It is about small close communities and everyone being connected and knowing everything about each other. Set in the charming village of Thirsk, Yorkshire , when three retired primary school teachers, (Thelma, Pat and Liz), are faced with the suspicious death of a friend, Topsy, they reluctantly take up the task of uncovering the “ordinary evil” lurking beneath the unassuming facade of their quiet and comfortable neighborhood.

What a fantastic read! It gave me all the cosy… Really enjoyable characters that you feel like you've known for years once you finish the book. It was the perfect pace, and easy to follow. Love, love, loved this book’ NetGalley review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ J.M. Hall has woven a very clever and authentic feeling story. This is not really just about Topsy’s story, sad as it is. It is a study of the impact that age and declining health have on family, the way in which the deterioration of a previously sharp mind is one of the many fears that we all face as we advance in years. There is also a real sense of the way in which people may seek to take advantage of those who may naturally be more trusting, or perhaps just less aware, of the risks of modern life. Topsy is a victim in more ways than one, and each of those elements of her story serve to muddy the waters, and keep the truth of the whole story hidden until the very last moment. The list of potential suspects, assuming there is anything to suspect them of, is long, the motives equally so. The reveal, when it comes, is surprising, and yet fitting. Perhaps not satisfying, kind of sad actually, but in keeping with the nature of the book.A cosy crime mystery but with added bite, and cake. Liz, Pat and Thelma are curious and inquisitive and you’ll warm towards them and their sometimes unpredictable ways of discovering clues’ NetGalley Review Product Details

I think that good characters are an absolute must for a successful cosy mystery and this book didn’t disappoint. Pat, Liz and Thelma are a group of brilliant personalities and they all bring something different to the table. Warm characters and wonderful writing... It’s steeped in Yorkshire like a mug of hot, strong tea... I loved it’ SJ Bennett, author of The Windsor Knot If you are looking for a crime adventure without those dark disturbing violence, this could be a good read for you. A Spoonful of Murder was a very easy read and felt like a modern-day Agatha Christie. I could not put the book down. It has a good mixture of humour, sadness, and mystery which kept my interest throughout and I didn’t want it to end. I actually liked getting to know there three women, Liz, Pat and Thelma. They are three very different characters, all very carefully created and developed, each with characteristics that both endeared and, at times, frustrated me. Pat was perhaps the hardest to get to know, the most reticent in getting involved, but there was still something about her and I could recognise her fears and understand her reluctance to get involved, especially as there was potential trouble at home too. Liz seemed the most timid of the three but was actually very astute and perhaps, unknowingly, at the time, the most in tune with what was really happening. Thelma was the most direct about looking into what had really happened, the most determined to understand what was happening, driven to find an answer by her own faith. The story is told from all of their points of view, which serves to both enhance, and perhaps at times stall, our understanding, but the author gives believable and distinct voices to them making it easy to follow the changes in perspective.They learn from Topsy’s daughter that recently she had been cruelty defrauded of her life savings by a telephone scammer. By the next Thursday Topsy is dead after apparently muddling up her pills. Yet something doesn’t feel right to her friends prompting them to do some sleuthing of their own. No further details to avoid spoilers. I’ve actually been enjoying all the ‘cosy crime’ amateur sleuth types of books which have been released of late, particularly those where the protagonists are possible the least likely Detectives you might hope to meet. That’s certainly the case when it comes to Liz, Thelma and Pat, the three women who, in true Miss Marple style, find themselves in the midst of a case of murder. Or maybe not … It’s not entirely clear, especially given that the alleged victim, Topsy, a former colleague of the three women was in her dotage and suffering declining health. If it hadn’t been for the fact that Topsy was, in her day, a somewhat formidable character, they might have thought little of her sudden death. Well … that and her declaration that someone wanted her dead. A Spoonful of Murder by J.M. Hall is a great cozy mystery that takes a trio of retired educators and turns them into amateur sleuths…a murder/mystery novel that was quite the enjoyable ride.