by Marianne Vincent: 4.5 The Sunset Years Of Agnes Sharp is the first book in the Miss Sharp Investigates series by award-winning, bestselling German-born author, Leonie Swann. It is translated from German by Amy Bojang. The capacious house outside the village of Duck End was where Agnes Sharp grew up. Now it’s called Sunset Hall, a share house for like-minded elderly people who want to escape the restrictions that family and society want to put on them.
In the beginning, sparks flew, but once they got used to each other’s quirks, and set down a few rules, things have been fairly harmonious. But now, one of their number lies dead in the garden shed. So when PC Tom Wink comes to notify them of the death of their neighbor, shot by a burglar, it’s actually quite convenient: they can blame Lillith’s shooting on that burglar: problem solved!
But when Agnes goes to offer her condolences to the surviving twin at the mansion next door, she quickly realizes it was no burglar: Mildred Puck’s murder was personal. And to complicate things further, the distinctive WW2 pistol that went missing after Lillith was shot mysteriously turns up on the kitchen table.
The housemates may be elderly now, but outsiders tend to forget that they had careers, some of which might surprise. With unexpected expertise at their fingertips, the housemates try to work out who had the opportunity, and with what possible motive. Agnes comes up with some rather crazy theories about the murders, and has the wrong end of the stick most times.
Before matters are resolved: there are two more murders; an opportunistic thief is given lessons; a policeman is locked in the cellar; Agnes poses as a charity collector; Agnes sneaks into a secure Care Facility, then tries to escape; an identity is stolen; a boy is kidnapped; and a housefire is started.
With the Sunset Hall residents second guessing themselves and each other, worried about the mental state of their housemates, not to mention, sometimes, their own, the reader will be inclined to wonder if any of the narratives, except that of Hettie the tortoise, Brexit the wolfhound, and Nathan the grandson, are at all reliable. With shades of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club and Tess Gerritsen’s Martini Club, this is a very entertaining read.
