The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland

 

 

First Line: Wrenching the handbrake, Ted pulled up outside the house of his favorite customer.

 

When their favorite customer is murdered, the three retired ladies who work at a charity shop called Dogs Need Nice Homes decide to take on an investigation of their own. After all, the local police seem to be getting nowhere, and with their knowledge of mystery novels, how hard could it be?

 

When another person is found dead, Fiona, Sue, and Daisy begin to learn that finding a killer isn't as easy as they'd thought, especially when the woman running the rival charity shop across the street-- the Cat Alliance-- keeps interfering.

 

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The Charity Shop Detective Agency is a light, pleasant read-- a relaxing way to spend a rainy afternoon. I've long been intrigued by the plethora of charity shops in the UK. With much fewer storage unit facilities there, the British must use charity shops to prevent the build-up of all the "stuff" that we Americans can't seem to turn loose of. I did learn quite a bit about the routine in these shops, and how the people running them work to fit into the community as well as entice potential customers.

Seventy-six-year-old Fiona is the woman who loves to read crime novels, and she is responsible for the best two parts of the book. So many cozy mysteries seem to have amateur sleuths who tackle an investigation and don't seem to have too much trouble "getting the job done." You and I both know that that wouldn't happen in the real world. Author Peter Boland does an excellent job showing how Fiona finds out she isn't as smart as she thinks. She makes mistakes and often makes things worse. She realizes this, and seeing how her investigative skills improve as the series progresses will be interesting.

On a more light-hearted note, the scenes I enjoyed the most involved a novel by Val McDermid and how Fiona used it as a bargaining chip to get some needed information. Only diehard readers would understand how this could easily happen.

The Charity Shop Detective Agency is a light, pleasant read with interesting characters. I just may find myself visiting Dogs Need Nice Homes again.

The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland

eISBN: 9781804056615

Joffe Books © 2022

eBook, 371 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Charity Shop Detective Agency mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.