Member Reviews

Three women who run a charity shop are drawn into investigating the murder of one of their customers. they try to do so mostly by guesswork honing in on a particular character and then trying to make them fit! Far-fetched at times ( would the DI really share so much information?) it still flows along and I enjoyed it but if you like your murder mysteries gritty and gory then it probably isn't for you.

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Retired Fiona Sharp is now living in Southbourne with her rescue terrier. She is a volunteer at a charity shop called Dogs Need Nice Homes, along with Sue and Daisy. One morning while going through the new donations she finds a bloody knife and calls the police. There was a murdered pensioner and DI Fincher comes to question the women. More murders occur with each having a domino with the next victim's name on it. Fiona and the others want justice and try to piece together why these people were targeted and is there a serial killer living in their town.
A well plotted cozy mystery with interesting characters and locale.
Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for this e-galley ARC of"The Charity Shop Detective Agency".

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The Charity Shop Detective Agency is cosy crime at its finest. We meet Fiona, Sue and Daisy, the volunteers at Dogs Need Nice Homes. They're having a lovely time when one of their coffee morning regulars is brutally murdered in her home. Who would do such a thing to sweet innocent Sarah Brown?

The trio set off on their own investigation, putting their TV crime drama knowledge to good use to try and catch The Domino Killer.

When another body turns up, things get serious, and despite warnings from the police to stay out of the way, they just can't help themselves.

The Charity Shop Detective Agency is a great read. It's lighthearted enough to not keep you awake at night, but there are also serious elements to the story, which give it enough bite and avoid it being too flimsy.

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This was ... Ok? I think that's about as much enthusiasm as I can give it.

A cosy crime, written by an author who I believe looks down on charity shops from the way he described them as places that smelled musty, and because of this view early on I couldn't help thinking throughout that they were making fun of the characters cruelly, rather than lightheartedly.

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A fantastic read for fans of Richard Osman. The story is centred around 3 women who work in a charity shop, who decide to try to solve the murders committed by a serial killer. There’s no expletives, sex scenes, and although there are murders, you only hear of them referred to after the fact, so there is no graphic violence, thus making this a great read for all ages. I’d heartedly recommend, and will be looking for further stories from this author

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I feel like there is a lot to be said about this book for the good, it does have that cosy sitting down with a tea and characters who seem like friends kind of feeling. It also makes the reader wonder what on earth are these ladies going to get up to next in their investigation. However, it is very much directed at a certain age bracket, which is clearly seen through the dialect, the conversation between characters and the humour used. If you were the same age of those in the ‘agency’ you would feel in great company.
The plot itself is ok, I felt like there was something missing on the end. Considering the amount of detail that had gone into other parts of the book I really feel like maybe we could have just had one more chapter to just round everything up nicely.
Overall an easy, lighthearted read.

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A whimsical, highly enjoyable murder mystery. I felt part of the little community that frequents the charity shop as it was described so well by Peter Boland. I am looking forward to the next instalment already.

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I received this advance reader copy via Netgalley and Joffe Books, in return for an honest review. A fun cozy with three unexpected, middle-aged sleuths investigating deaths in their small English village. The women all work at the same charity shop and decide to solve the inexplicable murder of a local octogenarian who frequented the shop. Some slow bits in the middle but the ending resolved things well.

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The title of this book caught my attention as did the cover. I liked the idea of the three older ladies working at the charity shop investigating the murders and the quirks and turns of the plot was quite good. But... I felt the writing was too long winded even for a cozy mystery. Too often the author went on for pages telling something he should have been showing. There was too much detail that didn't seem to add anything to the plot or character development. In fact I had to skip over several chapters because it seemed like nothing was happening or even going to happen for a while. Maybe it would have been better as a short story or a novella.

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saddened at the death of one of their favorite customers. When they find out that Sarah was murdered, Fiona, Sue and Daisy vow to find her killer and bring them to justice.

With a cast of funny characters, included Simon Le Bon, this one will keep your laughing as the ladies work to solve the murder, get in a cup of tea and a bit of cake and live life in their homey little seaside town.

Sometimes you come across a book and can’t tell if it’s going to be a series or a one and done book. I think, and hope, this one is the first in a new series. That makes me happy, because I really enjoyed it!

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This was a cute cozy with three women who work at charity shop called <i>Dogs Need Nice Homes </i>. They have a small gathering area in the shop where elderly community members meet on Tuesdays, and one of their group in murdered. The three women decide they will help the police investigate to find the killer, calling themselves <i>The Charity Shop Detective Agency </i>. They spend a lot of time talking through various theories and snooping a bit, and then there's another murder.

This is a fun cozy murder mystery with some enjoyable humor. I liked the ladies of the charity shop who seem to complement each other. These women, though all over 65, have a lot of energy and seem to give back to their community. Some of their misadventures were a little impulsive, leading to unforeseen issues, but they were persistent and had some good insight to contribute to solving the case.

Thanks to Joffe Books through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on December 13, 2022.

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I'm a big lover of cosy crime novels, and a lover of charity shops. I'm also a charity shop volunteer, so when I heard about this book, it had instant appeal for me, and I was eager to read it.

I found the cover design very appealing, as it was simple, but gave the impression of a book that would be fun, warm and cosy. It would definitely grab my attention if I saw it in a bookshop.

This book made me smile, and I found it very amusing, partly because of the characters and the relatability. From the first chapter, I was chuckling away. I thought about how many of us might know someone a little bit like Sophie, while at the same time wondering what I would do, if I were to find myself in a situation like Fiona's.

This was a very entertaining cosy mystery, and it's the sort of thing I would choose to cheer myself up. I liked it a lot, and I would place it in the same category as Hannah Hendy's The Dinner Lady Detectives and Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club - both of which made me laugh and brought a smile to my face.

I wonder if this is going to be part of a series. If so, I would definitely be interested in reading the others. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

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