Hazel HoltRecensioni

2020 has become my year of rereading the novels of Barbara Pym, my favourite novelist - "favourite" in the sense of "speaks most to my soul", not as in "greatest" or "best"; I believe she would have appreciated the distinction. This is my revised review.

A frustrating but nevertheless important biography.

First of all, if you haven't read Pym's 12 novels, go seek them out (preferably in order). Then read her collected unpublished works - [b:Civil to Strangers and Other Writings|178573|Civil to Strangers and Other Writings|Barbara Pym|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442721152l/178573._SY75_.jpg|2819723] - and the posthumous "autobiography" compiled from Pym's letters and diaries, [b:A Very Private Eye: The Diaries, Letters And Notebooks Of Barbara Pym|227003|A Very Private Eye The Diaries, Letters And Notebooks Of Barbara Pym|Barbara Pym|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1282285490l/227003._SY75_.jpg|868494]. If all of this does not satisfy you, read this volume too.

This 1990 biography, by Pym's close friend and literary executor Hazel Holt (with input from Pym's sister Hilary), came 10 years after the author's death, and was the conclusion of a decade in which a variety of unpublished and secondary works were released into the market. Brits and - especially - Americans - were fascinated by the legend of Miss Pym, a moderately successful spinster author, neglected for 16 years, and rediscovered in 1977, only to pass away three years later.

As with her novels, Pym's biography must be one of seemingly small details pointing to a much larger story. The desire to be a writer since childhood, fulfilled to underwhelming sales in the 1950s, and then neglected for almost two decades before sudden fame. The endless series of love affairs, in which Pym was either underwhelmed (she declined several proposals in her 20s) or overwhelmed (one young gay man, much her junior, essentially "ghosts" her after taking an extended trip overseas, to get away from her attentions). The sensible editorial assistant who can quote Milton or Keats, yet has an admirably silly side when it comes to creating stories about strange people on the bus or the lives of her cats. The passionate force restrained firmly in a tweed jacket.

This is an interesting volume, I note, and has a place of honour on my shelf alongside the matching covers of Pym's complete works. Yet much is missing. First, of course, is objectivity. True - Pym's life is not one beset by scandal! Nevertheless, the closeness of the author to her subject means we are seeing something approaching hagiography. (It does, however, allow Holt to add in her own memories of working with Pym for several years, and of Pym's psychological state during the "wilderness years" and in the final, grim months before her passing.)

Second, and most importantly, this biography is missing much detail. As Holt notes in her preface, this is a companion to A Very Private Eye. This is primarily to fill in the gaps of that first volume, and put some of the core moments of Barbara's life into a chronology. Which is great, but it leaves this book rather assuming a degree of knowledge in the reader.

Finally, and personally most affecting, is that I yearn for a biographer to chart Pym's writings - both analytically, and also in psychological relation to the author. Holt doesn't avoid this entirely. She discusses the transition from Pym's early novels (mostly unpublished except for her first sale, Some Tame Gazelle) to the more mature post-war novels starting with her second (Excellent Women) as well as noting the connections between real-life figures and their fictional counterparts. No book can be everything, but I would have enjoyed a greater understanding of, for instance, whether Pym's younger characters still spoke to her as she became older, how much she is reflected in her crueller characters, such as the deluded Leonora in The Sweet Dove Died or the frosty Wilmet in A Glass of Blessings, and just what it is about Pym's technique that has earned her much love but also some disdain. At the end of the day, Holt has written a biography of a woman who happened to be an author. This is very valuable, but I would now like to see the inverse.

Anyhow, that time will come. (Perhaps I should do it myself?) I find it hard to explain this review; I feel as if I have written something both entirely positive and entirely negative. So I must abandon this, simply encouraging you to read the novelist, and then appreciate this biography as an early insight - hopefully not the last we get.

Not particularly penetrating or analytical biography of Pym compared with later works. But still essential for those interested in the author because of Holt's personal links with BP. and her sister. Draws extensively from primary sources. Makes no pretence of being neutral, and none the worse for that.

Fun little story, written in letters, with snippets from Jane Austen's letters thrown in for verisimilitude. You can't always tell the difference between the Austen quotes and the author's voice, so that's a good sign!!
I often enjoy epistolary novels, but they can create a distance between me and the action, and characters may not seem fully realized. That was unfortunately the case here, which prevented me from really getting into the story. But it was pleasant enough, and a fairly quick read.
The author's Regency voice is very good!!
There's an extremely mild mystery going on, and shades of Emma and Persuasion.

When her internationally known journalist husband dies shortly after his retirement, Eva Jackson returns to Taviscombe, where she grew up. One of her many tasks is to sort through her husband’s papers, but she simply cannot face it yet and asks old friend Sheila Malory and cousin Rosemary, Sheila’s best friend, to help her lug the boxes into the shed, where she promptly forgets them. Soon after that, there is an unfortunate fire in the shed, apparently due to faulty wiring, but the papers aren’t damaged and the same group removes them to the house for safekeeping. And soon after *that*, Eva is dead, from leaving her diabetes untreated while suffering a respiratory illness, and her son Daniel and his partner Patrick move into the cottage, only to have patterns repeating themselves….This is the 20th and final volume of the Mrs. Malory mystery series, ended not because anything drastic happens to the main characters but because Ms. Holt herself died. As a finale, it weaves in all the elements of this cozy series: comfortable relationships between villagers, a generally benign look at small-town life (including such mundane matters as cleaning one’s kitchen cupboards and preparing coffee mornings at the local town hall), and an inquisitive amateur detective who happens to know everybody in the village and whom everybody feels comfortable confiding in. Plus, as happens frequently in this series, a solution that seems to come out of left field but that is completely reasonable upon consideration. I shall miss Sheila Malory and her friends and her pets - and Taviscombe too! Recommended.½

Sheila Malory’s friend Monica asks Sheila to take over her volunteer job at a local charity shop three days a week while Monica attends to her daughter, a new mother in need of help. Sheila is happy to do so, until she runs across both Desmond Barlow and Norma Stanley. He is an officious and patronizing oaf, and she is intent on taking over the social world of Taviscombe despite being an off-comer who has only lived there for a little while. Nobody is too upset when Desmond is murdered in the shop one night, not even his very passive wife Wendy, but Sheila is nonetheless curious about the death, because there are quite a few people in the town with whom he had clashed. And Norma is suddenly acting very strangely, abandoning her commitments and generally not responding in her usual high-handed manner to any slight transgression…. This is the 19th story in this series, and it provides an interesting viewpoint with respect to how small towns are run on charitable work and by committee. I especially like how Sheila interacts with the more aggressive characters in her town - basically, she proffers a pleasant facade and mild agreement, then goes her own way. Which is, of course, about the only way to deal with those people who think it proper to take over your life for you! These books do not really need to be read in sequence, although some readers new to the series might take a while to sort out the various well-established relationships; generally, the fun of the series lies in its cozy attributes, each being a quick and satisfying read; recommended.½

Sheila Malory is pleased to hear that her old school friend Rachel is returning from Scotland to live with her sister Phyllis in the nearby village of Mere Barton, but she is less than happy when the resident village busybody, Annie Roberts, ropes her into the creation of a history of the village. Still, when Annie suddenly dies, from poisoned mushrooms even though she had always prided herself on knowing her fungi, Sheila is upset, if only because that puts even more of a burden on her to finish Annie’s final project. But subsequent events have Sheila wondering if the death was as innocent as it seems…. The “Mrs. Malory” series reached its 19th volume with this book, and unlike most of the previous novels it is set away from Sheila’s beloved Taviscombe, albeit only a few miles away. There is a fair amount of chatter about all the in-comers to the village, as most of the original inhabitants have moved away long ago and properties have been bought up by retiring Londoners and others from outside the area; this is actually considered a problem in some English towns, although I don’t know if it’s quite as dramatic as is suggested here! In any event, another cozy read, perfect for stormy summer days when the thunderstorms can provide an auditory accompaniment to the drama of the tale; recommended.

Jo Howard had been an acclaimed stage actress when she was younger, but after she fell in love with show jumper Charlie Howard, she abandoned the stage and embraced her new role as co-owner of a stables and riding school just outside of Taviscombe, her birthplace. Her sister Esther is also in Taviscombe, having married Gordon, an old boyfriend of Jo’s, but when first Charlie, then Gordon and finally Jo all die of either accidents or, in Gordon’s case, long standing heart problems, Sheila Malory can’t help but feel there must be something more to the tragedies. And when she learns of a greedy property developer who has his eye on Jo’s fields, she is quite certain of it….This 18th book in the Mrs. Malory series is a definite must for anybody who either was, or had, a horse-mad girl in their lives, as most of the action takes place in and around stables and there’s a great deal of talk about horses, their ailments and their gaits. Depending on your tolerance for such discussions, this is either a detriment or a plus; I myself just enjoyed the atmosphere, which feels quite timeless even when set in the mid-2000s. Sure, there are mobile phones and computers here, but mostly there are lots of horses, places for people to ride and gorgeous country settings. I don’t think it’s necessary to have read all of the previous books in the series, although finding keen enjoyment in the cozy format is definitely a must; recommended!½

Every family has one: a relative obsessed with tracing multiple branches of the family tree by subjecting each family member to endless questioning and mind-numbing pronouncements of trivial matters ad nauseum. In Sheila Malory’s family, that person is Cousin Bernard who, having retired as headmaster of a small private boys’ school, has devoted his time and that of his wife to uncovering long-forgotten family lore - and secrets. So when he turns up dead, it is natural to think that a family member did it; the only problem is that Sheila is uncovering so many family secrets that it’s difficult to figure out who might have done the deed to silence Bernard…. In this 17th book in the Mrs. Malory series, we find out a lot more about Sheila’s own extended family, which turns out to be very large. We are still based in Taviscombe, but travel to other locales in the course of her investigation. The clues are well-placed and the possible motives are nicely revealed; overall, one of the more enjoyable in this long-running cozy series! Recommended.

When an unpopular physician is found stabbed to death in his consulting room, Sheila Malory is not terribly surprised as so many people found the man arrogant and, perhaps, complicit in the death of one of his patients. Since she herself was in the waiting room at the time of the incident, she feels more than usually compelled to find out whatever she can about the case, and the fact that she knows many of the suspects very well helps her to help the police discover the truth….I very much enjoy this cozy series, set in the fictional town of Taviscombe and featuring a slightly more modern Miss Marple type of amateur sleuth; this particular entry, the 16th in the series, continues to showcase life in a small English town, in this case in the early 2000s. However, I have some criticisms of the book because the solution to the mystery comes somewhat out of left field, with no hints given as to the possibilities (unless, of course, I as a reader managed to miss them!); this made the ending feel rushed and not quite satisfying. Still, an enjoyable read overall, so mildly recommended.

Sidney Middleton is a popular figure in Taviscombe, always polite and friendly, happy to contribute to charities when asked. But when he dies suddenly and it becomes apparent that his death was a murder, Sheila Malory begins to learn about another Sidney Middleton, a wicked man whom quite a few people had good cause to want dead…. I was a little worried at the beginning of “Mrs. Malory and the Silent Killer,” the 15th in the series, because the victim didn’t seem to fit the usual pattern of these books - that the murdered person kind of, sort of, deserved it. But my mind was soon put at rest in that regard, and I could just enjoy the book’s depictions of English village life, filled with the small concerns of chimney sweeping, preparing cakes for jumble sales and the curiosity brought to bear when a new couple comes to town. Although set in the early 2000s, this story could have been told in almost any era, showing that small-town life doesn’t change all that much, and nor do people. Recommended!½

Sheila Malory isn’t the only villager discontented with the new vet, who has been brought into the practice because he has money to keep it running, which the dedicated staff does not. However, Malcolm Hardy is a very unpleasant man - quite oleaginous toward pet owners, yet deeply nasty to everybody else. So when he dies mysteriously at the vet’s surgery, everybody is relieved despite being uneasy that a murderer appears to dwell among them. And Mrs. Malory is not about to let the staff at the practice shoulder the blame, not if she can find the real culprit…. This is the 14th in the Mrs. Malory cozy series, and it returns to form in the sense of having the murder victim be someone that the reader (and the characters) are quite happy to see dispatched; in the event, I didn’t cotton on to the real killer until quite late in the book, which is always fun in a mystery! The descriptions of small-town life in England are as pleasing as ever, and the solution may leave readers feeling quite satisfied; recommended.½

Sheila Malory is asked to join the faculty of a prestigious girls’ school in Birmingham for a term following the sudden death of one of the English teachers there; she only needs to teach one group, the English Seventh, who will be taking exams at the end of the term which will determine their future University careers. Sheila is a bit nervous, but soon finds that she enjoys the very smart students and the very beautiful school itself, until the peace of the campus is shattered by the death of the headmistress, a modernizer who had made many enemies at the school. Still, the police cannot quite ascertain if the death was an accident or murder, and Sheila is compelled by her insatiable curiosity to start asking awkward questions…. This thirteenth novel in the Sheila Malory series is a bit of an anomaly, being set completely in a city far from Sheila’s village of Taviscombe, and featuring none of her usual friends and family members (though they are referenced here and there). In the previous novel, much is made of the marriage of Sheila’s son and subsequent pregnancy of her daughter-in-law, but nothing is said here about that at all, even in passing, which makes me wonder if this had been written before “Leonora” but published after; it just struck me as a bit odd. Nevertheless, this addition to the cozy series is quietly enjoyable, and rather makes one wish that an oasis such as Blakeney’s in a big grimy city like Birmingham really existed! Mildly recommended.

Sheila Malory is ecstatic: her daughter-in-law is pregnant and she’ll soon become a grandmother! Her joy is tempered with sorrow, though, when an old friend, Leonora Staveley, dies of an e. coli infection, evidently due to drinking contaminated water. Leonora had been famous in her day, a pioneering female journalist who worked all over the world, but when she retired, she retreated into a tumbledown cottage on family property where she raised animals and lived simply. The water source that provided her drinking water was a pure country spring, but somehow something had contaminated it, and Mrs. Malory just can’t quite seem to let the death go as an accident….This is the twelfth book in the Mrs. Malory series, and like the others before it, I don’t believe it is necessary to have read all the previous books to enjoy this one. There are certainly characters that recur in each book, including Mrs. Malory’s family and best friends, but each book seems to introduce more new characters who are, almost without exception, also old friends or neighbours of our heroine. Usually the victim is someone quite unlikable, although that is not true of this entry, and Mrs. Malory’s ability to gather information without seeming to do more than gossip with villagers, along with her intuitive leaps, stand her in good stead in this cozy novel too; recommended.

Mrs. Malory’s son Michael is finally engaged, at the age of 30! Sheila could not be happier, as Thea is a wonderful person and both she and Michael fully intend to spend their married life together in Taviscombe. But when Thea is seen fleeing the office of a lawyer shortly before the discovery of his murder, Sheila must use all of her resources and wit (and village contacts) to solve the crime before Thea is imprisoned for life…. In this eleventh book in the series, we again find Sheila Malory using her intuition, along with her knowledge of human nature, in ways that the more methodical police could never do - and, of course, she succeeds in her task. I am enjoying this cozy series, set in 1990s England and almost always featuring a victim who is utterly loathsome, such that nobody minds too much when s/he is killed off, although of course justice must be served. Because this particular book is set in Sheila’s home town, it is probably more useful than usual to have read the previous books in the series in order to fully understand the relationships between Sheila and the various townspeople; recommended!½

Sheila Malory doesn’t often attend literary events, but she is pleased to see old friends from Oxford at this one, especially her good friend Beth Blackmore, now a celebrated novelist happily married to an international businessman. Although Beth has complaints about her children, Sheila thinks that she is doing well and looking forward to a research trip to Greece, but a few weeks later she is informed that Beth has died unexpectedly, apparently mixing up several of her many medications that were treating her arthritis and heart condition. Sheila is surprised to learn that Beth has named her as literary executor, which involves going through her papers, readying any suitable manuscripts for publication and preparing a biography, but soon Sheila finds the papers hold more information than she thought, information that leads her to suspect murder…. This is the tenth book in the Mrs. Malory mystery series and like all the others, it’s a nicely written cozy that specializes in the heroine’s understanding of human nature and her intuition, which enables her to make connections that otherwise might pass unseen. Although I guessed the culprit relatively early on, that in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the story, and Sheila remains an engaging and slightly silly protagonist, a Miss Marple for the modern age. I don’t think this series is one that demands the reader follow the books in order, although some references may be missed if one has not; either way, recommended!½

An old schoolfriend of Sheila Malory's now living in America is planning on returning to Taviscombe to marry a local estate agent. When his fiancee stops answering the phone and her secretary doesn't seem to know where she is, he asks Sheila to find out what's going on.

Delightful cozy mystery by friend and biographer of Barbara Pym.

Sheila Malory dreads the annual visit to her home from Graham Percy, an old schoolmate of her late husband and an exceedingly tiresome old bore. Still, it is only for four days and, if she rallies friends to come to dinner a couple of times, she just *might* get through it without blowing her top completely. However, on the third day Graham goes out for his usual early morning walk, only to be stabbed to death in a bus shelter by the sea! At first the police think it’s a robbery gone wrong, but when his wallet shows up intact, they must begin looking closer to home….The eighth Sheila Malory book is quite as charming as the earlier ones, although perhaps harder to find (for some reason, only the first seven are available as e-books; I found a used copy of this title, but it took a while). This is, I think, the first time that non-series characters from earlier books show up or are referenced, which was a nice touch. I also like the fact that most of the victims in this series more or less deserve it, one way or another. I must admit to getting tired of Sheila’s son Michael - a grown man, living at home and working as a lawyer, yet he expects Sheila to do all his cooking, laundry, etc., and worse, she does it! Rather passé even in the 1990s, I would think. In spite of that, Sheila remains an engaging lead character, and the story is quite entertaining; recommended.

Sheila Malory’s actor friend David Beaumont comes to visit her from Stratford, where he might be about to lose the perfect cottage that he bought there as he has fallen on hard times (not unusual for actors) and can’t afford the mortgage. His brother Francis has done very well for himself in the Church of England, becoming the Dean of a nearby town, but Francis is a sanctimonious jerk who refuses to help his brother in his hour of need. When Francis dies suddenly, it takes little time for the coroner to determine that he was poisoned, and since David had been in his company at the time of his last meal *and* quarreled very loudly with his brother while there, he is very obviously the main suspect. But Sheila is convinced of his innocence, and begins to probe other possibilities: the doormat wife, the cowed son and daughter, and possibly a few others who had no cause to love Francis…. This is the seventh Mrs. Malory novel, and fits in quite nicely with the rest of the series: in this one, we are mostly in Sheila’s own territory, with her son and her friends all around her, and with a murder victim who, well, let us say will not be missed by many. I very much enjoy the Miss Marple quality to these tales, complete with small English village and an amateur “sleuth” who just happens to know everybody; I also find it quite nostalgic to return to the 1990s setting - that does not seem terribly long ago to me, but more than a quarter century has passed since the publication of these books! I don’t believe it’s necessary to have read the previous books in order, since while various characters recur there is little change in their relationships and the author provides enough background to those relationships to keep the reader straight; recommended.½

When one of Sheila Malory’s elderly friends is found dead in her flat, suspicion turns first on her landlord, a rather smarmy doctor who wanted to repurpose the residential building for an old folks’ home. However, soon it is revealed that he could not have been responsible, and both Sheila and the police are at a loss as to who else might be culpable. But when the wife of the woman’s nephew is also killed, and it turns out that the nephew stands to receive a very substantial and hitherto unknown inheritance from the old lady, the field of possible suspects widens considerably…. This is the sixth book in the Mrs. Malory series, and once again she is close to home, observing her neighbours and friends as they cope with both the modern world and murder. I quite like this cozy series, because Mrs. Malory is such a likable middle-aged lady who one might suspect of meddling if it weren’t for her obvious good intentions. We learn a little more about village life in this book, and her son Michael is rather more prominent than he has been previously, but the story basically centers on Sheila and her friends, with cameos by her animals, of course! Recommended.

Sheila Malory is offered a teaching job for one semester at a small Pennsylvania college, where she would also serve as a mentor for two women pursuing Master’s degrees in different aspects of Victorian literature, Sheila’s specialty. She jumps at the chance to spend time with her old friend Linda and Linda’s older sister Anna, and after some initial nervousness, settles quickly into her temporary home. She is intrigued by the amount of in-house spite and disagreeableness amongst the faculty, but when the brother of one of the most obnoxious faculty members is killed, she finds herself drawn into the fracas if only to protect her students and her friends…. I much enjoyed this, the fifth entry in the Mrs. Malory series, if only for the change of location and the way rural Pennsylvania is portrayed through her eyes. I’m also a sucker for mysteries set on college campuses, and this one is nicely drawn, particularly with respect to departmental squabbling and how various personalities can rub each other the wrong way. There’s even a possible romance hinted at, although it’s not clear to me if Sheila will ever follow through on that possibility; the melancholy ending gives no hint either way. It’s also interesting to remember life in the early 1990s; things mentioned here include banks of computers, fax machines and the truly horrific death sentence that was AIDS back in the day - it reminds one that, however awful 2022 seems with wars and rising illiberalism and a pandemic, *some* things have improved over time! Recommended.

Sheila Malory is part of the committee planning July’s Taviscombe Festival, an annual event that used to be centered on village life but that has come under the sway of incomer Adrian Pulgrave, a rather pretentious minor poet who unfortunately for Sheila is actually very competent in his secondary life as a biographer. Adrian has recently been given the task of organizing and publishing the letters of Laurence Meredith, an author who knew everybody in the 1920s and who gossipped about his knowledge in his letters; Sheila knows that he will do a good job regardless of her dislike, but when he is murdered at the Festival, that job becomes more urgent than ever…. I’m enjoying the Mrs. Malory series, of which this is the fourth book; Sheila is much like Miss Marple but in a more contemporary (well, early 1990s) setting. She has a wide knowledge of local residents, happens to have quite well-honed sleuthing skills as a specialist in Victorian literature herself, and is quite adept at learning disparate bits of information and arranging them into a convincing whole. These are slight books, with little demanded of the reader other than to savour the tales; I don’t think it’s necessary to read them in order, and they are quite an enjoyable way to while away an afternoon; mildly recommended.

Sheila Malory enjoys visiting the remaining elderly friends of her late mother, although she wishes that they could still be living independently rather than in an old-age home, however nice that private facility might be. She is not as fond of coping with the offspring of Edith, one of the old ladies, as Edith’s children seem entirely indifferent to their mother aside from the money she might leave to them. When Edith goes out for some shopping and doesn’t return, Sheila is worried but more distressed about the attitude of Edith’s daughter, who will only inherit a large sum of money if Edith outlives her dying sister in Scotland; while Edith is missing, who knows which woman will be the survivor?.... This third novel in the Mrs. Malory series is quite a gentle entry - no murders, no violent behaviours (albeit definite emotional violence) - but there is a sobering story here about the poor treatment of elders in England (and in many other Western societies really). I liked that Sheila’s natural curiosity brings her to a better understanding of Edith’s life, and I very much enjoyed the twist at the end; so, recommended!½

Sheila Malory is visiting Oxford, doing research at the Bodleian Library while staying with an old school friend and taking the time to hang out with her son, in his final year at Oxford. She is also pleased to spend time with her godson Tony, the librarian at one of the sub-libraries of the Bodleian, but she is concerned about him when she learns that a little while earlier he had been unfortunate enough to find the body of an elderly woman who had been working in his section when the bookcases looming over her accidentally collapsed on her, killing her outright. It takes little time for Sheila to discover that the woman was hated by many, including some of her own former mentors and friends; but can she find any evidence of murder when even the police have attributed the death to an unhappy accident?.... This is the second Mrs. Malory mystery, set I believe in the early 1990s, and once again I found myself enjoying Sheila’s Miss-Marple-like abilities, which include her natural curiosity, ability to find things out without appearing to be overly nosy and wide circle of friends and acquaintances, even in Oxford years after her own time as a student there. I was rather nonplussed about the fact that, while there are gay characters here who are accepted without regard to their sexuality (rather unusual in the time period in which Ms. Holt was writing), they are rather stereotyped in terms of being superficially pleasant but wicked underneath. I’m not sure if this was a product of homophobia or if it just served the story, but it is troubling; I shall continue reading the series because I like the lead character and enjoy the plotting, but if this attitude turns up in future volumes I will likely rethink that. So, kind of recommended, with reservations.

Sheila Malory is a youngish (54) widow living in Taviscombe in the southwest of England, where she has lived for much of her life and where she keeps herself busy with charity work and the occasional article about very obscure Victorian authors. Her old friend Charles Richardson visits home from America, where he’s been working for a multinational that has made him very wealthy, and asks her to meet Lee, his new fiancee, and of course Sheila is happy to do so. Lee turns out to be very much someone that Sheila instinctively dislikes, but even so she is shocked when some weeks later, Charles calls and asks her to try to find out where Lee is as she’s been missing for a while; she is even more shocked when she stumbles upon Lee’s body with a knife sticking out of her back…. This is the first of the Mrs. Malory series, a lovely cozy that I seem to have missed first time around, although as it happens I actually have two books much later in the series. I remembered liking them without remembering a thing about them, so when casting about for more cozy reading (I’m on a cozy kick these days), I put the author’s name in the Kindle store and “Gone Away” appeared. I’m glad it did, as Sheila is one of those characters who just grows on the reader - she has a life of her own, but is also very much involved in village affairs; indeed, a modern (-ish, the early books at least are set in the 1990s I think, before cell phones anyway) Miss Marple. There are some 21 books in the series, so I have much happy reading ahead of me; recommended!

ordinary cozy set in seaside town with gossipy amateur detective, fairly forgettable