When I first saw this cover I was imaging a book a little bit like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder but the book wasn’t like this at all. From what I’ve heard I’d say it was more like Richard Osmond’s The Thursday Murder Club (purely because of the character ages) but I’ve not read this so can’t give a full comparison.

This book does get quite deep quite quickly and there are quite a few trigger warnings; rape, physical and emotional abuse, kidnapping and racial aggravation. I wouldn’t normally mention these but they’re quite prominent throughout the book so thought it was best.

There are four main character, Meg, Daphne and Grace are the three elder ladies and Nina is the 17-year-old. Out of the three I definitely warmed to Meg the most, although they all have very chequered pasts, not through any fault of their own. As you’re reading the book we flick between past and present and also narrator which gives you an insight into the ladies pasts and what’s happened to Nina to get her to where she is now.

I was a bit wary of this at first and didn’t quite get straight into the flow of the book but as it progressed and the pace of the book quickened I got more immersed in it. I found myself needing to know what was going to happen next and if they’d manage to save Nina and carry out their plan.

At the end parts I was on the edge of my seat, for some reason I really didn’t trust Cara and could just sense that things weren’t going to go the way we all hoped.

Overall I actually really liked this book, it wasn’t what I expected and wouldn’t have been my usual choice but I’m really greatful to HQ for sending me this to read on Netgalley.

Grace, Meg and Daphne, all in their seventies, are minding their own business while enjoying a cup of tea in a café, when seventeen-year-old Nina stumbles in. She’s clearly distraught and running from someone, so the three women think nothing of hiding her when a suspicious-looking man starts asking if they’ve seen her.
Once alone, Nina tells the women a little of what she’s running from. The need to protect her is immediate, and Grace, Meg and Daphne vow to do just this. But how? They soon realise there really is only one answer: murder.
And so begins the tale of the three most unlikely murderers-in-the-making, and may hell protect anyone who underestimates them.

Thank you to the publishers for inviting me to be part of this tour.

I really struggled to get into this book and almost DNF’d it. However, I persevered and was so glad I did, as it was totally worth it in the end.

The book is very dark and there are clearly sinister things going in in this novel without the full description, which adds to the suspense and tense.

One thing that I loved about this book., was the originality of three elderly characters. I love elderly characters and and them so amusing. The dialogue between the three was well written and I really enjoyed these characters.

This is an original, light yet dark, crime story that is well worth a read!

I will re-read this book again as I would like to appreciate it again as a whole.

I have a special sweet spot for older people, particularly women, putting the world right, even if that means engaging in some dangerous behaviour. That’s exactly what this unique thriller is about and it’s definitely a must-read if you love exciting stories that celebrate underdogs too.

Grace, Daphne and Meg are enjoying a coffee after their senior citizens’ Pilates class, when a distressed, 17-year-old called Nina walks into the cafe. She clearly needs help and the three women think nothing of hiding her from the incredibly suspicious, much older man who comes in looking for her. When Nina explains a little of what has happened to her, Meg, Daphne and Grace know that they must protect her at all costs. Even if that cost involves murder.

One of my favourite things about this book is the fact that each of the old ladies seem to be besotted with each other. Meg thinks that both Grace and Daphne are amazing, confident creatures and Grace and Daphne have a very close, special bond. This is actually reasonably rare in books about older women, who haven’t known each other for years. I’ve noticed that older female protagonists are often quite distant towards new acquaintances, particularly ones of their own age. It was really refreshing to see them champion each other.

Nina was raised in the care system but she is determined to not be a victim of this upbringing. She is desperate to get a good education and make something of her life, which makes what happens to her even more heartbreaking. As soon as she is targeted by a young girl called Shaz, who seems to know a lot about her despite them having never previously met, I knew that something dark was afoot. I spent the first few Nina chapters shouting at her to walk away from this strange friendship and I hated watching the situation spiral.

Daphne is of South Asian descent and Grace is Jamaican but both have been in the UK for a long time, so there is some commentary on race and identity. I really appreciated their insights on these topics as older people because so many novels that centre on race tend to be linked to a younger person’s coming-of-age journey. These women know exactly who they are and yet ignorant outsiders still often question that because of their skin colour.

The fact that two out of three of our heroines are also not white enhances their invisibility and insignificance to authorities. As old, unassuming ladies, they are unlikely to be taken seriously by the police, especially if a younger smooth-talking man contradicts their version of events. This automatic dismissal of marginalised groups is something that is so real in our society and it’s something that we need to change. We need to listen to everyone’s stories, no matter who they are, and respect them for who they are.

Meg is probably my favourite character. Her story is pretty heartwrenching but she has a fantastic sense of humour that she seems to be unaware of. In fact, she is unaware of many of the amazing things about her, such as her kindness and courage, but it’s obvious why she is so downtrodden. Her first impressions of the vile man, who is searching for Nina, are spot on and for the rest of the book, he is known as ‘the toad’.

Meg’s late husband Henry was a mentally abusive man, who clearly didn’t think much of his wife at all. For decades, Meg has lived a small, restricted life because she never had the encouragement or support from her husband to live her own life. When you live with it for decades, I know how easy it is to believe an abuser’s words as the truth, especially when no one is telling you any different.

Towards the end of the book, when she needs to call on the inner courage and fire that she has always had, she turns Henry’s incessant insults that still live in her head into motivation. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a character do this but I really want to see more of it. She uses the very limited tools available to her, which is so inspirational and I literally whooped for joy.

There is also plenty of humour in the book and this really offsets the incredibly dark world and subject matter that is at its centre. This would have been a very depressing read if the three heroines weren’t exactly who they are. I really wanted to be part of their gang, sorting this horrific situation out and Rosalind Stopps did a great job of letting me in, by telling me each of these old ladies’ stories.

Grace is the natural leader of the gang. She is a former teacher with a big regret in her past but she has done everything she can to live well and fight for justice for the rest of her life. She, Meg and Daphne are the most unlikely killers and she knows that they need to play on that in order to carry out their plan without arousing suspicion.

A Beginner’s Guide To Murder is a thriller with a fantastic uniqueness. These characters are unlike any others that I’ve met in a thriller novel and I loved spending time with them. While unravelling the incredible lives of these women, it still manages to treat readers to a genuinely terrifying, pulse-racing mystery. It’s not exactly full of twists and turns but it doesn’t need to be, due to the wonderful characterisations and real world themes. A brilliant, quirky, unique page-turner.

I’ll start by saying that I did enjoy this book but it was not what I was expecting so it took me a little while to change my expectations and fully get into the story.

I was expecting a fairly light crime story (obviously a murder but not too dark around that) sort of in the way that The Thursday Murder Club or Dial A for Aunties dealt with it. Crime but with some humour and fun while still dealing with some dark subjects. A Beginners Guide to Murder was nothing like that – it was in fact fairly relentlessly heavy and that made it harder going at times.

That’s not to say that I didn’t like Grace, Meg and Daphne, I did. However every one of them had a sad and tragic backstory that they frequently called back to in their perspective chapters and that alongside Nina’s story just changed the whole tone of the story.

I really felt for them all – especially Meg who had lived most of her life with an emotionally abusive husband and was still put down by thoughts of what he would say to her even though he was dead. The friendship the three women formed while helping Nina was lovely and I wanted them to grab hold of each other and not let go.

Nina herself was so strong and you desperately wanted her to be ok, to get her life back, get the help she needed and go from there. Her flashback chapters where you could see her being drawn in by her abuser were hard to read.

Fairly or not it felt to me a little like the author had tried to recreate the success of The Thursday Murder Club (this book even had the friendly, helpful criminal to aid the ladies as Bogdan does for the Club) and just somehow missed the mark a bit.

With thanks to HQ and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for honest review.

A Beginners Guide to Murder is published 22 July 2021

A quirky murder story with dark undertones.
The serious subjects of human trafficking,rape, and prostitution are portrayed with all their horrors, leaving little to the imagination.
It is well balanced with lightness of humour in the blossoming friendship of these three women, all whom have an experience that have haunted the rest of their lives. It is because if these experiences that have compelled them to act in the situation they find themselves in now
The novel is not without its faults,causing the reader to suspend their belief as the circumstances unfold and new characters emerge,almost cartoon like.
Also I found myself getting confused with Grace and Daphne, who past belonged to whom.
Meg was a stand alone figure who made me smile and squirm in equal measure as she referred to Henry's sayings.
A unusual setting and storyline which highlighted and tackled serious issues- including race,domestic abuse,along others already mentioned, with sensitivity and warmth.

An excellent well-written book, believable storyline, full of twists and turns, good ending. It's an intricate plot with a really good ending.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A compassionate and gently humorous tale. It explores lost opportunities and the positive impact of friendship. However the central story is dark and exposes what can happen to those who are vulnerable. Gripping from the start I didn't want to put it down.

4.5stars rounded up to 5

Grace, Meg and Daphne, all in their seventies, are minding their own business while enjoying a cup of tea in a cafe, when seventeen year old Nina stumbles in. She is clearly distraught and running from someone, so the three women think nothing of hiding her when a suspicious-looking man starts asking if they've seen her. Once alone, Nina tells the women a little of what she's running from. The need to protect her is immediate, and Grace, Meg and Daphne vow to do just this. But how? They soon realise there is only one answer: murder.

This story is beautifully written and it's poignant at times with some of it's contents. I loved the three old ladies characters, they were well developed and believable. The plotline is uncomfortable and unpleasant to rad at times due to the subject matter, but there's some dark humour too. We get glimpses into the three ladies past life where two of them had to suffer racism and personal heartache. The story is told from the four women's points of view. This is a thought provoking read that held my attention throughout. I do recommend this book.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HQ and the author #RosalindStopps for my ARC of #ABeginnersGuideToMurder in exchangefor an honest review.

I like to venture out of my reading comfort zone at times, and maybe when I do as on this occasion, I should not be too surprised when I find I don't really enjoy the book. It is my fault, and hopefully other readers will enjoy it more. For me it was too slow, with not enough happening.

This book is beyond excellent. It is far and away one of the best books I have read this year. The story holds a mirror to our thoughts and emotions. It makes us realise that often what we think about ourselves is not what others think about us. We are our own worst critics and the things we see as faults and weaknesses others see as strengths. Three women who only seem to have in common an enjoyment of Pilates and being old can change the world for one teenager simply because they believe together they are strong enough to do so.

I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come and recommending it to everyone I know.

I had some difficulty reading this book and, as a result, I am finding it hard to rate and review. Probably around 3.5 stars but rounded down.
The primary characters are 3 ladies in their seventies, Meg, Daphne and Grace who all seemingly have suffered traumas in their earlier lives. The chapters alternate between the three and generally keep to time sequence but there are one or two flashback chapters.
What I found annoying was the heavy reliance the book has on what happened in the past. For example, when a key event is taking place the narrative switches to 3 or 4 pages about a dog that Meg had!
As you would expect with a book of this genre it is slow moving and not a lot happens. The ending chapters are good though and the final revelation, albeit expected, was well timed.
So, for me, a disappointing book. However I am sure other readers will absolutely love it.

Three old ladies are sat having a cup of tea in a cafe when a young girl runs in. As she hides in the toilets a man comes looking for her and looks like he's trouble.
Grace, Daphne and Meg decide they need to help Nina and kill the toady looking man. As the story unfolds it is written from a first person perspective with each of the women taking a chapter. This helps to describe the now and the previous.
I enjoyed this story, both the past and the present and the supporting characters.

I found A Beginner’s Guide to Murder to be a quirky read following three pensioners as they plot someone’s downfall.

Grace, Meg and Daphne are all in their seventies enjoying a cuppa in a cafe when seventeen year old Nina bursts in in quite a state shortly followed by a suspicious looking man asking if they’d seen her. Nina tells the women a little of what is going on and the women decide they must help her. There is only one solution: Murder!

I flew through this book in a couple of days. Well written with some frat characters. Thank you NetGalley, HQ and the author for the chance to review.

This was a laugh out loud story, almost farcical at times, even though the background of the story was very sad.. The character were good but sometimes too much emphasis on doddery old age. The build up to the conclusion was manic at times but like a fairy tale it all comes good in the end.

Take three elderly ladies, add a teenage runaway, a sprinkling of racism and several abusive relationships and you have the scenario for a cracking story. In A Beginners Guide to Murder Rosalind Stopps blends these ingredients into a darkly funny tale that embraces the power of friendship in overcoming the loneliness of old age. Grace and Daphne barely know Megs but after leaving their Pilates class they are having a coffee together when a young and obviously terrified Nina bursts into the cafe and into their lives. The intrepid septuagenarians form an unbreakable bond as they decide to plan a murder with the help of an equally fascinating yet disparate group of characters. Perfect for anyone who loved The Thursday Murder Club this is as engaging and enthralling as it is sad and amusing. Thanks to NetGalley and HQ Stories for the ARC.

There is plenty of charm, and quirkiness in this darkly themed offbeat crime fiction from Rosalind Stopps, whilst it took me a little time to become fully immersed, once I was, I was completely enthralled. The heart of this story is the tender relationships that develop between the elderly Meg, Grace, and Daphne, and their ferocious love, need and desire to protect and save the vulnerable, exploited and abused 17 year old Nina, irrespective of the dangers this poses to themselves. The three women attended Pilates class, and whilst not really knowing each other, they go to a cafe when the distraught and terrified Nina enters. Recognising she is in danger, they go out of their way to help her escape from what is a clearly the baddest of men, the dead eyed Toad, a Belgian.

Nina is taken to Meg's home, but it is to take some time to get the palpably fearful and traumatised girl to tell them what has happened to her and for them to understand that going to the police is not an option. Nina's back story is slowly revealed, initially she is lonely and isolated, an able and academically orientated care home girl, desperate for a close friend, meeting Shaz, maintaining a relationship with her despite major concerns, right up to the point she ends up under the cruel and coercive control of the Toad. Meg, Grace and Daphne are extraordinary and courageous women who have their own troubling and disturbing histories that include loss, abuse, prison, distressing marriages and other demons, each of them retreating from the world. They find themselves feeling deep connections and beginning life long friendships with each other, all instigated by their meeting with Nina. When Nina is taken, the steely eyed old women make a pact, they may be absolute beginners, but they are committed to venturing into uncharted territory to murder the Toad, and rescue Nina.

Stopps creates and develops a stellar cast of characters with the elderly women and Nina, thrown into a world where runaway girls and care home girls are targeted, their lives heartbreakingly destroyed by the worst of humanity. Whilst Meg might initially appear to be the weakest of the three women, hearing the voice of Henry, her late horror of a husband, there are depths to her that show she has it within her to do whatever it takes to ensure Nina's safety. All of them find love and support from each other, instrumental in pushing them all to start to live life again, illustrating it is never too late to change and begin to walk more emotionally fulfilling paths in life. The women gather a wonderful cast of characters around them, including Des, the hopeless criminal, the homeless Gordon and Susannah, Clara and Greg. This is a wonderfully entertaining and compulsive read, with dark humour, of older women who decide to open their hearts to Nina, to each other, and others, who did not look the other way when Nina and danger enters their lives. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Absolutely adored this very clever and engrossing read, with three usually overlooked and marginalised characters. Grace, Daphne and Meg are ladies in their 70s, and are sitting in a cafe, following a Pilates class, when a young, petrified girl rushes in and asks for help. Maternal feelings, plus a sense of care and protection comes to the fore, and they smuggle young Nina away, and take her under their collective wings.
When events become darker, the three ladies dig deep and find that they are intelligent, have courage , bravery and are not to be underestimated.
Two of these ladies have experienced racism, all have interesting back stories, prison, murder and missed opportunities make them choose how they help Nina. Grace is clear minded and the rational one. Daphne has a hippie, colourful style about her, which disguises her past mistakes and the fact she is rather good with money. Meg was my favourite character, constantly undermined and belittled by her late husband, Henry. She was hesitant and apologetic when the story started, but as secrets were unearthed and friendships grew, she found inner strength and abilities that amazed all.
So, we have three elderly ladies, who deal calmly with such dark matters as murder, kidnap, prostitution, trafficking, where to best hide a phone and how to use a gun. Not the normal scenario, and the idea of all cuddly grannies goes out of the window here. It was remarked that people of advanced years are invisible and ignored, certainly Meg has suffered from social isolation throughout her married life.
This showed how women were treated during the 1960s, both at home and society. Sexual assaults were routinely ignored by police, all this was between husband and wife, and not taken seriously. Women routinely had to give up jobs when they married, and became dependent upon the husband for housekeeping money. Husbands had to give permission for the wife to have a hysterectomy then, as it would deny him the chance to have more children!! The law is not shown in a good light, one character went to the police as her husband was forcing her into prostitution, the remarks in this book, from the ‘ Boys in Blue’ are really condescending and sadly true to those times.
A wonderful book! Ignore old people at your peril, is a good message here. I loved to hear stories of these past lives when I was Nursing, some older people didn’t receive visits from family, and some had such interesting stories to tell.
I chose this book as it had a character named Daphne in it, and I do like to show solidarity here! The hours I spent as a child putting up with people, who couldn’t spell my name, these slights still rankle today. The story is brilliant and I will recommend this to my similarly aged friends. I will post a review to Goodreads and Waterstones later.
Thanks to Netgalley and HQ Books for my advance copy, in return for my honest opinion and review. A five star read indeed.

I received a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review thanks to NetGalley and HQ Stories.

I honestly didn’t expect that plot line! It was really good and completely unexpected.

I liked the way it showed different perspectives for the same scene but it did feel a bit long-winded at times.

This is a cosy mystery type of story with some heavy themes.

YEEES.

3 old ladies who are almost friends, sort of, are in a cafe and before they leave they are planning to commit a murder.

Its a fun read, addictive, fast paced and a surprisingly diverse bunch of character.

I cant think of many books that ive read where the main characters have all been 70+ and I wish these ladies were my grandmothers!! The main plot is obviously focusing on the murder and following along with that but the side stories about each women ate surprisingly heartfelt. A lot is spelt out but not directly said and I thought that worked really well in this case. 5/5.

A trio in their seventies - Grace, Daphne and Meg, are enjoying a cup of tea and forming tentative yet reserved friendships after their pilates class. They are suddenly thrown into the middle of an unexpected drama when seventeen year old Nina bursts in, clearly terrified, and trying to hide from someone. The trio’s maternal instincts kick in and they rush to protect her. This sets off a chain of events which sees them embroiled in scheming murder for hire.

They are such an unlikely group of heroes, but this book serves to remind us that elderly people should not be written off because of their age. They still have brains, intelligence, and talents (but perhaps we don’t encourage the murder aspect!). Isolation, loneliness and the struggles of life and long kept secrets are all unearthed, as the trio form a friendship that goes beyond anything that their regular pilates class would have forged.

In their fight to save Nini, our unexpected heroes also save themselves, opening up their hearts to much needed friendships, and unburdening to one another. While at times this book was funny when it perhaps shouldn’t be - murder, kidnap of minors, people trafficking, and prostitution is at the heart of it - it was a dark humour, showing how humans can cope with so much more than they realise. Resilience and friendship can get you through anything. Even murder!

This was a very enjoyable read, and a very welcome change of main characters.

*I received this book from NetGalley for review but all opinions are my own.