J.M. Hall delivers another quirky mystery featuring a trio of retired schoolteachers in “A Clock Stopped Dead.”
When Marguerite — good friend to Pat, Liz and Thelma — tells them of the incident where she sees a charity shop while waiting for her train on a foggy night, they’re intrigued. Especially when they find out the shop has disappeared into thin air. And a fatal car accident occurred near the site immediately after Marguerite’s experience.
They quickly look into the situation, with the help of the accident victim’s sister Brid. What follows is a wacky and intriguing tale that gets more and more mysterious the more the ladies dig.
Hall does a great job of developing the fun and plucky Liz, Pat and Thelma, as well as other quirky and mysterious characters. He creates a plot that leaves readers guessing what the connections are between various situations and characters.
Fans of series like Richard Osman’s “The Thursday Murder Club,” Robert Thorogood’s “The Marlow Murder Club” and Peter Boland’s “The Charity Shop Detective Agency Mysteries” will love “A Clock Stopped Dead.”
One disclaimer: this novel does contain some usage of coarse language, most of all which occurs in the final quarter of the book.
Five stars out of five.
Avon provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.