The Charity Shop Detective Agency (#1)
My Rating:
Fiona, Sue and Daisy, three retired ladies who volunteer at the local charity shop, Dogs Need Nice Homes, can’t believe their favourite customer is dead.
Eighty-six-year-old Sarah Brown was found murdered in her hallway by her delivery man, a domino clutched in her hand — with a name scratched on it.
When another person is found dead with a domino in their hand, and with the police making no progress, the ladies will need to help unmask a serial killer. But at least they have Fiona’s scruffy-haired terrier cross to assist them.
With plenty of tea and cake along the way, and despite squabbles with their rivals, the Cats Alliance across the street, the Charity Shop Detective Agency is born.
Trigger Warnings:
Murder in people’s homes by people that they let in
Characters
Recurring Characters
- Fiona – the leader of the crew, retired
- Partial Sue – called Partial Sue due to her use of say how partial she is to things
- Daisy
- Simon Le Bon – Fiona’s dog
—
- Wicker Man – owns a shop next door to the Dogs Need Nice Homes Charity Shop; he invested in a ton of wicker furniture.
- Sophie – owns the charity shop across the street that is focused on cats; is a ‘rival’ to the ladies. She is into very nice things and likes to hold it over the ladies any chance she can
- Gail – Sophie’s assistant; very tech savvy
My Review
This was a good cozy! It took me a while to get through, but I did enjoy it. It had a good plot. There were a lot of twists and false accusations that kept it interesting. I liked the twist at the end of who the killer ended up being! I found the motive for the killings to be a little…. lame? But, I guess most reasons for murder are…
I think that the one thing that I didn’t like about this was pulling the depression theme into this the way it was. It didn’t seem to fit and didn’t seem necessary at all.
Spoilers/Summary
Neighbors son did it. he wanted a house. He picked a name that was common, then blocked the cell phone signal and cut the phone lines, posed as a phone worker and then killed the victims. He set up Sophie and he set up his dad. His dad was the one that was originally put away but then Fiona figured it out. He was jealous of everyone who was able to afford to own a house and live on their own. Gale noticed that he had gone in and cut power and saved Fiona.
The Beach Hut Murders (#2)
My Rating:
It’s almost summer in Southbourne and the ladies of the Charity Shop Detective Agency are ready for another season of sun, sea and . . . murder.
Amongst the rows of charming brightly painted cabins, an elderly man’s beach hut is set on fire in the middle of the night — while he slept inside.
By day, Fiona, Sue and Daisy volunteer at the Dogs Need Nice Homes charity shop. But, by night, they investigate crimes. And they’re determined to get to the bottom of this murder.
Malcolm Crainey was a bit of an eccentric, but he was harmless really. Who would want to kill him?
The ladies soon uncover a long list of possible suspects. Neighbours who hated Malcolm for refusing to swap huts. Members of the snobby beach hut association who took umbrage with Malcom’s quirky beachcombed cabin decorations.
Then another hut is burned down in the dead of night. Thankfully there was no one asleep inside this time. But the pressure is on — can Fiona, Sue and Daisy find the culprit before the beach hut murderer strikes again?
Trigger Warnings:
Fire, arson, death by fire
Characters
- Mary – lost her grandpa recently, drops off a box of his things at the charity shop; Fiona holds onto them before putting them up for donation until she is ready
- Malcolm – owned a beach hut, was killed in a fire in his hut
- Antony – Used to live on the spit but sold due to financial reasons – he is the Beach Hut Association President as a part time job and the one that hired the ladies to investigate the fire
- Olivia – Antony’s wife, likes to spend lots of money
- Frank – Acts as the gate keeper to the spit – owns a beach hut and thinks that the spit should be more exclusive and shouldn’t let people come visit that don’t live on it
- Bitsy – Sophie’s best friend that lives on the spit; her house is one that is targeted and gets burned down; she is treated as suspect at one point
- Martin – Firefighter and also window washer for Fiona
- Marcus – owns a restaurant on the spit
- Seb – owns the Smuggler’s house on the end of the spit
My Review
I think Boland does a nice job of writing a cozy mystery that has a more complex plot. The pace of this one was a little slow and seemed disconnected, but did pull together nicely in the end.
Spoilers/Summary
Steve and Beryl were the murders. They used a drone and a home made flame thrower to start the fires. They wanted a beach hut and to raise their daughter and granddaughter on the spit but couldn’t afford it. They finally got some money when the grandpa died, but it still wasn’t enough so they needed to do something to drive prices down. They had a bug placed in the box that their daughter Mary had dropped at the charity shop. They are caught when they try to burn down Fiona’s house and the drone is tracked. The epilogue reveals that Mary was the mastermind behind it, she is watching from a distance and plotting how to get even with the Charity Shop ladies.