Peter Boland

A cosy mystery, this is set in a small seaside town and revolves around three women in their sixties and seventies who run a charity shop for a charity that rehomes dogs. The main character, Fiona, has a dog herself. The three friends form the Charity Shop Detective Agency when one of their customers, Sarah Brown, is found stabbed. Sarah, who lived nearby, was a regular attendee of weekly coffee mornings which the shop has hosted since the scrapping of a mini bus that used to take her and other older people at this side of town to the community centre.

During the course of their investigation, the women pursue various lines of enquiry, sometimes clashing with the amazingly tolerant police inspector who is heading the investigation. They are often reluctant to pass information on to her, not wanting to point the finger at certain people without proof, but often, their endeavours to get that proof makes matters worse.

I did guess quite early on who the perpetrator was though found this person's motive totally unbelievable when they were finally uncovered. The book is a bit slow moving at times with rather too much repetitive detail about tea and cake. A pleasant read but I wouldn't bother with the others in the series. Overall, three stars.… (meer)

verbal-humor, cozy-mystery, women-sleuths, England, suspense, banter, retirees, pet-dog, amateur-sleuth, rivalry, situational-humor, murder-investigation, unpleasant-guests*****

Charity Shop Detective Agency mysteries feature Fiona, Sue, and Daisy from the Dogs Need Nice Homes charity shop in Christchurch, England. While at the local fundraising Christchurch Dog Show a rather nasty person drops dead and is tended by the at hand local veterinarian who then performs "C3PO" (does that make it a Spoonerism?) according to one of the crew. That's the mildest of the guffaw producing antics and verbal slips. The characterizations of everyone are spot on and the whole is hilarious. The mystery plot is fine and has surprises and misdirections aplenty. Loved it!
I requested and received an EARC from Joffe Books via NetGalley. Thanks for the fun!… (meer)

The Charity Shop Detective Agency is a light, pleasant read-- a relaxing way to spend a rainy afternoon. I've long been intrigued by the plethora of charity shops in the UK. With much fewer storage unit facilities there, the British must use charity shops to prevent the build-up of all the "stuff" that we Americans can't seem to turn loose of. I did learn quite a bit about the routine in these shops, and how the people running them work to fit into the community as well as entice potential customers.

Seventy-six-year-old Fiona is the woman who loves to read crime novels, and she is responsible for the best two parts of the book. So many cozy mysteries seem to have amateur sleuths who tackle an investigation and don't seem to have too much trouble "getting the job done." You and I both know that that wouldn't happen in the real world. Author Peter Boland does an excellent job showing how Fiona finds out she isn't as smart as she thinks. She makes mistakes and often makes things worse. She realizes this, and seeing how her investigative skills improve as the series progresses will be interesting.

On a more light-hearted note, the scenes I enjoyed the most involved a novel by Val McDermid and how Fiona used it as a bargaining chip to get some needed information. Only diehard readers would understand how this could easily happen.

The Charity Shop Detective Agency is a light, pleasant read with interesting characters. I just may find myself visiting Dogs Need Nice Homes again.… (meer)