A Pen Dipped in Poison: A witty and cozy mystery story, perfect for fans of Richard Osman

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Overall, I enjoyed this mystery and I look forward to any future work with these sleuths. A huge thank you Avonbooksuk for this review copy.

Inside are letters revealing the deepest secrets they have tried to hide.As one by one, careers are ended, marriages destroyed and no one is beyond suspicion, the three friends decide enough is enough. There were lots of mini sub plots in this read that it took a while to get my head around, but they all connected and tied up nicely in the end. I didn’t predict the culprit who was sending the poison pen letters at all. I really liked Kayleigh Brittain, the new headmistress. She is wealthy, driven, enigmatic, confident and influential. She has a clear vision for the school and will stop at nothing to ensure it is achieved. She doesn’t care what others think of her, which may make her slightly callous, especially as a head teacher and she doesn’t endear herself to the children or parents, but I admired her determination and strength. A truly strong female lead character. A charming read with a cast of characters you'll really connect with' Faith Martin, author of A Fatal EndAnd as the story is partly about the relationship amongst the friends, which was painfully strained for much of the book, this made this entry in the series somewhat less enjoyable read. That said, I still liked this book. What a perfect book...! I loved the three main characters... I highly recommend.' NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'This book would make a great movie! The ingredients for the perfect modern cosy crime: intrigue, characters you care about and a good dollop of humour‘ Ian Moore, author of Death and Croissants Three Miss Marples for the price of one! Extremely well-drawn characters… the plot is carefully assembled… the writing is so good… I loved this story!’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ O

The ingredients for the perfect modern cosy crime: intrigue, characters you care about and a good dollop of humour' Ian Moore, author of Death and Croissants Curious white envelopes have been delivered to friends and neighbours. Inside are letters revealing the deepest secrets they have tried to hide. And the theme of the poisoned pen letters and the reasons behind them just didn't quite work for me. Extremely well-drawn characters... the plot is carefully assembled... the writing is so good... I loved this story!' NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'I could not put this book down!

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Three Miss Marples for the price of one! Extremely well-drawn characters... the plot is carefully assembled... the writing is so good... I loved this story!' NetGalley review THE AUTHOR: J.M. Hall is a 20-something PR executive based in New York City. A Philadelphia native, he began writing fiction during his time at the University of Miami before embarking on a career in corporate communications. During the day, he can be found getting top-tier press for his clients in outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Fortune and USA Today.

Retired schoolteachers and amateur sleuths Liz, Pat and Thelma have a brand-new mystery to solve in this witty tale - perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard OsmanCurious white envelopes have been delivered to friends and neighbours. There are two aspects to the storyline. There is the search for the writer of the poison pen letters, but this search also raises questions about modern teaching and academy schools. I really enjoyed A Spoonful of Murder and this book is the sequel (although both do stand alone as mysteries), featuring the same ex-school staff investigating mysterious goings on in their LEA. Only this time, instead of an unexpected death it is a series of threatening poison pen letters that are disturbing the peace at their local school, which is under new management. A Pen Dipped in Poison is an uncomplicated but highly entertaining dramatic mystery with likeable, and dare I say at a pinch, loveable protagonists. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have no qualms whatsoever in recommending it.I liked that this lead on well from the first book in the series, A Spoonful of Murder, but has a very different feel with a focus on education instead of aging parents and responsibilities while retaining the lovely warm characters. I am unsure if this subject would have worked as well in the first book though and at times it felt a little too forced through, overriding the plot a little. Masterful storytelling and delightfully retro-style detective ladies make A Pen Dipped in Poison an imaginative and eventful read. Think Miss Marple with attitude coupled with a strong sense of togetherness, probably just about sums up Liz, Pat and Thelma. Like Jane Marple, these characters though quirky and slightly twee can think outside the box and around corners. I guess that is what comes of them being retired school teachers. But when poison pen letters start landing on the doorsteps of friends and neighbours in their Yorkshire village, old secrets come to light. Sitting in the conservatory with her after-lunch cup of tea she tried to rake her thoughts in the same way as she'd planned to rake leaves, but whenever she gathered ideas from one thought, along came a gust of another idea, scattering them again.”

A cruel letter to the Headmistress is assumed to be a one-off, until a spate of others target random teachers. Who? Why? Those are the obvious questions but, as Pat reminds her friends, Liz and Thelma, the questions in the rhyme they all taught to their pupils also contains, How? Where? and When? Although less obvious, answering the last three will turn up the clues needed to solve the first three. “How” is easy, the letters are computer typed and printed on the school’s stationary; “Where” is also easy, they turn up in various locations within the school, “When” is more complicated, the first one was found during the setting up for the Summer Fayre, the last event of that academic year, all the rest turn up individually during the first term of the next academic year. The school, St Barnabus Primary, is now part of Lodestone Academy Trust, and is run by the new headmistress Kayleigh Brittain, designer clad, perfectly coiffed, powerfully efficient. Are the letters someone’s plan to disrupt the school and get her fired? The three retired friends start to investigate, despite the protestations of their husbands. Ron, Liz’s husband, recently recovered from cancer, is looking to retire having lost a contract linked to Lodestone; Derek, Pat’s husband, is a teacher at the “College for Vicars” which is possibly under threat of closure (by an organisation linked to Lodestone) ; Teddy, Thelma’s husband, is Head of that College. Could a scam of some kind be involved?

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But as they work to uncover the truth, they begin to wonder just how far someone will go to silence this poison pen... Masterful storytelling and delightfully retro-style detective ladies make A Pen Dipped In Poison an imaginative and eventful read. Think Miss Marple with attitude coupled with a strong sense of togetherness, probably just about sums up Liz, Pat and Thelma. Like Jane Marple, these characters though quirky and slightly twee can think outside the box and around corners. I guess that is what comes of them being retired school teachers. Malice and mayhem spur a school reunion of three modern Marples – and some of their Thirsk community learn a lesson they’ll never forget!’ Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, author of A Murder of Crows All in all though if you do like you’re cozy crime and don’t mind putting the work in to sit down and read in more than one sitting then I think you would enjoy this. MY THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed A Spoonful of Murder, the first in this series. I'm disappointed to say that I didn't enjoy this second book quite as much. The facets I enjoyed in the first were largely missing from this.