A lovely, gentle tale of a mystery in a care home which 87 year old Florrie investigates. Great characters and a life affirming story.

A beautifully written tale with many charming characters.
Florrie, the main character now in her 80's is living in a retirement home due to a recent accident.
The manager of the home suddenly falls out of her attic room window. Florrie hears the scream and sees her land. A mystery emerges - 'did she fall or was she pushed'. Florrie and her new friend Stanhope are determined to find out.
This is a multi layered novel with twists and turns. Florrie herself has kept a secret for over seventy years, only having told her best friend Pinky. I loved the way the author lets Florrie tell her interesting and intriguing life through little flashbacks.
This is brilliant storytelling, bringing out many emotions. I loved it.
Highly recommend.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down, so read it in a few days. I don't want to compare this to Richard Osman's first book as it would do this book a disservice, but it is everything that R Osman's isn't! ( I couldn't understand all the hype about his novel which I didn't like and didn't think was very well written at al!.) The characters, especially Florrie, Pinky and Stanhope were so well observed and full of depth and interest. I could imagine Babbington Hall and all its residents so clearly, almost as if I were another resident. The storyline was carefully unfolded without being predictable. I will sing the praises of this title to all once it is published and will definitely seek out any other titles by this author as her writing is superb.

If you like books by Rachel Joyce, then I would think this is one for you. Florence Butterfield has had an extraordinary life but has ended up living in a retirement community and in a wheelchair. In this quiet setting, however, we encounter murder in several guises as well as learning about Florrie’s life and how she has ended up where she is.

This is a beautifully gentle book but I give 4 stars because it didn’t really come together properly at the end and a lot of the strands were things that the reader didn’t know so came a bit out of the blue.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and would recommend it as something to read when you want to feel like you are wrapped up in a warm blanket!

This is a lovely story of life, friendship, love and loss. It’s written so beautifully and descriptive.

However for me personally it was so slow, I’m used to much faster paced books. As much as the style of writing was so beautiful it just didn’t pull me in. It took me over three weeks to read this book which is a very long time for me. At times I considered not finishing but I don’t think I can give a far review if I don’t finish a book. Having finished it I’m glad I carried on reading.

I think many people will absolutely love this book, I feel it could well be a book that is talked about and will affect people in a similar way to The Midnight Library.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Love and loss are explored in this beautiful life affirming novel by Fletcher. Stunning prose and wonderful characters come together in this 2024 read.

The Night in Question is a beautifully written story layered around a mystery in a care home with the totally engaging, adorable 87 year old Florrie at it's heart. I thoroughly recommend this book and send sincere thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my early copy.

The sort of cosy mystery that is really enjoyable to read - it helps that it is really well written, which is not to be taken for granted with some of these books! The main character is great company and I got through the whole book in two sittings.

This beautifully touching novel about 87-year-old Florrie Butterfield was a delight to read. Florrie reminisces about her life and past loves, but her curiosity also leads her to adventure as she tries to solve the mystery following a couple of incidents in her care home. Through Florrie’s (at times shocking and at times heart-warming) experiences, the novel acts as a contemplation on the nature of love and what may or may not have been had we made different choices in life. However, at the same time I was gripped by the plot and wanting to find out the answer to the care home mysteries. For me this novel has everything: heart, humour, entertaining and life-affirming. Highly recommended!

First of all, the language throughout the book is incredibly descriptive and I found it so easy to immerse myself in the different scenes with such vivid description and imagery.

The story centres around 87 year old Florrie, who is living in an assisted living care home. She starts to investigate an incident involving the manager of the care home with another resident. The mystery of what happened to the manager was one of the sole foci of the story but it was really drawn out and the investigation was slow and therefore difficult for me to engage with.

The flashbacks to Florrie’s past were a mixture of engaging and irrelevant and her “big secret” was easily guessed early on.

It was a pleasant read but didn’t quite engage me as much as I expected.

Thank you to Susan Fletcher and Transworld Publishers for the eARC of this book.

A lovely detective myself set in a care home. The lead character Florrie sets out on solving the sudden death of a fellow resident.
The characters are really lovely, easy to become attached to. A great read.
Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy

Beautifully written, enjoyable read which so skilfully weaves humour, tragedy and nostalgia into a satisfying murder mystery. Highly recommended.

Florrie Butterfield is an octogenarian living in warden assisted accommodation in a former Manor House. Death comes abruptly to one of the residents and shortly after a further act of violence takes place. on midsummer's night. Florrie is convinced that all is not what it seems.

First and foremost, this wonderfully moving tale about life and love should not be compartmentalised in to the cosy crime category- yes a crime is to be investigated by a truly fascinating protagonist but this is a much deeper richer tale.

Whilst trying to understand what has happened , Florrie reflects back upon her life and the moments of tragedy and joy- her past loves and the adventures she undertook; but she is also scarred by a teenage event and cannot ever release herself to talk about it.

Susan Fletcher has created an intelligent, compassionate and utterly adorable lead character who navigates aging and life with other older people with humour, a spark of irony and a detachment that leaves her a side step to others . Her determination to find out what happened on that fateful summer's evening opens up doorways to the past and even the future . You are never to old to love and never too young to read The Night in Question

An absolute delight from start to finish- moving, absorbing from start to finish and should make us all reflect upon how much we make the most of the time we are given.

Absolutely outstanding! This was an exceptional read on all levels. Loved every minute of it and will undoubtedly be a huge success! Can't wait to read more by this author!

An absolutely gorgeous story, a cast of beautifully described characters and an attempted murder to investigate. I imagined that this would be another 'cozy crime' story but it's far, far more. As Florrie mulls over memories her past life slowly unfurls and the reader is taken to the most important places in her life and introduced to her most important people. I was completely engrossed in the beautiful descriptions and the author has a huge talent for characterization, just a few short sentences and the person comes to life. I loved this book!

I enjoyed this gentle tale set in a care home. With flashbacks, we are introduced to Florrie, an octogenarian with a very colourful past. When the manager of the home appears to try to commit suicide, Florrie is not convinced and embarks on an investigation to uncover the truth.
There have been a spate of crime novels with elderly sleuths since Richard Osman's huge success but I found this to be a much better read. My only irritation was the 'incident', which is referred to constantly and which clearly has had a lasting effect on Florrie's life but we only find out what happened very close to the end of the book.
Nonetheless, this is a well written book with endearing characters in Florrie and Stanhope.

What a way to end 2023! I finished The Night in Question on New Years Eve and I am very happy that my reading year ended in such a lovely way. There are quite a few books set in retirement communities (possibly thanks to Richard Osman!) I was a little worried that this might be more of the same - but it wasn't at all. While Florrie is in her 80's and living with a lively group of other older people, and there are suspicious events, this is where the similarity ends. This is the story of Florrie's life and the flashbacks are beautiful and touching. This is so much more than a well told and constructed mystery book.
The author's talent for writing characters but also describing places is obvious, and I was able to immerse myself in the descriptions. I would go as far as to say that they are some of the best I have read for a while. When the truth about what happened to Birdie in her older teens was revealed towards the end of the book, I found myself crying for the girl that she was. It was so well done.
I wholeheartedly recommend this lovely book and I will be raving about it come the spring. An enthusiastic and unreserved five stars from me.

What a wonderful story. And gentle murder mystery but also so much more. The characters were complex and beautifully described, their relationships and interactions in the home were completely relatable and believable. Florrie’s life story and the secrets she held were beautifully described and her gentle letting go and letting in towards the end made my heart smile and eyes leak! Life affirming and utterly joyful

One midsummer's night an incident occurs that leads Florrie to suspect foul play. The only clue is a magenta envelope, discarded earlier that day. With her suspicions overlooked and her abilities underestimated, Florrie is determined to uncover the truth
Aided in her quest by her friend Stanhope, Florrie investigates, determined to uncover the truth!
A nice cosy mystery that would appeal to those of us who have enjoyed the Marlow and Thursday murder club reads in the past 📚

I really enjoyed this book - a gentle detective story set in an elderly care home. Florrie Butterfield an octogenarian isn't convinced by "an accident" that takes place. Florrie sets out to investigate and unearths so much more. Her own back story simmers under the surface too and we know from early on that something terrible happened to her when she was young. This theme threads through the book as we are treated to stories of Florrie's travels abroad as she tries to leave her past behind. We hear of the "loves" of her life including her best friend Pinky who was the only one who knew Florrie's secret and Victor her husband in her very unconventional, yet happy marriage. The characters are portrayed so well and Florrie is joined in her quest by another inmate of the care home Stanhope. a real feel good story that makes you realise that even at 87 years old there's chance for adventure and fun!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the pre published copy in exchange for a fair review.