I really wanted to love this - a modern day spoof Agatha Christie with easter eggs galore - but it was a slog to follow the unlikable characters painfully slow deductions

This was one of those books where you love and hate the main character in equal measure, which truly is an incredible feat of writing on the author's behalf. There were many moments where I truly hated Agatha for her arrogance, callousness, obliviousness, etc. but I still couldn't help but root for her (the fact that she's a queer MC certainly helped!) The "mystery" was interesting and just the right level of confusing for you to feel just as lost as Agatha was while she searched for the answers which kept me hooked from the very first sentence. The only downside to this book was the identity of the "Crooked Man", a person which I already suspected from the very first chapter due to a particular memory of Agatha's. Although that was definitely disheartening, I still enjoyed the rest of the story as despite knowing who the killer was, I had no idea what their motives behind their actions were, and it was interesting to find out - as well as to suddenly realise how all of the supposedly individual subplots were interconnected!

The Mystery of the Crooked Man by Tom Spencer and narrated by Claire Warrillow is a fun, cosy mystery with a very relatablce FMC! I really enjoyed the journey from dusty archivist to literary darling. It was well thought out and just plausible enough to make for a delightful mystery

Claire Warrilow has a wonderful narrating style and suited the character of Agatha Dorn to the ground. Personable, relatable and just plain lovely. Perfect

Thank you to NetGalley, Bolinda Audio, Tom Spencer and the narrator Claire Warrilow for this ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Story and narration kept me engaged from beginning to end.

Thank you to NetGalley aan the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This mystery follows cantankerous middle aged archivist Agatha Dorn. She discovers, The Dogs Bowl, a missing manuscript from the author Gladden Green, this throws her life into the public limelight only for it all to come crashing down on her when the book is exposed as a fake!

Her ex girlfriend (Amy Murgotroyd) is dying of cancer and then is found dead, supposedly taking her own life. Agatha doubts this and then is sure she didn’t. Agatha then becomes amateur detective, trying to find out what happened to “Murg” and soon believes that her death and the “The Dogs Bowl” are connected.

It was slow in large parts and better in others. I found it quite hard to get into this, there was a lot of strange language used and the tone didn’t align well for me. The last third of the book was a lot better as the story unfolded well. Agatha wasn’t a very nice character at all so didn’t warm to her in the least.

All in all, I won’t rush to read another one of these. The last third saved it. I will give this 3/5.

I wasn't sure about this one when I started as I really didn't like the main character and cosy crime can get a bit tedious when it is obvious from page 1 - but once you've got used to the main character's awkwardness, she is quite endearing. And the plot is twisty and interesting, with a good, unpredictable ending. Not too much of a 'cosy crime' novel in the end.

An alright read, even though I did not like Agatha's character and additionally I don't think the narrator was a fitting choice for this story.

This was a great listen, the audio book worked really well. The narrator sold the story and the characters, and the chatty narration came across well being spoken to me. I felt involved in Agatha’s decisions and life. The book kicks off with something that seems inevitable and then suddenly bedlam! There are bodies, and blood and missing people, there is a who done it alongside a mystery novel. The book is a tiny bit mad, and that is what makes it so fun, the despicable and memorable characters all flow in and out of the frame and the mystery is such a good one!

A compelling mystery featuring archivist Agatha Dorn, a complex and fairly unlikable character who inhabits a world full of characters less likeable than herself. The story is well plotted and structured but the sheer unpleasantness of the cast became a bit tedious by the end. The story had a good pace and worked well as an audiobook. Strong narrator.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Bolinda audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

This was a very bizarre read, well I actually listened to the audiobook.
I wasn't sure what to expect and I wasn't sure what was going to happen next!
I quite warmed to it, lots of twists and turns.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Agatha Dorn is never going to be a crowd´s darling. She is headstrong, quirky, pedantic and outspoken. Her personal life is messy, too - she is hunted by the eerie enemy, the crooked man, whom no other person has ever seen, also she has very few friends, maybe even only one friend - Amy Murgatroyd. Agatha has her ups and downs in life - she gets into the limelight when she finds a rare manuscript by her favourite authoress Gladden Green (Agatha Christie doppelganger, really), only to take a hard fall when said manuscript is found being false. Then, her friend Murgatroyd is found dead by suicide. She had had cancer, so...But Agatha suspects a foul play.

I do think the idea of this novel is interesting. Agatha is, in my uneducated opinion, somewhere on the autistic spectrum and I applaud the idea of this kind of voice! I would not call it the best mystery ever, but the fresh heroine with an unusual mind, the psychological issue behind and the homage to the Golden Era of the mystery stories definitely brings an interesting issue to the table.

The narrator is great and she muchly enhanced my reading experience.

A twisty, intriguing plot full of fairly unpleasant characters. There are many references to Golden Age detective writing, with the main protagonist called Agatha, for example, and a fictional detective named after GK Chesterton’s crafty villain Flambeau. I would most likely not have stayed with it had the audiobook not been so well narrated, but I’m pleased that I did continue, because the ending was excellent.

Good story and a great narrator that kept me engaged throughout. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance audio copy.

The Mystery of the Crooked Man is a creepy, atmospheric, and gripping mystery.

I loved the mix of modern and old, scandal and red herrings. The character of Agatha was such an unreliable, and I sometimes felt like I was dipping in and out of a fever dream. The little voice of Murgatroyd made for such a compelling internal compass and the crooked man created a highly sinister and almost supernatural undertone that was delightfully creepy.

The narration was excellent and created a truly immersive experience. I particularly enjoyed the instrumental segues, which heightened the sense of intrigue gave the feel of an old timey mystery radio serial.

Thank you Belinda Audio and NetGalley for this audiobook. Opinions expressed are my own.

This book was not for me, I listened to about 30% but ended up giving up. Whether it was the narrator or the storyline, I just couldn’t get hooked.

With a prickly protagonist who is difficult to warm to, this whole book felt like a particularly difficult jigsaw. It seemed to take ages until I felt like I was getting anywhere, until in a split second all the pieces were just falling into place. Worth sticking with as the payoff is excellent.

Narrator Claire Warrillow, brings an extra layer of authenticity to Agatha's distinct crochetyness.

I was very happy to listen to the delightfully narrated audio presentation of this convoluted mystery. I don’t think I would have made it through the written version, this is a weighty tomb. But in my case any heavy lifting was undertaken by a much lighter audio recording. You definitely get your money’s worth in entertaining listening time. Agatha Dorn has a high opinion of herself and her future. In others eyes she is pedantic, conceited, self-centred, and since childhood haunted by glimpses of the made up crooked man. Going for her maybe intelligent reflection, but then again at the same time blindly naive. Her life is about to become more than even she ever imagined, and that’s not a good thing. Thank you to Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

*Many thanks to Tom Spencer, Bolinda Audio, and NetGalley for a free aduiobook in exchange for my honest review.*
A mystery which is a bow towards Agatha Christie and following which Christie's fans will find a lot of clues regarding her life and works. It is a rather cozy mystery since it avoids gory descriptions. The protagogist is a woman who experienced some trauma, both in her childhood and in her adult life but who is determined to track down the Crooked Man. There are twists and turns which leave you guessing, at least they worked for me, and the end was rather unexpected. A good weekend read, especially during summer.

Tom Spencer has written a really great debut novel featuring Agatha Dorn, a middle aged woman who works in an archive wishing for better things, she’s often over looked for promotion, has a senile mother who she dislikes and no love life, all she has is her work and her love of the 1930’s crime novelist Gladden Green a writer and creator of detective Flambeau (maybe a nod to G. K. Chesterton ) and who once disappeared in a similar way to Agatha Christie, and here our protagonist Agatha finds fame when she discovers a long lost manuscript written during the time Green supposedly disappeared. But with this fame the rest of her life begins to unravel, can Agatha play detective and find the truth?
The story flowed really well and I listened to it in one sitting as Claire Warrillow’s narration just immersed me in Agatha’s story and I couldn’t stop listening. I will definitely watch out for more from Tom.

Meet Agatha an eccentric woman who gets sucked into real whodunit — when she begins to suspect that her ex-girlfriend may have been murdered — with regard to manuscript that was fraudulent.
I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator really brings out distinguishable character voices as well as intonation of Agatha as prickly , yet witty. The story itself is full of twists and turns — with this unlikable main character who grows on you throughout the story. The writing style is like that of Golden age mysteries.

Thank you Netgalley and Bolinda Audio for this ALC. This is my honest review.