Title: The Busybody Book Club
By: Freya Samson
ISBN: 9780593550557 (ISBN10: 0593550552)
ASIN: 0593550552
Website: https://freya-sampson.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Summary:
The five members of the St. Tredock Book Club disagree on everything, from the books they read to the biscuits they eat. But when one of the group suddenly disappears and a dead body is discovered at his house, these bibliophiles must put their differences aside to solve the mystery.
Having recently moved to Cornwall, Nova Davies started the book club to impress her new colleagues at the community center, but so far it’s a disaster. To make matters worse, six thousand pounds is stolen from the community center during one of her meetings, putting both her job and the whole center at risk.
Suspicion for the theft falls on book club member Michael, especially when a dead body is discovered at his house and Michael disappears. The police think he’s simply run away, but the other members have their own theories. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove he’s a murderer as well as a thief, while secret romance reader Arthur believes Michael’s eloped with his mistress, and teenage sci-fi fan Ash thinks dark forces are at play.
While trying to find Michael and recover the money, each book club member has their own secrets to protect. With inspiration from their favorite fictional sleuths, they won’t rest until they’ve cracked the case and everyone is safe at home where they belong. (Goodreads)
Review:
The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson was an attention grabbing cozy mystery for me. The cast of characters were definitely eclectic. And having a book club as the integral part of the cast of characters is brilliant – at least for this book nerd ☺
The tale begins with the book club meeting…Nova Davies has recently moved to Cornwall and is working in the community centre. To attempt to impress her colleagues, she started a book club (which to this point in time is a mitigated disaster). And to further complicate Nova’s standing – and to say that things are not going well for her is an understatement when $ 6,000 pounds goes missing while she is having a book club meeting at the centre! During this meeting, a book club member (Michael – the newest member) rushes out and subsequently a dead body is found at Michael’s home – with no Michael in sight. The other members of the club are: Arthur, an Octogenarian who drives his tractor in and out of town and reads romance novels to his wife who has lost her sight (isn’t that sweet☺). Then there is Ash, a shy teenager. Finally, we have Phyllis, who’s passion is Agatha Christie stories, which she can practically recite! Phyllis also has an elderly, arthritic English bulldog named Craddock. Now he is a character and a half.
I really enjoyed that the various members of the bookclub had wildly different ideas as to why Michael disappeared during this latest meeting! That certainly kept me chuckling ☺ The numerous leads the “bookclub” gang took to solve the mystery of Michael’s disappearance and the murder was engaging. There were, as one can guess, many different tangents that the club members followed to try and solve these mysteries…sometimes with unique consequences. So as to let each reader discover the path taken to solve the mysteries, I shall leave out further details. Just know that it certainly is worth the read.
I found the cover art eye catching – the mystery theme very evident with all those eyes ☺
If you are an avid reader of cozy mysteries (or not), you will find this book a delight, with characters full of spunk and loyalty to their friends and neighbours. And did I say tenacious? Until the mystery was solved, they persisted in finding out the truth. A true whodunit which had me guessing until the very end (well not exactly but close to it at least). I quite enjoyed this “new to me” author and will seek out other titles by Freya Sampson in the future.
