There are some books that I love just because the author has done such a good job with world-making and tone. This is definitely the case here. You are immersed in late 19th-century Cracow in the world of Zofia Turbotynska, who is a busybody and social climber who has too much time on her hands. In an attempt to elevate herself through charitable deeds, she gets curious about the disappearance of old Mrs. Mohr - and her tenacious investigation goes from there. The story is told with such an arch tone of social, political, and historical commentary that I didn’t care that I couldn’t follow all the plot threads by the end.

In Mrs Mohr Goes Missing, Zofia, the bored, social climbing wife of a professor, gets involved when a resident of a nursing home run by nuns goes missing. Zofia insists there has been foul play and realizes she enjoys sleuthing. This book takes place in 19th century Krakow, and the historical details seemed spot on. There were a lot of jokes about Polish society and Krakow that went straight over my head, and I think there was a lot of satire that I missed. The mystery was interesting, and I liked the sly jabs at the characters, though I think overall Szymiczkowa has a lot of affection for the characters. I didn't love the execution of this book - the middle part felt kind of tedious, and I normally like to try to figure out whodunnit, but wasn't really able to put together any of the pieces of the puzzle. Once the mystery did come together I was satisfied at the ending, but it was a little bit of a slog to get there. Zofia could be exasperating but she was entertaining, and I really liked her husband and cook (though I wish the cook was in the story more, she fades out in the middle.) Recommended to those looking for a new historical mystery series.

I love mysteries that take me to new places and include not only the mystery but there's some social commentary as well. I am looking forward to more books in this series, Late 19th century Cracow is an interesting place and Zofia is a hoot. well-done translation made this Polish book read smoothly in English.

An intriguing mystery set in 1890s Poland, the novel follows Zofia Turbotyńska, a professor's wife who is bored with her life, wishing for something more. That is until she gets involved with solving a murder at a nursing home, when she begins to find purpose.

My main issue with this book is that I feel like the translation is rather stilted, and it made it a little harder for me to read. However, it was still interesting to have the female amateur detective trope set in Poland! I also liked the loyal servant Franciszka.

I recommend this to historical mystery lovers and Agatha Christie fans.

3 stars

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I think my problems with this novel may have stemmed from a stilted translation, but I just found it a bit dry.

Self-centered social-climbing Polish female amateur detectives are not a dime-a-dozen, but Szymiczkowa (Jacek Dehnel and Piotr Tarxzynski) have created a delightful sleuth. The mystery is complicated enough to keep your attention, but the strength of the story is the character of Zofia Turbotynska. Poland in 1893 is not an easy place to be a middle to upper class wife who has no children, has helped her husband obtain the highest point he will achieve in his profession, and has yet to maneuver her way into the social committees of the upper class. When a woman goes missing in a religious "nursing home", Zofia finds herself using the skills she learned reading Edgar Allen Poe to find the first of three bodies. Along the way she learns a lot of Polish/Austrian/Italian history, attends numerous funerals, hires and fires several housemaids and somehow keeps her husband unaware of what she's doing. The final scene when she reveals the murderer is an homage to Agatha Christie. This is funny, informative and a quick read despite the non-English names.

This book was received as an ARC from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - Mariner Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved the concept of this book and the theme that extracted from it. To enjoy life I really believe that you have to find passion for something. Zofia was struggling to find that passion for herself until her neighbor Mrs. Mohr goes missing and found murdered, Zofia found her passion and that is crime solving. She got such a rush working the case that she finally found something she loved to do and that is the key to happiness. She did so well on the case, she is the best amateur detective there ever was. After finishing the book, I could not help but be happy for Zofia and inspired to look at life a little deeper and evaluate the true meaning of happiness.

We will consider adding this title to our Historical Fiction collection at our library. This is why we give this book 5 stars.

And I thought British humor was cutting. This humor was so cutting that I think I bled.

Zofia is a bored housewife. After making her husband as much as a success as he can be in his field, she has nothing to do. She tried to figure out what kind of charity work she can do that hasn't already been taken by other wives. She ends up helping find a resident of a nursing home which turns into a murder investigation.

Zofia is not a nice person. No one is in the book. Everyone is absurd and selfish. I loved it. This might not be for everyone. The mystery is good except I got confused with the names a couple of times.

I really struggled with this one, which was particularly sad because I found the description intriguing. Unfortunately, I found the bored, social-climbing protagonist not terribly likable, and the story didn't move along very smoothly. I don't know if it's because this was a work in translation or if the writing style just didn't appeal to me, but I was happy to reach the end.

This fun murder mystery is set in the late 19th century Poland and follows Zofia, a bored aristocrat and a wife of a rather meek university professor, who owns to his wife's ambitions all the success he has. Please note Zofia is not at all like progressive Phryne Fisher; she is a product of her time in the most direct sense and holds quite conservative views about class and gender. Yet, she has to overcome her biases - and confront male chauvinism - in order to solve the mystery of two murders. The novel is a funny and light read, beautifully translated. I am not big on historical fiction but I enjoyed it quite a lot. I especially appreciate the note at the beginning of the book, situating the novel in time and space and explaining all the political intricacies the reader has to be (sort of) aware of to appreciate the book. This mystery will be perfect for Agatha Christie fans!