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

£4.495£8.99Clearance
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I don’t feel it works particularly well as a standalone book as there are a lot of references to the first book, A Spoonful of Murder, so it helps to have read that book first. This mystery finds them, trying to find out who is sending poison pen letters to their friends and neighbours.

Retired schoolteachers Liz, Pat and Thelma are back at their usual table at the Thirsk Garden Centre cafe with a brand-new mystery to solve. As I haven't read the first book in the series, I was happy to see some backstory to the characters. Becky, Jan, Liz, Izzy, Pat, Thelma, Kayleigh, Karen, Victoria, Nicole, Bunty, Josie, Macy, Claire, Linda, Tiff, Candice, Faith, Simone, Hope, Topsy, Rod, Liam, Derek, Teddy, Ian, Andrew, Steve, Matt, Chris, Doug - did I forget anyone? 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.Retired schoolteachers Liz, Pat and Thelma are back at their usual table at the Thirsk Garden Centre café with a brand-new mystery to solve? The background story of this and the previous book was very good but I felt the characters lacked depth. And the theme of the poisoned pen letters and the reasons behind them just didn't quite work for me.

Retired schoolteachers Liz, Pat and Thelma never expected they would be caught up in a crime even once in their lives, let alone twice. When he not writing, Jon is happy to take his mind off the trials of creativity by doing something practical, such as organising a playground rota or marking a pile of books. The culprit wasn't really that hard to fathom, particularly with some of the clues dropped midway through the book.The dialogue and relationships within this book are wonderful and by the end I felt I was leaving friends. For all ebook purchases, you will be prompted to create an account or login with your existing HarperCollins username and password. A Pen Dipped in Poison was a very slow burner cosy mystery and I loved the primary school setting of Lodestone Academy and the case the trio were trying to solve more than the first book. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.

I really enjoyed A Spoonful of Murder, the first book in this series, but found myself somewhat disappointed in this one.

Unlike the previous book in the series, the three women have drifted a little apart, as they all have their own concerns and worries, and a certain reluctance to share these with the other two. As one by one, careers are ended, marriages destroyed and no one is beyond suspicion, the three friends decide enough is enough.

I have to admit, I got a little bit confused at the start of the book between Linda and Liz, Pat and Jan, but I soon got them all straightened out as the story (and characters) developed.

The second instalment in this lovely cosy mystery series, centred around a group of retired primary school teachers, and imbued with admiration for their motivation, resourcefulness and capability.

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