The Busy Body

Thank you Kensington Books for this ARC audiobook via Netgalley. This book had a great amateur sleuth duo rendered brilliantly by the narrator. The cast of characters provided an interesting conundrum as several of them were extremely unlikeable and might very well have done the deed. If there is one thing that I found incredibly jarring are some of the comments about one ‘fat' character - the body descriptions - about jiggly arms or a voracious appetite - which were meant to induce dislike for the character. Is this fair? I don't know. I'm sure the author has the right to portray the people in the book as they see fit, but I find it problematic when being fat becomes associated with being necessarily ugly or ‘less than' other people.

That being said, the ending did reserve a few surprises and an unexpected twist. Would I say this is a thrilling read? No, but it does follow in the illustrious vein of other recent cosy mystery writers, like Richard Osman or Nita Prose.

All in all, an enjoyable book.