Murder On Monday (Lois Meade Mystery)

I enjoy murder mysteries, especially of the classic "who-dunnit" type, and this is one of them. Miss Marple herself would have approved of Ms Purser's choice of venues, the small English village. The friction between "villagers" and "new comers" is so recognizable. The central character, Lois Meade, has been very cleverly chosen and well crafted. She's a misfit who starts cleaning houses for extra money, which places her in the position of learning things about her clients and their relationships. Her personality is almost predestined to put her in the middle of things, and her down to earth observations and intuition move the story along. The author definitely has a feeling for environment and character. The houses to which Lois Meade goes are well sketched, and the reader is able to picture them clearly in mind, while each of her clients has a distinct, three dimensional, and individual personality. They're not simply cardboard cutouts used to fill out the cast of suspects. Furthermore, their idiosyncrasies and personal histories and what they chose to say or not say, do or not do, greatly contribute to the plot. Probably the most satisfying characters are those of Lois and her family. They relate like families really do, which is engaging. I especially liked Lois's Mom. She's just so "there" for her daughter and her family. Like most mysteries these days, there is a touch of the romance about the story. Lois's husband is definitely a lovely person, and the inspector who manages to so thoroughly involve her in the investigation seems more than a little interested in her. A definite plus factor. By the end of the story, all the various threads have been pulled together to a uniform and satisfying whole and to a conclusion that is both surprising and, more importantly, acceptable. The author pulls no sneaky stunts on the reader in order to make things come out, rather the logic of her narrative plays itself out to a equally probable conclusion. She allows the reader to come to conclusions all on their own, and if they misread the significance of the information, so be it. Probably the very key to the success of the story lies in the fact that there is so much detail coming from so many sources. Just as is Lois herself, we are also left to winnow the important from the insignificant. This much disguises the clues to the actual murderer which are in plain site, just mixed in with everything else. Excellent fiction.

When a book is advertised as a cozy it brings to mind a nonviolent, pleasant and possibly an uplifting read. Kinda like sunshine on flowers. Well, Lois is scrappy and her family is gritty...Welcome to the real world of the working class! This is a very well written British mystery with a great plot, slightly underdeveloped characters and an accurate description of small village life. This is NOT sunshine on flowers. If you like your characters more reality based, Lois is your girl.

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.

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 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.