A Clock Stopped Dead is the third cozy mystery featuring retired teachers Liz, Pat, and Thelma by J.M. Hall. Released 11th March 2023 by HarperCollins on their Avon, UK imprint, it's 330 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
The ladies are back on the trail when an acquaintance describes a disappearing charity shop and twigs their interest into getting to the bottom of things, which leads indirectly to more serious skullduggery. The entire "disappearing shop" trope is fascinating (and a little creepy) and the author does a great job running with the setup.
The protagonists are believable and appealing. The writing is smoother than the debut book, and the mystery well wrought and satisfying. The author has apparently found his stride. It is, however, VERY dialogue heavy and sometimes a trifle unwieldy for that reason. The audiobook might be a good compromise in this case.
Despite being the third book in the series, it works well as a standalone, although the ongoing interpersonal relationships and developments from earlier books will possibly give some spoilers for their earlier history.
Four stars. This would be a good choice for fans of Osman's excellent Thursday Murder club books, as well as Laurien Berenson's Peg & Rose series.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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