A review by mitzee
The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This was mostly a book of self discovery under the guise of a murder mystery with multiple deaths. In some ways quite dark but also light hearted or maybe I just see it that way because the primary cast is a household of elders who live together to support each other, and that’s nice to hear about. Everyone has their quirks.

Summary for myself:

The story is told in third person but led by Agnes’ account of things. She seems like she used to be a detective or cop beaded on clues throughout the book about her “doing this kind of thing”. She seems to be mentally all there and still sharp (given that she tried to solve the murder mystery) until the end when it’s revealed that she might actually have hallucinations of her twin sister who died at a young age. 

What I liked about the book is that it treated the house hold like they were (mostly) well functioning adults. The idea of Sunset Hall is pretty nice - you live together and essentially write down when you’d want someone to remove you from this world and how you’d want to go. But I also  wonder how annoyed I would be with some people’s quirks once I get to that age. Would I be able to live with them? I guess it’s better than the alternative of living in a home.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Toxic friendship