Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review! I love a cozy mystery and this one was right up my alley! I loved the connection between the characters. I appreciated the message of how vulnerable certain communities of people can be. Great pacing and wonderful plot work!

"Old age these days seemed to need as much investment and capital as starting up a business."

Every Thursday, three retired school teachers have their ‘coffee o’clock’ sessions at the Thirsk Garden Centre café. But one fateful week, as they are catching up with a slice of cake, they bump into their ex-colleague, Topsy. By next Thursday, Topsy is dead.

The last thing Liz, Thelma and Pat imagined was that they would become involved in a murder. But they know there’s more to Topsy’s death than meets the eye – and it’s down to them to prove it.

This was yet another cover-caught-my-attention-so-I-want-to-read book (but don't go in expecting any cats because there are none).

It took me some time to get into this book as the characters of the three women seemed to blend into one another making it difficult to recognise who's who. Only when the mystery began to deepen did they seem to be unstuck from each other.

That this is a cosy crime mystery with the main characters above the age of 50 greatly appealed to me. I enjoyed following Pat, Liz, and Thelma on their mission to uncover the truth behind Topsy's death as they fight their insecurities and apprehensions.

The book touches upon challenges of old age and how vulnerable it makes you even as one strives to fight it. The chapters have an unusual naming convention which I thought was unique and interesting.

Even though I'd say this was slow, it was an overall pleasant read with warm humour, ideal to curl up with over a weekend.

This ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Avon Books.

A really satisfying, fun cosy mystery with three middle-aged+ protagonists, which is a nice change. Set in Yorkshire around the town of Thirsk, three ex-colleagues meet up every Thursday over tea and cake at the local garden centre. The death of an older ex-colleague, one they had only seen the week before, takes them by surprise and raises some suspicions, so they decide to investigate her death.

Although my suspicions of the murderer remained throughout, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I am very much looking forward to the next one in the series.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts will be shared on Goodreads and Amazon UK.
The story centres around three retired school teachers who meet, every Thursday, and have their ‘coffee o’clock’ sessions at the Thirsk Garden Centre café. During one of these meetings, they bump into an ex-colleague, Topsy, who appears very different to the forthright Topsy they knew. One week later, Topsy is dead and Liz, Pat and Thelma find themselves drawn into the events leading to her demise.
This is a brilliant cosy mystery with plenty of intrigue and humour to keep your attention to the very end. The characters are well-written and the dementia aspect of the storyline is handled well, without exaggeration for effect. Having a parent with dementia, I did find some parts of the story a little upsetting and others in a similar situation should be aware going into the book that there are some events which may be emotional for them.
There may be comparisons between this and other cosy mysteries featuring a team of retirees meeting on a Thursday, but that is where the similarities end. This most definitely stands on its own merit. I would whole-heartedly recommend A Spoonful of Murder and hope that there are many more adventures of the trio in the future!

Thank you Netgalley and the author for the arc in exchange of an honest review!
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

A Spoonful of Murder is a cozy mystery that focuses on a group of retired teachers who meet weekly when a former coworker is found dead leading to confusion and suspicions within the circle of friends.
Reading this book felt like the ultimate comfort book, all I wanted to do when reading it was to snuggle up with a tea and binge read it!
Although, I must admit I struggled getting into it at first. The point of views of the three main characters were mixed so it was hard for me to differentiate who was who. Nonetheless, I found that the author knew how to balance out heavy and poignant themes; such as dementia, aging, childlessness, friendships and so many more with lightheartedness and well described settings and witty banter.

I received an early copy of this book via NetGalley.

In this cozy mystery very much in the mold of <i>Thursday Murder Club</i>, three retired school teachers encounter an old colleague and find she's suffering from dementia. Days later, they discover something worse: she's dead. It's quickly dismissed as a pill mix-up because of her muddled mind, but details don't add up and suspects are aplenty as the three old friends begin to investigate.

I found the book slow to get going because it is so utterly immersive in the lives of the three main characters, but that's also how it hooked me. Also incredibly appealing: the people and the settling as are Yorkshire as Wensleydale cheese and parkin, and I love Yorkshire so very much. There's a gritty realness to the book but it doesn't delve too deep into that, for the most part--but elder abuse IS a major theme, so if that is a trigger for you, this book may not be the best fit for you.

While I overall ended up liking this story, I did have a few issues with it as well. It wasn’t exactly what I would classify as a cozy mystery, as it does deal with some heavy issues. But it was realistic in its portrayal of older women and some of the issues they deal with.

The story is mainly told through the three retired teachers, Thelma, Pat and Liz. I initially had a lot of trouble keeping track of who was who, and their particular circumstances, but once I got them figured out I began to appreciate their characters and even to like them. I did find it rather interesting that they mostly figured out parts of the mystery on their own, without consulting each other. They then would fill each other in on what they did when they met, but still not typical in these types of mysteries.

The story itself was well done, if not really surprising. There were perhaps too many side stories going on, many of them having to do with the family of the three women, and most of them had nothing to do with the central mystery. These side stories while interesting and perhaps some of them meant as red herrings, unfortunately only served to slow down the narrative and move the story away from the central who done it. Also I pretty much knew who did it from the get go, although I kept hoping I was wrong.

Some of the storylines dealt with the issues many older people face, dementia, elder fraud and people basically taking advantage of them. These heavier themes were done well and I appreciated them in the story. They were realistically done and I liked how the three women were able to thwart one of men taking advantage of the elderly. But they also at times made the story a bit depressing and took away from the feeling that this was meant to be a cozy mystery.

The writing was good, but at times was bogged down in descriptions of food and clothing and other things. The setting was nicely done though, especially the descriptions of the weather and countryside.

Overall a good read, that gets a little slow at times. It does deal with some heavy issues but does them well, and does a good job of developing female characters of a certain age. It also has some fun quirky characters which are the hallmark of the cozy mystery.

Set in Thirsk, Yorkshire, A Spoonful of Murder is a charming and (mostly) cozy mystery...yet it's more than that. Three retired school teachers Liz, Pat and Thelma meet each week at "coffee o'clock" at the Thirsk Garden Centre to chat and catch up. Each woman has her own concerns, of course, and we are given slivers of their backgrounds and histories. I like the three perspectives and learning about their personalities.

During one of the gossip sessions the ladies see a fellow retired teacher Topsy with her daughter KellyAnne but are dismayed to see signs of senility such as forgetfulness. KellyAnne is also Topsy's caretaker and is distraught but putting on a brave face. Shortly after Topsy is discovered dead, sitting in a chair. But snippets of doubts swirl as odd incidents including scammers and bits of conversations here and there burden the ladies with feelings of unease. Their coffee breaks become sleuthing sessions.

My favourite aspect of this book is getting to know the ladies' characters and sleuthing predilections. I like that they are not mindless twenty somethings but rather are mature with life experience. Food descriptions are wonderful, too. So is the setting...I am enamoured with the area.

My sincere thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this fun debut novel! I wonder what J. M. Hall has in store for readers next?

This is a cosy mystery at its best with a cast of loveable characters with strong moral compasses. The food descriptions, the overall ambiance and mystery at its core made this a truly satisfying read!

This is a cosy mystery, which I found enjoyable. At first I found it hard to get into the story, but it grew on me as the time went on.

Older ladies who are ex work colleagues, Liz, Pat and Thelma, meet up every Thursday to have a catch up. At one of their meetings, they meet one of their old work colleagues who is called Topsy. Topsy has dementia and her daughter is her carer. The three friends go to Topsy's home after they become suspicious of some things that she said to them at the meeting. They realise that something is not right after they find out that someone has stolen her life savings. Soon after this, Topsy is found dead, and they set out to investigate her robbery and death. Who has robbed and killed her, and why?

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*3 Stars!!

This is a murder mystery book following three retired school teachers. Every week Liz, Thelma and Pat meet up at their local cafe to have a catch up when one Thursday they run into a favoured colleague of there's Topsy who sadly has started showing signs of having dementia. Topsy tearfully mentions overhearing a conversation about someone saying it would be better off for everyone if she Topsy was dead. Concerned for her welfare the ladies decide to pay Topsy a visit and soon after Topsy is found dead with the police unsure of if it was murder or not, the ladies believe that topsy might have been murdered and decide to start asking some questions of their own and soon come to realise that there are more than a few people who could have wanted Topsy dead.

I really struggled getting into the story at first I thought it was because Topsy had dementia and it was bringing back some personal painful memories for me so I did consider putting it down but then decided I needed to face my fears so I tried to push past that which I believe I did quite well. However it was extremely slow paced and kind of boring to be honest the best part of the whole book was the ending when it was put together about who murdered Topsy and why. I did end up putting the book down constantly and coming back to it and there was only will power that kept me going back to read the book.

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for my honest review.*

Liz, Thelma and Pat are three retired school teachers who meet weekly at a local garden centre for Coffee and Cake. When one week they bump into their old colleague Topy they are shocked to discover she is living with a form of dementia. All three decide that they will make more of an effort to see Topsy more often but before they can do anything Topsy is found dead at home.
The police seem happy to rule Topsy’s death an accident but the three women are not convinced. They work together to make their own enquiries but will what they discover settle their minds or make them even more worried.

I really enjoyed this quirky murder mystery. Three retired ex-teachers meet weekly to share coffee and their lives. When one of their school colleagues dies suddenly they know that a murder has taken place and they set out to prove it - they also uncover a fraudster as they investigate Topsy’s death.

This is an entertaining cosy murder mystery with three smart inquisitive ladies determined to see truth prevail. I felt drawn to these three feisty women and hope that I have their positive attitude to life when I eventually retire! Hopefully more adventures will follow!

A Spoonful of Murder by J. M. Hall could be a solid cozy mystery.

The premise of this book gave off R. Osman's Thursday Murder Club vibe and that was the reason I choose it.

There are certain similarities, as the age group and the setting which I liked.
The writing is gentle, steady paced and engaging, as we slowly get to know the characters. But there are too many mentions of other people that it is quite hard to keep track of who is who. At times it reads almost as fiction, with some very insightful comments about people and life in general.

The story has lots of red herrings, twists and turns which turn out to be a bit too much.
The ending was well done and tied nicely.

Thank you to Avon Books UK for the chance to read this ARC.

It is described as a cozy mystery book and it does fall in this category but it is a bit long winded and I found with so many different characters I easily got confused who was who. There were a few red herrings or twists that helped some but I struggled to get through. Other may enjoy the book but I just couldn’t. The plot of a woman with dementia passing away due to taking her meds incorrectly is quickly shown to be wrong with all kinds of bad guys showing up in her life. An light read.

I tried time and time again to get into this book and I just couldn’t. I thought that I’d like it more than Thursday Murder Club by Richard Oseman, as the description made it seem right up my alley but it just fell flat for me unfortunately. However, if you did enjoy The Thursday Murder Club I’d definitely recommend it to you! Just because it wasn’t my cup of tea doesn’t mean it won’t be yours :)

Warm characters and wonderful writing. There are some great moments in this book, I loved the Zumba Insanity class, I could definitely relate to that! I also like how the characters get their own chapters meaning we can have an insight in to their own personal stories and the back stories are beautifully written.

A Spoonful Of Murder sees three retired friends, Pat, Liz and Thelma, caught up in the middle of the suspicious death of former teacher colleague Topsy. Will they discover what happened before the police?

I found this book very "busy", lots of characters to keep track of, and many story strands. It did lose my attention in a few places, it just felt a bit long winded at times.

I did however like the three main characters, their differences were clearly what made them friends!

A Spoonful of Murder is a cosy crime story, featuring three retired teachers who are still friends. A chance meeting with another of their old colleagues leads them down an investigative path. Did Topsy Joy die or was she killed? Alongside the main story, we also learn about the lives of the three main characters and assorted friends and relatives.

A Spoonful of Murder truly is a great cosy read, perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club.

I absolutely adored this book. I felt I knew the protagonists who are three retired primary school teachers. I probably do! When investigating the suspicious death of their ex colleague their everyday concerns were realistic and relatable. It’s unusual and refreshing for the life experience, concerns, fears, intelligence and abilities of the older woman to be highlighted in a positive way.
A great cast of supporting characters, humour, pathos and a great understanding of life in a smaller northern town add up to a hugely enjoyable read and I look forward to more from this trio.