Well, I read it in one day! The Margaret Code was a twisty little tale. While Margaret's dementia made me stop and examine my own discomfort around her situation, it was a theme that added to the emotion of the story. All the characters and their relationships with each other were well developed, Hooton captured the relationship between Margaret and her grandson beautifully and that bond between grandmother and grandson was very realistic. The plot kept me interested and this is a book I really enjoyed reading.

Great book! Interesting premise and very readable: 'cosy crime', but with just the right amount of real life edge and a loveable and memorable protagonist.

The book is narrated by 89 year old Margaret. I loved spending time with her - finding out about her interesting past, her love for her late husband Albert, and her cutting wit. She felt realistic, especially as her memory issues progress and she's never quite sure what is and isn't real, and those around her (apart from grandson James) become more and more patronising.

Her age and everyone's assumption that she was muddled due to this increased the mystery but never felt like a plot device - her denial and fear felt very real.

If I had one criticism it would just be that the crime felt too neatly wrapped up at the end, though it was a satisfying resolution after I'd galloped through the book and I'll be looking out for other books by this author.

3.5 stars rounded down. This sounded an interesting and character-led mystery novel, and to be fair it did deliver both of those things. It was just that it was very slowly paced for my liking, and Margaret’s constant talking in her head to her recently dead husband and her internal monologues were a little overdone for me. Thankfully the mystery did wrap up by the end of the book in quite a nice way - and I think it would probably appeal to people who like the Thursday Murder Club series, though there are fewer characters here to root for other than really Margaret and Jamie.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.I’m

Can you call something a cosy crime if the story revolves around a woman's struggle with dementia? It's a tricky one to call, I think. The story does have humour and warmth, yet at the same time there is the awareness that Margaret is struggling more and more with her memory, and it's only going to get worse. But I enjoyed reading this, mostly because I liked Margaret and her relationship with her grandson, so I wanted to see how things would resolve.

From the crime side of things, I was disappointed that it wasn't more clever - when you find out Margaret's history, and where she worked with her husband during the war, I hoped that the puzzle would be difficult, and she would be the only one who can solve it, because of her experience, and it would be marvellous when she did! So from that point of view I felt there was a waste of what could have been a really interesting, tricksy potential storyline. But still, I was interested enough in Margaret to commit to the story, and I enjoyed the ride, even if the murder side of things wasn't all that.

Oh what a joy this book is to read.

Margaret is an amazing character and the story gives the reader all the emotions.

Barbara is found dead...murdered and Margaret is sure she has the information needed to solve the case. But... she forgets. Her memory isn't what it was so she and her grandson forge together and solve the whos and whys.

This is a wonderful debut novel and I loved how the author has used his relationship with his own grandmother as inspiration. You can feel the warmth between the two main characters and the reality of a elder who is still relevant even though age has taken its toll.

I laughed cried and was amazed ... it's brilliant.

4* Sad at times, loving in parts, and also quite poignant and emotional.

What makes this a refreshing tale for me is its believability due to its setting being plain old England. There's no faux gloss, no zooming police cars, nothing cliché or deja vu, just a murder and a some sleuthing, some decent but flawed people that felt real, and of course, a bad guy. Or perhaps, plural, though 'bad' may be a bit strong to describe some characters.

It made me smile in parts and made me sad in others. What was lovely was the love that James had for his gran, despite his mum and dad thinking her a burden and a danger because she was sadly becoming senile. It hit home with me, as I suspect it will with people with parents of a certain age.

Margaret had periods of lucidity that helped her and James solve the murder, but sadly, she was in decline and wasn't in denial during these periods. It was sad to see her struggle and mix the past and present and miss her late husband so much, but it was lovely to see ger constant conversations with him and how vividly she still saw him. Her estrangement from her son was sad, and the reveal about her brother was such a betrayal and shock. But, by the sound of it, he didn't profit from his crimes, so well done, author.

The end is poignant and sad. Margaret's been alone for a year now and it's clear that she's ready to see her husband again, and both she and I thought it'd happen soon. I'm glad I read this book, despite it not being my usual choice.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Sphere/Little Brown Books for my reading pleasure.