Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
This sounded like a promising cozy mystery involving two older schools dinner ladies solving the murder of their manager but it didn't turn out to be quite as much fun as I thought it would be. The kitchen manager was talked about as if she was a really fun person who liked to play funny pranks on people but most of the 'pranks' were mean and horrible and not at all funny. You'd think that might have been the reason she was found dead in the kitchen's walk in freezer but no, the police mark it off as an accidental death, despite there being copious amounts of blood spread all over the freezer and scratch marks on the door. Mrs Hughes?' Margery said, struggling to find her voice. 'You can't mean Caroline Caroline Hughes?' I enjoyed the setting and found myself instantly absorbed into the old of Summerview Secondary School. I always knew schools were sinister places! This is a debut book for Ms. Hendy and the start, of what I expect, will be a fantastic series and literary career.
The Dinner Lady Detectives by Hannah Hendy | Waterstones
The Dinner Lady Detectives by Hannah Hendy is a fabulous contemporary cozy mystery that is just perfect in every way! The main characters, Clementine (fantastic name) and Margery were... just okay. Deep characterisation is hindered by incorrectly utilised humour, and they didn't really seem like a couple to me. I know they've been together thirty years and I'm not expecting them to be all lovey-dovey like they're in the honeymoon period, but I expect some chemistry.
I thought the story had a really good plot and there was a few plot twists I didn't see coming which is good and the story didn't feel dragged out or chaotic. The ending was good (although I was suspicious and worked it out early) there was still other twists that were explained. Margery and Clementine Butcher-Baker are coming to the end of another busy half term as dinner ladies at Summerview Secondary school. The school is abuzz with chatter about the upcoming break, the local harvest festival, and the fact that maths teacher, Mr Weaver, hasn't turned up to work in days. We also hear about minor characters such as "Mrs Melon" the Greengrocer and "Mrs Large" the small music teacher. It seemed like a game of Happy Families. Considering the two main ladies have the surnames Butcher and Baker, I think this was taken a little too far.
The Dinner Lady Detectives: Hendy, Hannah: 9781667202242 The Dinner Lady Detectives: Hendy, Hannah: 9781667202242
When the pair embark on an evening walk, they discover Mr Weaver's body in the woods, with a mysterious symbol painted on the tree beside him. Something suspicious is clearly afoot. MY THOUGHTS: There have been a few good muder-mysteries released this year featuring older protagonists. I was hoping that The Dinner Lady Detectives was going to join the group but it became evident very early on that this was not to be. All my life I lived with my grandmother until her passing a year ago, and I was raised on a steady diet of Miss Marple, Murder She Wrote, and Rosemary and Thyme. These two facts combined mean that I have an extremely soft spot for the elderly, especially senior citizens getting in trouble and solving crimes, and that's probably the only reason I'm giving this 3 stars instead of 2. Margery and Clementine are enjoying a peaceful life together in the small, idyllic town of Dewstow, and eagerly awaiting retirement (and the next episode of Antiques Roadshow). But their calm life is shattered when their kitchen manager is found dead. The police are adamant that it’s an open-and-shut case of accidental death. But Margery and Clementine are convinced there’s something far more nefarious going on, and they take it upon themselves to investigate. As they inch closer to the truth, it becomes clear that someone will stop at nothing to keep the pair quiet. This is a super cute, easy read. Some readers guessed the murderer pretty early on but I didn't! I enjoyed the fact that the characters where multidimensional and there was an open discussion of mental health and the impact of being close to crimes, it was very thoughtfully done!I love classic mysteries--the closest modern equivalent is the cozy-- and especially enjoy those with a British setting so I had high hopes for this one. As many have pointed out, it's a slow start. I'm usually okay with that, especially in a first in series book when characters and setting have to be established. My main problem in this one was that there were so many unlikeable characters-- one of whom was Clementine, who is the partner of Margery. I wasn't sure at first if they were indeed a couple since there seemed to be no moments of tenderness between them; and I found Clementine to be more than a bit of a bully. While it's a bit of a cozy "feature" that the victim be unpleasant, I found most of the other characters to be either inept, silly, surly, or stupid. The plot is a bit different now that the ladies are helping the police for real. I also love that it’s set during Halloween. It’s gives the book a bit of more mystery. Best Friends with a different personality, Clementine and Margaery as two cute best friends who have different personalities give me all the feelings. Clementine is more talkative with a hint of rudeness, an unorganized person, and a person who has ”You only live once” motto on her forehead. Then, Margaery is a more composed person compared with Celementine’s personality. But those two have my heart. Especially this Clementine’s, I Adore Her. Praise for The Dinner Lady Detectives 'This cosy crime novel has some hilarious moments and is perfect to curl up with .' Heat To be fair, this was a much-needed palette cleanser after quite a few rather heavy books! It was light,, funny, quirky and had Richard Osman-style vibes - a cosy, autumnal read! I really did like the main characters, and the mystery was certainly fun to go along with! It is the fourth book in a series which did worry me slightly, as I haven’t read the others, but apart from spoiling the previous books (to be fair you can’t have a series without referencing past outcomes!) it worked as a stand-alone which I was grateful for!
The Dinner Lady Detectives (Dinner Lady Detectives, book 1 The Dinner Lady Detectives (Dinner Lady Detectives, book 1
afrightfullyfatalaffair is the fourth book in the #dinnerladydetectives books. If you haven’t read this series yet…DO IT!! This book series is so great. Margery and Clementine are such amazing characters and they are the heroines you want to be friends with. Their relationship is so wonderful and sweet. Rose is Rose and I wouldnt want her any other way. I just can not wait for the next book! I’m going to start rereading this series again ♥️ As mysterious symbols and hooded strangers begin to scare the folk of Dewstow, are the Dinner Lady Detectives able to solve this small town mystery? All in all, this is a brilliant cozy mystery and I can’t wait to see what happens next in the series! This is my first dinner lady detectives book and although reference was made to previous books in the series, the book explained in enough detail the premise of what happened so you were able to get the jist of what had happened.When maths teacher Mr Weaver goes missing, gossip reaches a crescendo. On an evening walk Clem and Margery find his dead body in the woods, with an odd symbol pained on a tree nearby. What can the symbol mean - and how did Mr Weaver meet his end? As the symbols continue to appear all around the town, the sleuths must solve the case before the killer carries out another murder. The two dinner ladies, Clementine and Margery are a couple, but I was a long way into the book before I realised that they were supposed to have a romantic relationship, as there were no signs of that between them. They didn't even seem that compatible as Clementine never seemed to listen to Margery and dragged her unwillingly into all sorts of things. I was also disappointed that their detective work also never seemed to lead to any serious clues and it took a nudge from someone else before they found any useful evidence. All in all a bit disappointing. What a fun mystery. I would definitely call this a cozy mystery on the line of Murder, She Wrote! I love the dinner ladies and their interactions. I love the relationship between Clem and Margery.' NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Police have no clues to this murder and Officer Thomas asks them to discreetly look into it as they have so much success in the past. British Culture, showed everywhere throughout the book in the perfect amount of understanding as a non-English. Especially the iconic thing about British people love when it comes about "Tea"
The Dinner Lady Detectives by Hannah Hendy | Goodreads
This one is a cozy set in Wales, and the featured sleuths are a lesbian couple in their sixties. Margery and Clementine work as dinner ladies in the cafeteria at a local comprehensive school. As the book opens, we learn that their kitchen manager has been found dead in the freezer. It's written off as an accidental death, despite the large amount of blood in the freezer. The deceased sounded like a mean-spirited prankster, so it was clear that there could be any number of possible suspects even if the leads were the only ones who seemed to think there had been any wrongdoing.I really liked how this one talked about the ongoing trauma the Butcher-Baker ladies were facing after the events of book 3 and how they came to the realisation they both needed some support.
Great Deal 
New Comment