Cover Image: The Cost of Living

The Cost of Living

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Member Reviews

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
A strange and quirky take on the classic murder mystery that was surprisingly enjoyable.
A good read.

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I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery: it's engrossing and highly entertaining.
I liked the unusual setting, the fleshed out characters and the solid mystery that kept me guessing.
I can't wait to read the other books in this series.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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Imagine a warm snuggly hug in book form and you get The Cost of Living. A book that will have me looking at the Tesco checkout ladies in a different light, a book that was not only a good cosy crime but was also funny, sad and a little creepy in places. Yes, can you tell I enjoyed it a lot? I’d better tell you what it is about.

Supermarket checkout girl Bea loves her job, she loves talking to her customers, and she loves (most of) the people she works with. Recent start Ant does not share the same view, he hates the job and seems to make a mess of everything he does but something about him endears Bea, and she takes him under her wing.

The small town they live is unremarkable in every way until reports of someone stalking women start to come in and when someone Bea knows is brutally attacked, she takes is personally. Using her daily observations at work she starts to make a list of possible suspects and with the help of Ant and her friend Dot they do a little digging. Can they succeed where the police have failed?

I’m not going to tell you if they do! This is a unique read also in the fact these are proper working class characters, there aren’t any fancy cars, designer clothes, expensive bottles of wine and posh food. There are numerous mugs of tea, lots of chocolate and looking out for one another especially those nearest and dearest.

This is a gem of a book, it kept me guessing till the end and it has made me add the next two books in the series to my list of books to read.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Oh, this was lovely! A believable cast of characters in an everyday setting, who find themselves under threat after a colleague is found dead. Bea is charming, Ant is a bit more of a diamond in the rough, but they work very well as a pair. It's unusual to see a working class whodunnit, so I was so pleased to read this. I kept guessing who the killer was - incorrectly as it turned out! I can't wait for the next one.

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