
    • 3/5
      This is an ok mystery. I enjoy the trend of having people who aren't young do things , especially as I hit my 40th birthday, so I'm happy to read another book about people not in their 20s or even 30s. I enjoyed some of the subplots, especially the ones about the teenage son and the young grandson having trouble in school - those both seemed somewhat realistic and I liked that they had decent resolutions - but this did need more editing. I'm not using any characters name because I can't remember who is who, of the three detectives. I could have done without the subplot about one of them obsessing about her weight. While it is something that does happen in the real world, do we have to normalize it in fiction? Let's just not. While I was not surprised by who the murderer was, I was not anticipating the motive. So that's something.There was a lot of what I would call 'wittering" in this book, if I was talking about Jane Marple - people fussing about talking about or thinking about what had already happened - but Agatha Christie would write it so it was telling us new information, not repeating plot we had just read ourselves. Experience, editing, or both will hopefully help with that in the future.I received a free eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 3/5
      A Spoonful of Murder is the debut novel of J.M. Hall. It is a British cozy mystery featuring three kind, smart, and curious protagonists who have extra time on their hands since they retired. I wanted to like this British cozy, but I found it hard to read. I felt like I was in the middle of a tornado twisting round and round. That is what this book felt like to me. The writing style is the problem. The author is overly descriptive, the pacing is slow, and it is hard to tell which character is talking (they all sounded alike to me). There was also too much repetition (because of the switching viewpoint and memories issues). The first two-thirds of the book is slow going with the pacing picking up toward the end as the mystery reaches its climax. We follow Liz, Thelma, and Pat as they go about their day-to-day activities plus work to solve the mystery. We are privy to their thoughts about on their lives, families, and friends (with it often being in parenthesis which is distracting and further slows down the pace). We are introduced to a multitude of people with many of them having nothing to do with the mystery. The author tried to make the mystery complex with multiple red herrings and subplots. By the end of the first chapter, I knew who would die and the identity of the killer. I can understand having a red herring or two, but the author went overboard. The mystery was nicely wrapped up at the end. It is carefully explained how Topsy died and how the killer accomplished the deed. We also are privy as to how the three amateur sleuths pieced together the clues. There are several themes in A Spoonful of Murder that includes elder care, dementia, aging, elder financial fraud, parenting, and childlessness. I like the close friendship between Liz, Thelma, and Pat. I liked the humor scattered throughout the story. II felt, though, that the author missed the mark with this cozy. A Spoonful of Murder should have been a light cozy mystery with plenty of humor and warm characters. The book felt long and drawn out. I wanted to like A Spoonful of Murder, but it was hard as the story jumped from issue to issue and character to character. I found it a chore to complete this book. While A Spoonful of Murder was not for me, I suggest you obtain a sample to judge for yourself. A Spoonful of Murder is an eventful British cozy with coffee klatches, financial fraud, a difficult death, muddled memories, and firm friends.
    • 4/5
      I received an early copy of this book via NetGalley.In this cozy mystery very much in the mold of Thursday Murder Club, three retired school teachers encounter an old colleague and find she's suffering from dementia. Days later, they discover something worse: she's dead. It's quickly dismissed as a pill mix-up because of her muddled mind, but details don't add up and suspects are aplenty as the three old friends begin to investigate. I found the book slow to get going because it is so utterly immersive in the lives of the three main characters, but that's also how it hooked me. Also incredibly appealing: the people and the settling as are Yorkshire as Wensleydale cheese and parkin, and I love Yorkshire so very much. There's a gritty realness to the book but it doesn't delve too deep into that, for the most part--but elder abuse IS a major theme, so if that is a trigger for you, this book may not be the best fit for you.