Fun, silly, enjoyable. Sweat pants read for the brain which we could all use more of lately. Super fun and heartfelt.

United States Publication: May 27, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Nova works at the local community center, and her book club has taken an interesting turn. A newer member has disappeared with community center funds, a dead body is found at this person's house, and Nova is under suspicion for it all, plus more. The elderly members of the book club take it upon themselves to investigate this string of mysteries, clear Nova's name, and restore the council's opinion of the community center. Nova is getting married in nine days, but she feels urgency to regain her reputation and keep her job for the sake of herself and the family she is marrying into. Unfortunately, this means she isn't focused on wedding preparations like her future mother-in-law wishes she would be, and her fiance is quickly losing his patience with the whole thing. But the ball is rolling down the hill, so to speak, and Nova has to see it stop. But what will the cost be for Nova, professionally and personally?

My summary of this title is lacking; it doesn't paint the picture of the lighthearted (even though a murder takes place) and enjoyable read this is. I've not read any of Sampson's titles, but after reading this one, I am looking into them. In this title, Sampson created a unique group of characters and brought them together under the umbrella of a book club. It's like a siren song for all bookworms. Phyllis loves Agatha Christie, so Sampson uses this love to drive Phyllis' contributions to the amateur investigation. I found this delightful as I, too, love Agatha Christie and had thought I had read all of her titles, and in reading this book, I discovered I don't think I have! (More Agatha Christie to read? I don't consider that to be a hardship.) But, back to this book and this story... Sampson creates well-rounded characters; my one complaint is the character of Lauren. In the end, her part in the story didn't make sense, and thinking back through the book, there was a distinct lack of foreshadowing about her role in the story and its ultimate conclusion. The older I get, the more I like the dynamics stories hold when diverse people - ages, genders, race, socio-econmic backgrounds, etc - are thrown together or come together to interact. This story has some wonderful inter-generational, diverse interactions. This seems to be something Sampson likes to do. I've read summaries of her other titles, and she brings together people in ways that I can't help but think if more of that happened IRL, this world might be a better, kinder place.

Freya Sampson is known for writing heartwarming stories with quirky characters. She’s done it again with The Busybody Book Club. The five members of the St. Tredock book club range in age, book interests and biscuit preferences. In fact, there’s nothing much they agree on. On the night of the book club, £10,000 goes missing, money meant to repair the community center roof. Suspicion falls on Nova, the community center worker who leads the book club and Michael, a new member who isn’t known by the other members.
The book is told from their various POVs, which keeps the story moving right along. Phyllis is a Miss Marple wannabe and determines they need to investigate. Of course, she gets more wrong than right. And poor Nova just can’t seem to catch a break.
The plot often veers into unbelievable territory. This is a book one enjoys because of the characters, not the plot. But it’s great for when you just want to read something that brings a smile to your face.
My thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

Nova Davies started a book club so she could impress her fellow workers at the community center.

The book club turned out to not be very impressive, though. Nova held her breath every month wondering if anybody would show up.

The people that do show up are a young boy who reads romance and is trying to hide it.

A man who reads to his wife who is losing her sight.

A woman who is a fan of Agatha Christie along with her smelly dog and uses the skills she learned from reading the books to help solve murder cases and in this case missing money as well.

And a man named Michael who rarely says anything, and who ran out before the book club was over.

No one thought anything of his running out until they heard there was a dead body found in his house, and it wasn’t his body.

Another sweet, heartwarming read by Freya Sampson with an odd, but lovable cast of characters who try to solve the mystery of the missing money and who the murderer was. 5/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

4 book club stars

This is my third read by this author, and I do love her characters and writing!

We meet Nova and learn about her job at the local community center. She has organized a book club called the St. Tredock Book Club. The cast of characters in the book club is excellent. We have Arthur, an elderly man caring for his ailing wife, Ash, a shy teenager, Michael, a recent attendee, and the star of the book, Phyllis.

I loved all the literary references in this one and how people relate to books.

We also learn about Nova’s fiancée, and there’s an event in her past that has caused anxiety.

There’s a terrible theft at the community center on the night of the book club. A large chunk of the funds to replace the center’s roof has disappeared. Suspicion falls onto Nova and Michael, one of the book club members.

Phyllis, a want-to-be detective, rallies the group to solve the case and searches for Michael. There is a lot of amateur sleuthing that happens, but this group of people bonds and becomes found family by the end.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery set in Cornwall. Do you have busybodies in your neighborhood?

A fun read of a small town book club that gets involved in trying to solve a robbery and a murder. One member is an Agatha Christie fan, so there are lots of references to her books. A good quick read.

The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson

The St. Tredock Book Club is almost on it's last legs. Nova Davies has recently started the book club, wanting to make a good impression at the community center where she's been working for just a few months. Arthur and Phyliss are the members with the most miles on them, then there is newcomer 60-ish Michael, a man no one knows, and teen sci-fi fan, Ash. The group, mostly Arthur and Phyliss, argue about everything so not much book talk gets done.

Right after Michael's second visit to the book club, the community center office is broken into, money is missing, and a lot of other things aren't quite right. Nova seems willing to let everyone run over her so it's not hard for co-workers to convince her it's all her fault. She must have lost keys, forgot to lock to door, this and that. Now the ailing community center, which was going to get a new roof with the money that was stolen, is going to need to close.

Nova's fiancé and in-laws don't mind, they didn't think Nova should not be working anyway and instead should be making a good impression as Craig's wife after their upcoming wedding. It's only later that we find out there is a reason Nova's lost confidence in her opinions. When we meet her she seems to be very low energy and willing to let everyone tell her what to do.

It took a bit for the story to make an impression on me but it was really Phyliss who reached out and grabbed me. She went from a grumpy, bossy oldster, who loved her old dog but maybe no one else, to someone I adore by the end of the book. She's a gem under her crotchety-ness. Arthur is a sweetheart too and he's taken shy Ash under his wing. All these people need friends and I finished the story feeling very good about this little world I came to know. This was a fun buddy read with Jayme and DeAnn.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC

Freya Sampson, the QUEEN of heartwarming “found family” novels is back with a whole new cast of Busybodies!

Nova Davies has recently moved to Cornwall, and she really needs this fresh start and her new job to work out so she starts the St. Tredock Book Club to impress her boss Sandy-but so far it’s been a “less than impressive” beginning.

There are only 5 members, including herself, in the club, and rounding out the group are :

Arthur, an Octogenarian who gets around town on his tractor and reads romance novels to his wife who has lost her sight.

Ash, a shy teenager who hopes to impress his secret crush.

Micheal, the newest member, who is a mystery to the others so far.

And, (scene stealer) Phyllis, -a wannabe “Miss Marple” who knows every one of those Agatha Christie stories forward and backwards, and never leaves home without her elderly, arthritic English bulldog named Craddock.

The book opens with a delightful book club scene where the members are discussing “Where the Crawdads. Sing” (no spoilers!) but during that meeting, Micheal gets a text that sends him running and then it is discovered that six thousand pounds has been stolen from the community center sometime that evening.

To make matters worse, later that night, a dead body is found at Michael’s home and he is reported as missing!

Now, Nova’s job is at risk, and if the money isn’t recovered the center won’t be able to get a new roof and will be closed down.

This gives the group a whole new sense of purpose as Phyllis knows that British Police never manage to solve a crime without the help of an amateur detective, and she has been waiting her whole life for this moment!

“What would Miss Marple Do”?

Now, you may think that you have had your fill of “senior citizen detectives” but, even though this started out as Nova’s story-over the course of the 9 days-Phyllis and Craddock steal the show!

This is a delightful, cozy mystery story that can be read in one sitting and the book that finally got me out of my book slump and had me wanting to pick up a book again!

Loved the final chapter too!

Available May 27, 2025.

Thank You to Berkley for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley! As always, these are my candid thoughts!

I've enjoyed the handful of Freya Sampson novels I've read in the past, so I was excited to pick up The Busybody Book Club for another dose of warm and fuzzy connections among misfits. I'm sad to say that my reading experience of her latest book was, however, a miss for me.

As part of the staff of the local community center, Nova is in charge of running the book club. It's during one late-night meeting when the community center's fund for a new roof is stolen — putting Nova's job and reputation at risk. When the book club's members begin to believe that one of their own is getting framed for the theft and a recent death, they band together to solve the mystery, save Nova's job, and restore their beloved community center.

Unfortunately, I found the plot a bit too predictable for my taste and the writing quality felt a little below the standard I've come to expect from Sampson. It's worth noting that The Busybody Book Club sas strong echoes to the plotline of Nosy Neighbors — group of loosely connected strangers, most of them lonely, must work together to save a worn-out building from its demise, solving a cozy mystery along the way. That said, The Busybody Book Club does have its own unique merits, and avid readers will get a kick out of the many literary references woven throughout. 2.5 stars rounded down. This book wasn't for me, but my past track record with the author will have me coming back for more.

The St, Tredock Book Club is small but mighty. Their facilitator, Nova is new to the town and is employed by the local community center. She's soon to marry a local resident. The eclectic group includes an elderly farmer, a shy teenaged boy and Phyllis who is a sixty-something Agatha Christie fan and a force to be reckoned with. An on again, off again member, Michael appears irregularly. Michael receives a text during the group discussion and leaves in a hurry. The next morning the money raised for the new community center roof is missing. Nova admits to not being sure she locked the office door. Michael is suspected of the theft due to his hurried departure.
The theft sets in place a hilarious attempt to solve the crime before Nova loses her job. Phyllis is the ringleader and ultimately leads the group into danger and follows that up by causing a scene at Nova's wedding. The plot is well done and the characters are each unique and their stories add to the books charm. Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the ARC.

There was some charming moments, especially between the characters, but the story was a bit cliché and predictable. I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. I did love all the literary references. Very good for cozy mystery readers who don't mind a slower pace read.

It is a super fast read, but I don't think that is always a good thing. I think it took me about 2 1/2 hours to read through this book and it was pretty straightforward and leaning on a lot of the same tropes that they were talking about in the book itself. I really hated Craig. This is fine for an entry into cozy mysteries, but definitely lacking any depth.

The Busybody Book Club begins with a character you root for the entire novel. Nora has just moved to Cornwall with her fiancé, and was lucky enough to land a job at the community center as a child care worker. Nora also started a book club to impress her new coworkers. However, the book club seems to be a disaster. Then a real life mystery happens: money goes missing and so does one of the book club members. The group takes it upon themselves to try to solve the mystery using the methods of their favorite fictional detective. This feel good novel will keep you reading and rooting for the characters to find not only the solution to the mystery, but to find the key to setting themselves free.

I received a free DRC of this book through Netgalley. I have read at least 3 of her other novels including Nosy Neighbors which I adored. This book is about a group of people who meet up for book club at a community center because they are all feeling very alone. I really liked the characters and the mystery that they worked together to solve. I was glad that it wasn't the typical happily ever after ending too.

3.75 stars

I have enjoyed every book have read by this author and each one is different. But they each have wonderful quirky characters who get thrown together in novel ways.

There is a community center in a small town in England which is constantly under threat of closure due to financial concerns, even though it gets used all the time by different segments of the town. Nova, formerly a youth social worker, is employed there and runs a sparsely attended book club.

One night the book club has one member run tearing out of the building, while meanwhile (they discover later) the roof fund gets stolen from the manager's office. Nova is in jeopardy of being fired and meanwhile trying to get ready for her wedding in 48 hours. There are a million problems - primarily that Nova's prospective mother in law has hijacked her wedding and Nova isn't too excited about it.

She and the remaining book club members, including an old farmer, and an elderly Agatha Christie fan, try to solve the theft. Along the way there is a dead body, a disappearance, and various other adventures. It's a fun journey. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The five members of the St. Tredock Book Club are totally different from each other often disagreeing and being testy in general. Yet when one of their members disappears and a dead body is found at his house they band together to get to the bottom of things. Nova Davies has only recently moved to the area from London and is struggling to adjust. To complicate things a large sum of money disappears from the community center and Nova is suspected. Agatha Christie super fan Phyllis, secret romance reader Arthur and shy teenager Ash all bring their insights and skills to the group in an effort to locate surly Michael and prove his innocence. Yet each has secrets of their own to protect. This was the feel good light hearted almost caper novel that I was needing. Filled with humor and human interest with quirky references to books and fictional sleuths scatetred throughout the chapters it was entertaining. All of the characters are clearly drawn with their unique characters lovingly sketched with a deft hand. This engaging narrative presents a moral message that despite humanity's many differences of thought and opinion we can put those on the shelf for a good cause. This was definitely a cozy and the story flows smoothly although the mystery is not always on center stage. Yet despite the light aspects of much of the narrative it has a hidden depth. An entertaining read.

I will definitely be re-reading this with my book club when it is officially published. It's very meta to read it with a book club. This was a fun ride!

A Ukrainian novelist turns her talents to documenting ordinary citizens' lives during Russia's 2022 invasion of her country.
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Victoria Amelina was an award-winning novelist and children's author living in Kyiv. Like so many others, her life changed on February 24, 2022, when Russian bombs began falling on her country. Deciding that the role of novelist was irrelevant in wartime, she began a nonfiction account of her experiences during the conflict. The narrative began as a wartime diary chronicling her own transformation from offering shelter to refugees to investigating war crimes (see Beyond the Book for a history of the conflict). She felt, though, that the stories she truly wanted to tell were of the many remarkable women she met who were actively countering Russian aggression. Her story and theirs are woven together into Amelina's only nonfiction work, Looking at Women Looking at War.

The fact that the book made it to print at all is remarkable; it was only 60 percent complete when the author died during the summer of 2023 of injuries incurred in a Russian missile attack. Her husband and several friends decided the account was too important to lose and worked tirelessly assembling the fragments into something that could be published.

The result is unlike any narrative I've experienced—and I use the word "experienced" deliberately here. The book isn't an uninterrupted linear tale with a definable narrative arc. Instead, as Amelina travels more frequently to recently liberated zones within Ukraine, the text becomes ever more disjointed. Some pages contain nothing but disconnected, incomplete sentences ("impunity … helplessness of the … security council, France … tribunal-open for talk; ICC doesn't support that … radbez"). Some chapters contain a title but no other content. Repetition is common and individuals and events are introduced without context. The effect is astonishing; Amelina's work comes across as raw and immediate—a work in progress that will never be finished. It felt not so much like reading a book as uncovering an ancient manuscript one must decipher. Although the author doesn't pack a lot of emotion into the text, it nevertheless prompts a visceral reaction.

That's not to say all of the book is fragmentary; its early sections are more complete and relay the author's reactions to events as they occur. She was with her 10-year-old son on vacation in Egypt on February 24, for example, unable to fly home to Ukraine. She writes of the experience:

"How does it feel to be stuck in an empty airport in a foreign country, knowing that the ruthless enemy is attacking the cities you love? I feel a mixture of fury, grief, and … relief. Yes, I also feel relieved. It seems shameful yet inescapable to feel this way, and I justify myself by thinking I'm not the only writer who has met the beginning of an apocalyptic war with something other than despair or anger."

The stories of the women she meets feel more distant. I can't help but wonder if their lives would have been more fleshed out had Amelina more time to do so. Still, she vividly portrays the actions these individuals take as their country falls apart. One woman stockpiles supplies in her basement and makes sure her children and grandchildren are safe before heading to the front lines to tend to the wounded. A children's writer reads urgent announcements at the railway station because she can translate the announcements into other languages on the fly. A human rights lawyer decides to join the army because she can shoot so well. Amelina describes these women and many others who take small actions that impact the well-being of others in an untenable situation.

Looking at Women Looking at War is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand what it's like to have a war raging in your country, or for those interested in the Russia-Ukraine War in particular. But readers need to approach the book with the understanding that it's an unusual and at times challenging read, due largely to its format. Those approaching it with expectations of a moving book about wartime or one that lays out the conflict's history may be disappointed. Readers who persist, though, will almost certainly find Amelina's work unforgettable.

I was given a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley.

The book club is reading Where the Crawdads Sing and considering the author and her husband were not only wanted for questioning in a murder investigation but also made racist remarks about Africa and the people, I think it’s tasteless to include this author and her book. There are so many other books the book club could be reading. We need to stop promoting these problematic authors.

I won't be reading this. I've tried multiple times and haven't gotten into it. Thank you though for the opportunity. If I read it in the future I will come back and change this review.