Based off the description and title, I went into this expecting a lighthearted and (possibly) cosy mystery/thriller, and this wasn’t it. This was darker and handled much more serious content than I’d anticipated, and the plot came across as pretty implausible,.

Unfortunately this one wasn’t quite for me, and I really struggled with both the narration and the actual content of the book. There are definitely people out there who would enjoy this book, but sadly I couldn’t connect with any of the characters and found myself zoning out multiple times while listening.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review).

DNF - This book was too frustrating for me to continue with past 30%. Very scattered narratives, very little plot development, characters I couldn't care about as they revealed so little of themselves. Incredible amounts of filler and weird comments especially from the older characters. One of them steals from supermarkets to give food to Extinction Rebellion protesters and they all applaud them? Too much about "doing what is right...doing our bit" like some sort of noble crusade rather than a desire to help people in need. Not for me unfortunately.

#ABeginnersGuideToMurder by #RosalindStoops was not at all what I was expecting. Once I adjusted my expectations I enjoyed the zest for life of the septuagenarians. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives which added to the darkness and complicated underlying themes. Many thanks to #Netgalley for gifting me an #arc in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to Harper Collins Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

This was an interesting story told from the perspective of the four key protagonists Nina - a young girl trying to escape from a desperate situation and three retired women Grace, Meg and Daphne.

The story is compelling and being told from the differing PoVs is onion like, with new layers and depths being revealed by the separate characters…the older ladies all have intriguing and compelling pasts that are gradually revealed, whilst Nina’s story is told in series of gradual retrospectives.

An intriguing and interesting story, that is narrated in an empathetic and nuanced manner that pulls you in.

I'm afraid i wasn't a fan of the narrator so gave up quite early in this book. Perhaps I may enjoy it more if i went for the book rather than an audiobook.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to receive an audio version of this book.

When a young girl rushes into a café when three elderly women are having a cup of tea after an exercise class, their worlds collide unexpectedly.
The three friends from very different backgrounds vow to protect the young woman from the menacing character she is running from, but they must enter into a dark world that they are unfamiliar with and at what cost?
It was great to have the backstories of the characters unfold as the storyline took hold. The way the story progressed was brilliant and unexpected.

I love crime thrillers, but they have to grab me, I get very tired if I am not immediately in love with the characters. Enter this book... It took me five seconds to immediately care about this Grandmas Girl Gang and want to read their adventures for pages to go.

A short synopsis: Three old women meet a young girl in danger and they decide that the only way to help her is killing the man who is trying to hurt her. Please check the tw before reading this book, here is a short list: Confinement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Starvation

The book circles around the four protagonists, three older women (Meg, Grace, and Daphne) and a young girl (Nina) in a difficult situation. Every episode is narrated from the point of view of one of the main characters, and I think that's what makes this book so special, it allows us to out ourselves in the skins of theses three older women and see them as people, not to be immediately categorised as "sweet fragile grandmas". Meg, Grace, and Daphne have had full lives of which we are allowed to see glimpses of once they start fighting to help Nina, and even though their age is a weakness is the physical strength, it makes them wiser and braver, "the devil knows more because he's old than for being the devil".

I absolutely loved the 3 main characters, Grace, Meg and Daphne, which I think were very well developed and we got to know well throughout the book. These characters and the topics the book covers were more than enough to keep me interested.
However Nina's character just seemed a bit too surreal to me, maybe she was portrayed too lightly? I listened to the audiobook and Nina's narration was also my least favourite (not sure how much the character influenced my view of the narration and vice-versa).
Overall I enjoyed listening to it and will look for other books from this author.
Thanks to Harper Collins Audio and NetGalley for this opportunity!

When I read the blurb for this I immediately thought of The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman and was hopeful of a nice twee cosy murder. Unfortunately this one was a little too twee for me and I found myself tiring of the old ladies stories.

While it does attempt to look at some very dark and serious issues such as child trafficking, mental abuse and issues within the care system I found the style to be completely mismatched with the content. I also found Nina's character underdeveloped and almost cast aside. I feel if the book developed Nina's character more and concentrated less on the cosy crime crossover this could have been something fantastic.

Unfortunately, the narration didn't help keep my attention either and I found myself to be zoning out quite a lot through out the chapters.

Although this book covers some important themes and topics, it wasn't for me. I think the title and description are misleading, which is probably the main problem. I wouldn't have requested it if I'd understood more what it would entail.
On the face of it, the title and description make this sound like something in the Cosy crime genre, perhaps quite light-hearted and fun.
In reality, though, it's a depressing look at the care system and how some children in it are vulnerable and trafficked.
Giving the perspectives of so many different characters was also confusing and made it a bit slow for me. Each chapter moves to another character's mind, and while I can usually get on board with that if it's just two characters, in this case, it's many. That means there's a lot of time on back story before the book really gets going.
On the plus side, this does show an interesting perspective on the care system and highlights how easy it is for children to be trafficked in a society that doesn't give them enough support and makes them feel of little value.
The characters voices feel authentic, too.

I absolutely loved A Beginners Guide to Murder by Roasalind Stopps, straight from the start where we meet
Grace, Meg and Daphne, three old ladies sitting in a cafe they aren’t really friends but more like acquaintances that only know each other as they go to the same adult classes together but when a 17 year old runaway, Nina, stumbles in to the cafe the ladies immediately feel she needs protecting. What happens next is a joy to read, the feisty ladies back stories are gradually revealed and their friendship grows even as they are contemplating murder. I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrators Charlotte Strevens & Cornelia Colman really enhanced the telling. I haven’t read anything by Rosalind Stopps before but I shall definitely look out for her future novels.

I had a feeling I was going to enjoy this audiobook of A Beginners Guide To Murder and I was right, I loved it! This Cosy crime starts with Grace,Meg and Daphne who are three women in their 70’s planning to commit a murder in a coffee shop. Meg was my favourite character. She has had a terrible time having been recently widowed and her husband was controlling so her confidence is at an all time low and it was great seeing her come alive again. The three women set out to help a younger woman called Nina, who is in a dire situation. I couldn’t put this audio book down! It is very entertaining. There are also some strong themes covered in this book which are handled well
The narrators Charlotte Stevens and Cornelia Coleman were dazzling and I was actually sad when the book ended. I’m looking forward to what this author will write next so this is a big 5 stars from me. Thank you to Harper Collins Audio and Netgalley for my gifted copy.

I found this novel quite difficult to engage with, partly because I felt that it was constantly wrestling with its genre, dealing with the care system/sex trafficking/modern slavery through the lens of cosy crime. Sadly, it just didn’t work well for me.

The premise is that 3 female septuagenarians decide to help a teenage girl who approaches them in a coffee shop. Since for some of them even going for coffee after their Pilates class is classed as adventurous, I found the remainder of the book really stretched my credulity.

Good points: tackles some important issues, some of which I’ve mentioned above but also psychological bullying, abuse, loneliness and mental health issues.

I’m afraid that I didn’t like the narrator of the audiobook version I listened to either and the pace was very slow. Sorry, this one was just not for me.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, HarperCollins UK Audio for an audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.

Not what I expected at all really

3 ladies meet at an exercise class and during a follow up coffee decide to help a young woman who asks for help to get her away from a man who is keeping her prisoner and selling her and others to men for sex

These 3 old dears decide to help and its a bit of a cross between a slapstick comedy and a totally unbelievable story
Sorry I couldn't believe why three 70 year olds would try to do this when a call to the police could have sorted all this but then there would be no story

Not my cup of tea sorry

Three elderly ladies, acquaintances rather than friends, are enjoying small talk and coffee after their Pilates class, when a young, desperate looking girl bursts into the cafe asking for help. When they encounter the man she is running from, the ladies quickly realise that the only way to save the girl is to plot a murder.

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.

I loved the sound of this story, it seemed like it was going to be really good, although for me I found it a little slow, there is a dark theme with humour, but it is a well balanced and written story. I liked all the characters and hoped that Grace, Meg and Daphne would be able to help Nina.

Lovely but thrilling book (yes it is possible!) I really liked the message that it brings of sorority and hopefulness at the end of it!

I loved the originality of this story and the narration of Daphne, Grace and Meg, the three older ladies that were determined to help Nina after she ran into the coffee shop. They quickly realised she was in danger and made a pact to help her escape the clutches of the evil toadman who was her capture and pimp.

Nina was a victim of human trafficking and I enjoyed the story from the perspective of the older generation, something which is not often written about.

I had trouble with Nina's character and felt she would be much more damaged and broken than she was portrayed after being forced to see man after man like a conveyor belt. The narration of Nina's character let this down for me, it seemed a bit disjointed.

However I enjoyed the story and would read another from this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I really enjoyed the book but, whilst I understand why the Narrator was chosen - I have to admit i wasn't a fan and it took me a while to settle into. Writing wise - it was expertly written and a great novel!

A quirky story, which presents an unusual array of characters and twists and turns along the way.

Not the usual type of fiction I’d go do, but I’m glad I did.

I am afraid I didn’t like the narration and the story drove me mad enough to give up on this one quite near the beginning so I can’t really review the book at all