Blurb:

Retired schoolteachers and amateur sleuths Liz, Pat and Thelma are giving up their coffee morning for a brand-new mystery.

Retired teachers Pat, Liz and Thelma are happiest whiling away their hours over coffee, cake and chat at the Thirsk Garden Centre café.

But when their good friend tells them about an unsettling experience she had in a sinister-feeling charity shop, they simply can’t resist investigating…

Because the entire shop has vanished into thin air.

Before long, our trio of unlikely sleuths find themselves embroiled in a race against the clock to get to the bottom of this mystery – but who has a secret to hide and how far will they go to keep it concealed?

Only time will tell…

Review:

I’m so pleased to be back with Pat, Thelma and Liz once again, as they really are amazing characters who are ultimately the novel’s major strength. JM Hall has observed these women so well – not only do I recognise them from the female teachers I know myself, but even though we are very different I can definitely relate to them as the story progresses. I love how the author writes with a humour and honesty that really allowed me to be drawn into the novel and invested in its outcome.

A Clock Stopped Dead begins with a supernatural atmosphere which is carried through the whole novel. I must admit that the supernatural is not normally my thing, but in this case, it adds an extra layer to the plot and a sense of atmosphere that creates the tension that kept me hooked until the final page.

The beauty of characters that I relate so well is that I am often piecing parts of the plot together as they are and I.love trying to solve the puzzle with them. JM Hall’s plotting is clever and I love the way the story comes together, in a way I never expected!

I listened to the audio version of A Clock Stopped Dead which is expertly narrated by Julie Hesmondhalgh. She’s a terrific actor and she brings life to all the characters, even the minor ones, with her different accents and voices!

A Clock Stopped Dead is available from Amazon.