The Judge at Saint Jane’s is a beautifully written and intricately plotted village cozy by Lis Howell and the 4th Suzy Spencer mystery. Released 8th March 2022 by Joffe Books, it's 359 pages and is available in ebook format. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free (along with the other books in the series).
It's not all that often that I stumble across a new (to me) author and series that ticks all the boxes. This is a cerebral, well written, modern mystery series with a savvy and intelligent female protagonist who *isn't* a willowy 20-something supergirl. Protagonist Suzy bears some autobiographical resemblance to her creator, and it's clear that the author, Ms. Howell, is intimately familiar with the media branch and allied work, as well as the inner workings of the Church and politicization of religion and how earnest disagreements over theological questions can affect worshipers deeply.
The plot combines metal thefts, environmental crime, greed, murder, blackmail, and skullduggery centred around an isolated women's retreat and shelter. The writing is superlative and it's tightly plotted and resolves into a satisfying denouement. Despite being the 4th book in the series, I had no trouble keeping the characters straight or following the plot. It works well as a standalone.
Five stars. The author is remarkably talented and fans of Ruth Rendell, Elizabeth George, and even Colin Dexter will find a lot to love here. Despite having more in my TBR pile than I can hope to tackle in the immediate future, I've moved the prior books in the series to the top of my list.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment