Today’s book review is of Susan Fletcher’s new novel, The Night in Question. Read on to find out what I thought…
Title: The Night in Question
Author: Susan Fletcher
Publisher: Bantam
Synopsis:
Florence Butterfield has lived an extraordinary life full of travel, passion and adventure. But, at eighty-seven, she suspects there are no more surprises to come her way.
Then, one midsummer’s night, something terrible happens – so strange and unexpected that Florrie is suspicious. Was this really an accident, or is she living alongside a would-be murderer?
The only clue is a magenta envelope, discarded earlier that day.
And Florrie – cheerfully independent but often overlooked – is the only person determined to uncover the truth.
As she does, Florrie finds herself looking back on her own life . . . and a long-buried secret, traced in faded scars across her knuckles, becomes ever harder to ignore.
My review:
The Night in Question is a reflective, slow-paced but sweet story (with a darker side) following 87-year-old Florence, aka Florrie – a resident of Babbington Hall care home. When an ‘accident’ occurs and another elderly resident dies, Florence grows close to the care home manager, Renata – but when something awful happens to Renata, Florence starts to get suspicious that foul play is involved…
This book is in some ways very much a recognisable ‘cosy crime’, with investigations taking place by Florence and her friends, but it takes a little while for this to kick off. It can be a bit slow at times and it took me a while to get into the story, but once I did it was an enjoyable read.
As well as the mystery, I enjoyed the chapters that look back at Florence’s past, showing us the history of her friendships, travels, work, loves, losses, and the life she lived before she lost part of her leg and had to move to Babbington Hall. This adds an extra depth to her character, and a hint of mystery as we have mysterious references to a night long ago (“The Night in Question”) that changed her life… but what happened? This is slowly revealed, along with the snippets of Florrie’s past.
Overall, I’d recommend The Night in Question for anyone fancying a cosy crime with extra character development. It’s charming and emotional at times, with a likeable, strong main character.
My rating: 4/5
Many thanks to the publisher, Bantam, for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest review.