Customer Reviews

Murder On Monday (Lois Meade Mystery)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

You would think by now I would have learned not to judge a book by its cover, but that's exactly what I did in this case. The picture on the front cover is charming. The words "Fresh, engaging, and authentically British" from a Booklist reviewer are splashed on the cover. And that reeled me in.

If you like the cozy mystery genre, and are a fan of Agatha Christie, Anne Perry, Dianne Day, Rita Mae Brown, or Margaret Miles, this may not be the book for you. If you liked the 90's TV show Roseanne, you're in for a treat. She's back, this time as a British house cleaner named Lois. Ann Purser goes out of her way to make Lois unsympathetic, and her husband Derek and daughter Josie downright annoying and unlikeable. It seems as though Purser's trying to break down the stereotype of the British mystery by choosing working-class characters in modern times, which I completely respect, but she's building up another stereotype at the same time: that working-class people are brash, crass, and argumentative.

Aside from unsympathetic and sometimes annoying characters, the conclusion of this mystery is a bit far-fetched, and leaves a lot of questions unanswered. The sad thing is, I'm not even all that curious about having them answered.

A very unsatifying read.

Not a typical heroine, but a nice murder mystery set in a small British town. The story unfolds well, with not too many clues, but enough to make the ending fit well. I enjoyed it and will look for more by this author.

This book epitomizes the English village who-dun-it, brought up-to-date. To be sure, there is the thatched cottage, the vicar, the doctor and the district nurse plus a cast of other worthy individuals. But this village has a cleaning lady with attitude and a certain lack of respect for worthiness.

The writer is no stranger to writing books about life in an English village, and this experience with the setting and the characters stands her in good stead here. Unlike other writers who only dream their English village, this one actually knows what they, and their inhabitants, are like.

The plot is sound, the pacing is good and the dialogue is first rate - one of the best features of the book. It was a fun read - I look forward to reading more mysteries by this writer - and finding out what happened between the cleaning lady and that dishy policeman.

Never could connect with the main character in this book. She mostly seems cold and impersonal to me. She's described as "nice" by other characters in the book, but she's mostly condescending and rude to them, as when she tells the postman to "bugger off" after he tells her "good morning". Didn't feel any warmth or affection for her family either. They are superficially drawn and seem to have little connection to each other. The husband is uninvolved and disinterested in his family's life. Mostly disagrees with wife on everything. The village seems lackluster and full of unhappy, discontented people. Nothing charming or engaging about it to make one feel that it's "cosy". Bleak and dreary is more like it. Not much to the story line either. I figured out the basic plot early on and I am usually the last to know what's going on. Don't recomend this book at all.

One of the other reviewers said it was difficult to connect with the main character. I agree with that. But I liked the mystery, and I loved the author's descriptions of small English village life.

And because of the things I liked about it, I will probably read her next book to see if I like Lois better in the Tuesday story.

I just wish that I could have liked Lois and her family more. That's why I only gave it three stars.

I picked this book up at random needing something to read. I was pleasantly surprised by this book! It's not near as dark as some other British mysteries I've read, but I felt that it had some real connections to "regular" peoples' lives. I was able to connect with the main character. I didn't think she was cold, but more stressed out by her life, much like people I know in real life. I think this made it easy to relate to the character. It was interesting to see how her job, "hobby", and life interweaved into each other. I'm reading the next in the series now!

Lois Meade loves her family though her teenage daughter is driving her crazy. She also supplements the income brought in by her electrician husband by cleaning homes in the nearby village of Long Farnden. She especially takes pride in keeping her mouth shut, as she knows plenty about her clients.

One of Lois' customers Gloria Hathaway sits on the parish council. During a session, Gloria went to make tea, but soon is found strangled to death. PC Keith Simpson needs help to solve the homicides as Gloria made many enemies so that the motives are abundant. He asks Gloria to do some sleuthing when she cleans the homes of the residents of Long Farnden. Though it goes against her nature not to gossip, Gloria agrees to snoop. Soon she finds a blackmailer's dream, though she would never use the information for personal gain, as she uncovers the dark secrets of some of the village's leading citizens. This shock her as she had no idea what was going in this quiet village.

MURDER ON MONDAY is the ideal village mystery due a strong blending of a police procedural with an amateur sleuth cozy that fans of both sub-genres will appreciate. The story line feels authentic mostly because Gloria feels more like a real person than a character and the secondary cast provides the village, family, and mystery depth. Ann Purser will gain plenty of fans for this tale and readers will look forward to her future "day of the week" novels.

Harriet Klausner

Lois Meade is the focal figure of the book. She is married to Derek, has two young sons and a 14-year old daughter Josie who gives her any amount of trouble. Lois supplements the family income by cleaning houses in the small neighboring village. Five houses per day of the week, with a total of five customers: Dr. Andrew Rix, the local physician, and his wife Mary; Professor Malcolm Barrett and his wife Rachel; Nurse Gilliam Surfleet; the Reverend Peter White, and Dallas Baer, whose wife Evangeline owns an art gallery.

And then there is Gloria Hathaway, age 38, who is murdered right in the beginning.

Who did it? The police are investigating, of course. But Lois, who knows the suspects and can snoop on them once a week, also gets going on this murder. She gets sidetracked only once, when her daughter gets involved with a suave but creepy teenager named Melvin Hallhouse.

Ann Purser does a magnificent job in developing the individual characters, presenting them in full three dimensions. Every one of her five suspects has a different occupation and curriculum vitae, and that makes the book even more interesting. For once, the police are not the bumbling nerds without feeling one normally reads about. But whenever somebody comes to a full stop, they must have some tea.

Slowly but inexorably the skeletons are dragged out of the closets until the truth is revealed. It is absolutely fascinating watching this process and being led astray while following the wrong scent.

This mystery is pure joy.

This was so different from other British books I have read that I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Lois has a chip on her shoulder...or so it seems throughout the book. Maybe cleaning houses for the rich in Long Farnden has made her resentful and cold. As other's have said, Lois Meade is a hard person to warm up to. I found her husband dull as dirt and her rebellious teenage daughter with no comprehension of right or wrong. My over-view was that this is not the happiest of households, especially after Lois is turned down as Special Constable in her village of Tresham. This is one of the reasons Lois wants to dive head first into help solving the mystery of Gloria Hathaway's death when asked to do so by Inspector Cowgill. She is in the perfect position as housekeeper to all their secrets. You also get the idea that the Inspector and Lois may end up having an affair down the line in another book. I can see this happening since Lois' husband had a brief affair with the recently deceased. The plot was good. A little complexed which made it fun. I just haven't decided whether I want to take a chance and see if Lois is going to thaw out and her family shape up in another book.

First of all, I liked the writing style. The author was very professional in the way she wrote.

Second, I loved the English setting. It took place in a cozy, quaint English village. I loved the cottages. It was cozy when they sat down to have tea. I enjoyed all the characters.

Third, I loved the plot and the mystery. The author was very clever in creating it. It is obvious that she has talent. I loved the twists/surprises. The final mystery solving was surprising and clever. I absolutely loved it.

And last (and least), I was not too fond of Lois's husband, and the fact that there seemed not to be a whole lot of warmth and affection in the family home. But there was a little bit. But because the plot and mystery was so superb, I still give it 5 stars, even though the family could have used a little more warmth.

This is the first book I have read of this series, and I definitely look forward to reading more.