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A review by thecosymoose
The Garden Club Murders by Jonathan Whitelaw
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
The Bingo Hall Detectives are back for a fourth adventure! After an evening out in Manchester with her fellow bingo players, Amita Khatri returns home, hungover as heck and without her mobile.
Unable to deal with being cut off, she picks up a used phone from a contact dealing goods from his allotment shed, and starts getting worrying messages, sent to the phone’s previous owner.
Amita Khatri is a pensioner, fond of sparkly shell suits, and known as the Sheriff of Penrith. Living with her daughter, Radha, and her family – freelance journalist Jason and their two children – she has been involved in solving a number of crimes in the local area, dragging her hapless son-in-law into the escapades.
The messages on the new phone worry Amita, and once again convinces Jason to help investigate. Soon they are on the case of two missing men – one an academic IT lecturer and researcher, the other his shady-sounding business partner. Unwilling to go to the police initially, they recruit the irrascible former DI Frank Alby, a bundle of rage and anger, now retired to a life of meditation. Meeting back up with Jason and Amita, no amount of meditation is going to temper his irritable nature – they’ve crossed paths before in previous adventures, and Amita has to use all her persuasive powers to get him involved with them again.
What follows is a fun chaotic investigation with wonderfully drawn characters, and there are many laugh out loud moments. Amita is such a brilliant character, a real force of nature – a detecting whirlwind who drags everyone along in her wake, regardless if she’s even going in the right direction. As always, the characters are brilliantly and sharply written. I just love the relationship between Amita and Jason – they’re a fabulous team.
Just don’t ask what happened in Manchester.
Thank you to the author, Harper North and Netgalley for the advanced eARC for review
Unable to deal with being cut off, she picks up a used phone from a contact dealing goods from his allotment shed, and starts getting worrying messages, sent to the phone’s previous owner.
Amita Khatri is a pensioner, fond of sparkly shell suits, and known as the Sheriff of Penrith. Living with her daughter, Radha, and her family – freelance journalist Jason and their two children – she has been involved in solving a number of crimes in the local area, dragging her hapless son-in-law into the escapades.
The messages on the new phone worry Amita, and once again convinces Jason to help investigate. Soon they are on the case of two missing men – one an academic IT lecturer and researcher, the other his shady-sounding business partner. Unwilling to go to the police initially, they recruit the irrascible former DI Frank Alby, a bundle of rage and anger, now retired to a life of meditation. Meeting back up with Jason and Amita, no amount of meditation is going to temper his irritable nature – they’ve crossed paths before in previous adventures, and Amita has to use all her persuasive powers to get him involved with them again.
What follows is a fun chaotic investigation with wonderfully drawn characters, and there are many laugh out loud moments. Amita is such a brilliant character, a real force of nature – a detecting whirlwind who drags everyone along in her wake, regardless if she’s even going in the right direction. As always, the characters are brilliantly and sharply written. I just love the relationship between Amita and Jason – they’re a fabulous team.
Just don’t ask what happened in Manchester.
Thank you to the author, Harper North and Netgalley for the advanced eARC for review