REVIEW: The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson

JayneBook Reviews / C+ ReviewsContemporary / Cornwall / cozy mystery / found family / interracial marriage / LGBTQIA characters / murder mystery / self discoveryNo Comments

They can’t even agree on what to read, so how are they going to solve a murder?

Having recently moved from London to a small Cornish seaside village, Nova Davies started a book club at the local community center, but so far it’s a disaster. The five members disagree on everything, and to make matters worse, a significant sum of money is stolen during one of the meetings, putting the much-loved community center at risk.

Suspicion for the theft falls on book club member Michael, especially when he disappears and a dead body turns up at his house. But the book club has their own theories. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove Michael’s been framed, while romance reader Arthur believes there’s a mystery woman involved, and teenage sci-fi fan Ash thinks dark forces are at play.

While trying to locate Michael, solve the murder and recover the stolen money, each of them has their own secrets to protect. But despite the danger closing in, they won’t rest until they’ve cracked the case and gotten everyone safe at home with a book, where they belong.

CW –

Dear Ms. Sampson, 

This book is just full of current favorite book trends. It’s not only a cozy mystery but also has a book club. And then there are the tropes in the books which some of the members of the book club fancy. I’ll also toss in found family and self discovery as well.

Despite the title, little time is spent in an actual book club meeting but lots of important things happen during the first one. Newcomer and bride-to-be Nova is trying to revive a defunct book club in the coastal Cornish town she’s moved to from London. So far though it’s a bit of a damp squib. But soon things pick up even if no one wants what happens. As she deals with the pressure of a wedding ceremony she isn’t thrilled with, Nova is soon under suspicion for a number of goofs and mistakes. Can the club members find out who is really behind all these weird events and clear up some old mysteries as well?

Mark this one down as a cozy and get prepared to wait a while before all the mysteries are solved. Each person has something in their life or background that impacts how they view and present to the world. While it’s clear that backgrounds must be explained in order to understand a lot of these things, oblique clues give few hints over the course of the book.

There are lots of convoluted goings-on with plenty of action that seems straight out of a movie or British murder/mystery TV show rather than being realistic. I rolled my eyes a lot. A few of the characters are difficult to like as well, especially Phyllis. She gives Boomers a bad name. Arthur is a love who developed his enjoyment of romance novels and their tropes from reading to his disabled British Ghanaian wife. Of course teen Ash, whose blooming gay romance is sweet to watch, is the SF fan. Quirkily dressing and possibly ditsy Nova is still grieving for her dad, feeling displaced in a new town, and needs to grow a bit of a backbone. Still, to be honest, most of the main characters were basically caricatures.  

Tropes from their favorite reading material help the club members suss out motives behind all the various mysteries in the book and each character gets their moment to shine as they discover things about themselves and reveal what makes them tick. As the book moves towards the end though, I still hadn’t solved who had done most of the things. I realized why when that person’s identity was revealed and I saw how few clues had been dropped. But what about the other mystery? Yeah, same thing. Makes sense but … How quickly the cornered characters give up all pretense and almost immediately confess all is something straight out of a cozy TV mystery show. I’m sure RL police would love for it to be this easy.

The found family here is delightful. I enjoyed the glimpses of Cornwall as well as the literary references. The facts and truths behind the mysteries make sense but I would have liked to have had more of a chance to play along at home rather than be presented with what was, to me, an out of the blue resolution. And many of the characters needed a bit more depth. C+

~Jayne  

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