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When the owner of Polly’s Cake Shop announces she is going
to retire, the inhabitants of genteel seaside town Fethering
are worried that it will be taken over by a chain. So a committee
is set up and it is decided that the café will instead
be run as a community project staffed by volunteers. But first
a waitress who is one of Jude’s patients tells her during
a session that she has seen a dead body complete with gun
in the storeroom, a body which has vanished without trace
when Jude investigates. When the body turns up later on the
beach’ the investigation starts in earnest, but what
if anything does this have to do with the café?
This is Brett at his satirical best, laying bare the prejudices,
foibles and the sort of good intentions the streets of hell
are surely paved with found in a place like Fethering. I particularly
love Carole’s opinions on the word “community”
which sets the scene for a project showing why a café
run by “the big society” is not a good idea. Of
course there is also a twisty plot as the women (and the police)
try to discover the identity of the dead man and his connection
to the place where he died; I didn’t guess it but had
a lot of fun trying. Carole is also worried about her impending
second grandchild and as in all series part of the enjoyment
is finding out what the characters are up to. The mix of satire,
wit and a ratting good mystery are why I continue to look
forward each year to the latest instalment from Fethering.
If you haven’t read the others do read the first one
as, although the plot is a standalone, it is best read as
part of the series. Book seventeen and showing no sign of
running out of steam is no mean feat, long may it continue.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
The
Hanging in the Hotel #5
The
Witness at the Wedding #6
The
Stabbing in the Stables #7
Death
Under The Dryer #8
Blood
at the Bookies #9
The
Poisoning in the Pub #10
The
Shooting in the Shop #11
Bones
Under The Beach Hut #12
The
Killing In The Cafe #27
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