Starred review from February 5, 2024
Fletcher (House of Glass) expertly intertwines two mysteries in this eloquent and astute tale set in a British assisted living facility. The first mystery concerns Renata Green, manager of Babbington Hall, a retirement residence in the Oxfordshire countryside. Renata’s fall from her office window is witnessed by 87-year-old Florrie Butterfield, who roams the facility’s grounds in her wheelchair and is “as deaf as a saucepan without her hearing aids.” Residents suspect Renata jumped in a suicide attempt that has left her comatose, but Florrie, who chatted with Renata earlier in the day and found her to be uncharacteristically cheery and outgoing, believes she was murdered. Following that hunch, the octogenarian sets about investigating with the help of fellow resident and former schoolteacher Stanhope Jones. As they gather clues, Fletcher lights the fuse on the second mystery: who is Florrie, anyway? What’s behind the terrible secret she has trouble even thinking about in private? And what might she learn about forgiveness from her sleuthing with Stanhope? Fletcher points those questions in poignant directions, providing her unforgettable protagonist with resonant lessons about mending the past, all while maintaining satisfying tension in the central whodunit. This gloriously uplifting mystery will stay with readers long after they’ve turned the final page.