My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

I looked him up and down. There was something about him that made me uneasy. Perhaps it was that he had dressed like a cartoon spy? He even had a furled copy of the Daily Telegraph under his arm. I wondered whether, if he opened it up, there’d be holes cut in the pages for his eyes.

It just goes to show that you should never underestimate the elderly. They were all young once, and you never knew what their back story might be.

To my relief, Mrs Shepherd laughed and laughed, as if I’d made a hilarious joke. ‘Oh, good Lord, I’m not ill. I’m not sick in any way, praise be. Living in the refrigerators that pass for vicarages for thirty years has hardened me against physical illness. Any germs that cling on to me when I’m out and about leap off and run the minute I enter my front door, driven by their instincts for self-preservation.’

Suki’s method is always at risk of Chinese Whispers distorting the message in the process. That’s one reason why Suki’s gossip is always such fun– it’s a heady blend of fact and fiction, and not to be taken seriously without a fact check.

I defy anyone walking into a police station not to feel a little nervous, as if they’re about to be rumbled for some inadvertent misdemeanour.

My Review:

This was an entertaining and amusing tale, and I also learned 2 new things from perusing this fun little missive. I had never heard of a Wendy house, but Mr. Google has informed me that it is what the British call a children’s playhouse, and was named after Wendy Darling from Peter Pan. How precious is that? I also learned about the elaborate Japanese collectable art of netsuke, something I didn’t expect to happen from reading a British cozy mystery, but there you have it. And my mother always chided me for reading fiction, saying it was a waste of time.

The writing style is well-polished, humorous, easy to follow, and comfortably engaging. I enjoyed the author’s wry wit and colorful descriptions, which conjured vivid images in my mind’s eye. I will be watching for future installments of this lively series.