At first, Lois thinks she can outsmart the detectives into sharing their information with her, rather than the other way around. Quickly realizing they suspect her ploy, she begins to feed them tidbits of information that she feels won’t be traced back to her. At the same time, Lois is trying to handle her newly rebelling fourteen-year-old daughter and the revelation that her husband had a brief affair with the dead woman.

Through all this Lois stays focused on the task at hand and slowly secrets are revealed, secrets that once known will cause lives in peaceful Long Farnden to never be the same again.

Murder on Monday is a delightful, traditional British cozy. The quaint village in which Lois works is typically charming. The residents, labeled by the day Lois cleans their house, are more than set decoration. Each family or individual has something to hide and is a very believable suspect.

Lois herself is a very sturdy woman who remains very levelheaded, enabling her to juggle her job at the same time she deals with her increasingly challenging home life.

Slowly, through careful plotting, the layers of Long Farnden are pulled back, revealing a murder and long kept secret that will be surprising. Ann Purser’s fresh new voice is a welcome addition to this tried and true genre.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry