Agnes Sharp and her other housemates are in a bit of a pickle. The heating is out, and the repairs can't be done soon enough. It's freezing and when Edwina wins a trip to an eco-spa hotel, they decide to join her. The problem is, from the beginning, people are dropping dead and trying to find the murderer becomes urgent. Agnes put her mind to it and makes some progress but it's not the easiest case to solve. And besides, we all make mistakes sometimes.

I read the first book several months ago which was a great read and seeing this book made it a no-brainer to continue where the last work left off. Just like the first book, this is delightful, and I found it hard to stop reading it at times. I'm sure many might compare this to Richard Osman's popular series, but this one has such a different vibe that it just feels refreshing. The quirks of the characters really add to the story and seem to affect how the investigation does or does not continue. At the end, it's very satisfying and that's what I look for in most of my reading.

Overall, I rate this book four solid stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Allison & Busby for giving me a free copy of the book. I have written my review under no obligation.

This addition of Agnes Sharp was just as good as the first. Edwina has won the “Trip of a Lifetime” to a spa in Cornwall for herself and a friend, in the end all the friends go to stop the arguing. When Agnes witnesses a murder, she and her friends start to investigate. With a colourful cast of characters and a plot that keeps you entertained I would highly recommend.

Another entertaining and compelling novel featuring Hettie the tortoise and her senior friends. Loved it, had fun, and enjoyed the solid mystery.
Please give me more soon.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I am loving Agnes Sharp and the group of elderly sleuths who manage to get involved in yet another murder mystery in Cornwall. What a fun book full of antics, murder, mystery and a group of women I adore. Such an enjoyable and entertaining read, quirky and with great characters. I whizzed through this one and having realised there is another book in this series and I am now on the hunt to find it.

Fingers crossed there will be more as this is the type of book I love to read when I feel the need for something light-hearted, fun yet with a bit of mystery and intrigue. Great writing and had me from page one.

Thank you NetGalley and Allison & Busby for giving me the opportunity to read and revie this book.

I'm back from my vicarious holiday to Cornwall with Agnes Sharp and the gang and it was a wild ride! 😎

This time, the group from Sunset Hall take a trip to a luxury Cornish eco hotel where relaxation should be the only thing on their minds but a series of murders whilst the hotel is cut off from the outside world quickly puts paid to that and they're soon fearing for their own lives. Teaming up with young goth Mojo, health freak Trudy and super snake Oberon, this diverse group are in a race to find out who the mysterious hooded killer is before they dispatch anyone else.

This series is so full of fun and great characters, it was a great change of setting to be in a luxury hotel and I didn't predict the various twists - pretty much everyone is a suspect at some point, except for Oberon the snake! Great fun and a lovely cosy crime read for the autumn

The Plot

Life seems pretty normal again for Agnes Sharp, that’s if you don’t count a murder. When one of her housemates wins a trip to an eco hotel called The Eden, the body count begins to pile up and Agnes has to find the killer before they find her.

The Review

This book had great characterisation and some rather eccentric narration. Agnes and her friends stole the show for me in this quirky cosy crime novel that even gave a pet snake a voice! I can only say that I found the whole thing rather bizzare, yet entertaining. I can see how it wouldn’t be to everyones taste as the plot dots about a little and the first murder remains unsolved. There was just such a lot going on in the main part of the story that introducing the initial murder at the start seemed superfluous. I also guessed the murderer, but the book did a good job at distracting me with red herrings. I would have liked more sleuthing from Agnes perhaps, because the characterisation was so strong it overshadowed the plot a little.

I also thought that the theme of isolated hotel murders never really got going. Maybe I was hoping for something a bit more Christiesque. However, plenty of fun to be had with Agnes and friends. 3.5 stars

It's the middle of winter and the boiler has packed up at Sunset Hall. The plumber won't be able to come for at least 3 weeks and they are freezing. Then an envelope comes for Edwina and she has won a luxury holiday in Cornwall. They all decide to go as they figure it will be much warmer.
However when they get there, yes the heating works and it's very luxurious, but there's also a murderer at large. Will Agnes and her arthritic friends be able to find the murder and prevent any more deaths or will they succumb to the unknown murderer.
Fun and lively all the way through.

'Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime' is a worthy follow-up to Leonie Swann's first cosy crime featuring Agnes and her motley cast of elderly housemates and lodgers. The second book in the Agnes Sharp series can be read as a stand-alone book just as well as a follow up to book one and I would recommend them both if you like an easy read cosy crime with some quirky entertaining characters and a captivating plot. The book features the same housemates as before with some glamorous new additions.

In this second book, Agnes and the gang find out that Edwina has won a holiday; at first I thought this might be a scam but actually its a real prize and the group of OAPs find themselves setting off to an eco-lodge at the seaside. They aren't too keen about the upheaval at first but as they realise that their own house has no heating or hot water, and that there are suspicious deaths in the neighbourhood, they are keen to get going.

As soon as they get to the lodge, strange things start happening - including more murders. Luckily Agnes and all have experience of solving cases like this thanks to book number 1 - and they set to work.

The story is quirky, entertaining and memorable. The characters are all well-drawn and easy to imagine, their actions and decisions are believable and in character, and the plot kept me engrossed, keen to find out how the situation would resolve itself.

I really enjoyed this book - I hadn't read the first one but I don't think it mattered.
I was sucked into the dynamics between the aged friendship group and of course the who dunnit.
I'd definitely read another. Well written and a good read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Allison Busby for the ARC

We're returning to Sunset Hall for another adventurous mystery with Agnes Sharp and the gang. This cozy mystery series is perfect for fans of the Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. It's mysterious, suspenseful, hilarious and have an awesome gang of elderly amateur sleuths.

I read Leonie Swann’s The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp about a year ago and really enjoyed it. The books are both about the same group of older people who live together in Agnes’s house, Sunset Hall. Edwina has won the “Trip of a Lifetime” to a spa in Cornwall for herself and a friend. To stop all the bickering and jealousy about which of the group Edwina should take, Charlie generously pays for everyone to go.

As one might expect with a book described as a “cosy crime sensation”, there is murder. To be precise, there is a possible murder in Chapter One, but Agnes forgets to tell anyone about that. The murders of interest start to happen once they reach the hotel.

Since this is a closed-circle mystery, there is a finite number of suspects; but the bickering between the group members is so well done that I didn’t particularly care whodunnit. I just enjoyed reading how dodgy hips; sight-; and hearing- challenges dealt with the up-market spa with its swimming pool, yoga classes, massages, etc… With hindsight, there were subtle clues scattered through the narrative but, again, I wasn’t paying attention! This is a very well-written book: the plot is tight and moves along swiftly; the characters are delineated and there is no danger of confusing any of them; there is humour; and there is sympathy with the ailments that trip us up as we get older.

The first Agnes Sharp was published at the same time as Richard Osman’s first Thursday Murder Club book. They were written simultaneously, but coincidentally – neither is derivative of the other. It is true, though, that they are similar in concept, featuring a cast of older people solving murders. If you like one series, you will almost certainly like the other.

#AgnesSharpandtheTripofaLifetime #NetGalley

elderly, ex-spy, local-law-enforcement, care-home, ex-military, pet-dog, pet-tortoise, murders, situational-humor, verbal-humor, twins, vacation, cozy-mystery, spa, Cornwall, senior-sleuths, friendship, frustration, women-sleuths, retired-cop, investigations*****

The usual take on a body going over a cliff is: Did She Fall or Was She Pushed. In this case it was: Just WHO did you see go over. The fun crowd of geriatric retirees manages to turn a trip to a spa for two into a party of all the inhabitants of Sunset Hall. Much sleuthing and mischief ensue as the women determine what happened, who did it, and more. Absolutely loved it!
Thanks to Amy Bojang for translating from the original German.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Allison & Busby via NetGalley. Thank you
#Agnes SharpBk2 Pub Date Aug 30, 2024

Interesting book. I loved it at the start, a great cast of characters, really funny and quirky but believable. This remained the case throughout regarding the characters, but I did enjoy the story less and less as it went on. It just felt like people outside the initial group behaved very oddly, and I found it hard to connect or care about the mystery. So mixed opinions, but glad I read it.

Agnes’ boiler is on the blink, her housemates are quite a lot to handle and that's before people start getting murdered!

To escape all these troubles Agnes and Co decide to take a holiday to a very fancy but maybe too good to be true hotel hoping that their troubles can't possibly follow them to this isolated spot, but trouble always finds a way.

This is a fun and light hearted mystery with enough humour to keep it ticking along nicely. I found the characters fun and instantly distinguishable. I also appreciated the author not leaning too heavy on older people traits for the characters, the leads were portrayed as people who happen to be elderly not elderly people as their entire personality. Although it's the second in the series this didn't seem to matter too much and you can confidently read it in isolation.

Agnes Sharp shares her house with an equally elderly group of friends. But the boiler's on the blink, and they can't get a plumber to sort it out.

Luckily, Edwina wins a holiday for two to Cornwall. And before fisticuffs breaks out over who she's going to take with her, Charlie stumps up for everyone to go. It's one way of avoiding the heating problem...

But all is not as it seems at their fabulous eco retreat. The holidaymakers think they've seen a murder. They think they've seen a body.

The trouble is, they don't seem to have seen the same one...

And when the hotel is isolated by the collapse of the cliff road, our intrepid band are stuck with a murderer.

Oh, and a snake...