This was my first time reading a book from the author but I am delighted to say I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading more books from the writer in the future

My thanks to NetGalley and Canelo publishing for a copy of “ The Dinner Lady Detectives” for an honest review.
I usually enjoy reading psychological thrillers , but I decided to try something a little more in the way of a cozy crime ,and ,as my mom used to be a dinner lady, this seemed ideal.
The characters of Margery and Clem were humorous and likeable and the book kept me entertained.
Average read but enjoyable.

I love mysteries that show older women living their lives to the fullest, so I thought this one sounded great, but it didn't live up to its promise, unfortunately. Implausible plot, didn't click with the writing, didn't like the character development or find them very believable, and didn't find it as funny as it was trying to be.

I could not quite get into the swing of this novel. Despite liking the characters and the plot being good, I just found it difficult to connect.
Such a shame as I really liked the premise of the storyline.

I really enjoyed this wee cosy mystery. It had me laughing to myself at parts throughout the book. I’ve already recommended it to someone I know is a dinner lady. I look forward to book 2 of this as the characters were completely loveable!

I really wanted to enjoy this novel, but after getting 50 pages in, I just couldn't connect with the characters. I felt somewhat thrown in and 'at sea' for most of the manuscript. This was such a shame, as it sounds like a great concept, it just didn't pull me in.

(Also, I read a finished printed copy, forgetting I had this edition, and it was littered with copy-edit errors, which is a shame, as it does impact the reading experience.)

2 stars. Honestly, I just was not the right reader for this book. Good luck to others and may it find it's perfect reader.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me have a peek at an early copy in exchange for my review. My opinions are my own.

Get the tea kettle and tin of biscuits ready to enjoy with Margery and Clementine, two middle-age sleuths who work at a school cafeteria by day and solve murders by night. This cozy mystery has all the elements for a fun read as Margery and her life-long partner, Clementine, interact and pass judgement on school staff and local police who are involved in figuring out how the bloody dead body of the elderly cafeteria manager ended up in the walk-in freezer. A great small-town British escape read.

All is not as it seems and the perfect double are here to investigate.
I loved this delightful read it was fun reminded me a bit of Agatha Raisin.
I really hope there is more to come of Margery and Clementine.

Great murder mystery! Margery and Clementine work as Dinner Ladies in the local school. When their kitchen manager is found in the freezer, no one seems to think it's suspicious except them.
They try to convince the local Police that something is not right, but they are told that it was an accident.
They they start receiving mysterious messages and strange things start happening.

When the body of Caroline Hughes is discovered in the walk-in freezer of the Summerview secondary school kitchen, her colleagues are stunned. The police are quick to reassure the dinner ladies that their elderly kitchen manager’s death was simply a tragic accident, but when long time employees Clementine Butcher and Margery Baker, espy the coolroom’s bloodied innards, they disagree. With little more than a hunch and a stray earring to go on, Clementine and Margery begin their own investigation, determined that whoever is responsible will get their just desserts.

Having enjoyed a number of cozy mysteries featuring elderly amateur sleuths recently I had quite high expectations for The Dinner Lady Detectives, but unfortunately I felt its potential was unrealised.

I thought the basic premise for the story was appealing, and I enjoyed several scenes, but I found the way in which the mystery played out was disappointing. It almost seemed as if several of the mystery plot elements were an afterthought, and the clues felt disjointed. The plot was also hampered by slow pacing and there was a lack of suspense generally expected in a mystery.

I did like Clementine and Margery, a couple of some thirty years living quietly in the tiny village of Dewstow, South Wales, but I sometimes had difficulty distinguishing between them. The rest of the cast was problematic in that few held much appeal, including the victim who had a fondness for mean-spirited pranks.

While I wouldn’t consider The Dinner Lady Detectives to be a terrible read, I’m afraid I did find it lackluster at best.

Although I generally like a cozy mystery, this was not one that I enjoyed. Supposedly in a relationship, Margery and Clementine didn't really click as a couple. The murdered kitchen manager, described as fun-loving and a jokester, could better be described as a mean and nasty prankster. The manner of death was described as accidental, even though the scene of the crime was quite bloody. Rather a lot of unbelievable and unrealistic situations and a slow plot, and I can't manage a better rating.

This turned out not to be a book for me.
While initially intrigued by the premise, especially a story featuring older protagonists, I found it all to be a bit twee and random and I couldn’t settle into the story as the cosy mystery I was hoping for.

I found the characters bickering annoying, and did not feel the cozy part of this mystery. I was looking forward to older characters playing the part of sleuths, but the story dragged for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, but this was a miss for me.

What a comfy read! I enjoyed reading this book - the character development of Margery and Clementine was paired very nicely with their relationship with each other, which I really appreciated. I love when people actively are growing within a relationship, both individually and together. It was also such a fun concept - two elderly women, in a relationship, and working as dinner ladies at a school, solving a murder? Hilarious. The author was very good at mixing suspense with comedy - I was laughing even while I wondered what was going to happen next. With any good murder mystery, there are always twists, and this book was no different. I will say that the twists, while initially shocking, were not that surprising, because they really fit with the direction the novel was constantly headed in. I would have loved it if the plot twists had been more twisty, but that's a personal preference. Experiencing this book was like watching an episode of Murder She Wrote while it lightly rained outside - it was delightful. If you're looking for a murder mystery novel that is cozy, funny, and surprising but also slightly predictable, this is the novel for you!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

From Miss Marple to Murder She Wrote to The Thursday Murder Club, I adore a good cozy mystery and quirky, smart seniors solving murders. Unfortunately this book doesn't deliver on its charming promise. The characters are thinly drawn, and the overuse of adverbs and flowery verbs (snorted! gasped! scoffed!) in the dialogue was distracting and eventually annoying. The premise of 'dinner lady detectives' was unique and intriguing but lacking in quality execution.

A DNF for several reasons and I gave this about 20% more than I usually would. First, the use of terms other than "said", e.g., she wailed, she hissed, she cried, etc., was distracting to the point of mania. Second, who are these main characters? What am I supposed to feel or think about them? Clementine is a collection of tics and quirks with no anchor, as if the author decided that "take an asshole but make them an old woman" was enough, and is, in my opinion, an emotionally abusive partner and a deeply unpleasant person to spend your reading time with. Margery is a flat cipher - is she an active thinker? I get the feeling that I'm supposed to interact with her like Rose from the Golden Girls but she's such a wet sponge with an inconsistent intellectual presence that I found it impossible to engage with her. Am I supposed to glean information from the fact that her favorite breakfast is tea and plain toast? If yes, what is it?? Why is it?? Finally, the mystery isn't even worth getting into at this point because, truly, at halfway through the book I'm not sure the author or their creations care. Not a recommend.

The Dinner Lady Detectives is a light-hearted cosy mystery, it was the title that enticed me in with this book, my mum used to be a school dinner lady and I spent a few lunchtimes in the kitchen so I felt a bit of a nostalgic lure.
After the body of their boss is found in the walk-in freezer Margery and Clementine set off to prove that this wasn’t the accident the police had ruled it to be. I personally found the first few chapters very slow going and I did put the book away for a while as it wasn’t quite keeping me entertained however, I did go back to it and have to say it does get better as the story progresses.
There are some funny one-liners scattered throughout and the characters are all likeable, they are all of a certain age which makes it more entertaining. There are quite a few twists and turns through it, a lot of clues thrown in for you to try and work out and some comedic situations the girls find themselves in for you to laugh at.
I gave this 3 stars purely for the fact I struggled with the start of the book

An interesting read - neither life-altering or can’t-put-downable… might follow the author for backlist & future reads.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Everyone knows that I can’t resist a British cosy mystery and that’s exactly what the cover proclaims this to be. Other than the classic murder with some eccentric characters, I didn’t know what else to expect from this debut novel.

Margery and Clementine have lived together peacefully in the Welsh town of Dewstow for years. They work together as dinner ladies at the local secondary school and are simpl waiting for retirement. When one of their colleagues dies in the school freezer, the police rule it a tragic, accidental death but Margery and Clementine are convinced that something else is afoot.

There are plenty of funny remarks in the book and I really loved the humour. It’s very much small British town humour that is based on the outrage of a sudden death in their cosy, quiet community. These people just aren’t used to excitement or crime and no one seems to know where to focus their attention.

Margery does some reflecting in the book. She realises that she wasted a lot of time being insecure about her looks and worrying about trivial matters. I think this is the kind of hindsight that many older people have but you have to live through the years of hating yourself to be able to see how pointless it all was. It’s an important lesson for so many young people to learn and I don’t think it’s really talked about enough in fiction.

Margery and Clementine are a lesbian couple in a small, conservative community and despite living in the 21st century, they still have concerns about how other people perceive them. I loved the acknowledgement of the struggles that LGBTQ+ people go through, even when in established, long-term relationships. There’s a sense that the fear never leaves the marginalised and while that may seem sad, it’s very realistic.

The Dinner Lady Detectives is an amusing, small town, cosy mystery. Unfortunately, the case itself didn’t feel entirely plausible and some of the characters felt very cookie-cutter and difficult to distinguish. If you can suspend your disbelief slightly, it’s a fun read and there are some deeper issues discussed which adds another dimension to it. I’d be interested to read more from Hannah Hendy because as a debut, it was quite enjoyable!