"blends a police procedural with an amateur sleuth cozy"

Lois Meade loves her family though her teenage daughter is driving her crazy. She supplements the income brought in by her electrician husband by cleaning homes in the nearby village of Long Farnden. She especially takes pride in keeping her mouth shut, as she knows plenty about her clients.

One of Lois' customers Gloria Hathaway sits on the parish council. During a session, Gloria went to make tea, but soon is found strangled to death. PC Keith Simpson needs help to solve the homicides as Gloria made many enemies so that the motives are abundant. He asks Gloria to do some sleuthing when she cleans the homes of the residents of Long Farnden. Though it goes against her nature to gossip, Gloria agrees to snoop. Soon she finds a blackmailer's dream, though she would never use the information for personal gain, as she uncovers the dark secrets of some of the village's leading citizens. This shocks her as she had no idea what was going in this quiet village.

MURDER ON MONDAY is the ideal village mystery due a strong blending of a police procedural with an amateur sleuth cozy that fans of both sub-genres will appreciate. The story line feels authentic mostly because Gloria feels more like a real person than a character and the secondary cast provides the village, family, and mystery with depth. Ann Purser will gain plenty of fans for this tale and readers will look forward to her future "day of the week" novels.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted September 30, 2003