ABOUT THE BOOK

Grace, Meg and Daphne, all in their seventies, are minding their own business while enjoying a cup of tea in a café, when seventeen-year-old Nina stumbles in. She’s clearly distraught and running from someone, so the three women think nothing of hiding her when a suspicious-looking man starts asking if they’ve seen her.

Once alone, Nina tells the women a little of what she’s running from. The need to protect her is immediate, and Grace, Meg and Daphne vow to do just this. But how? They soon realise there really is only one answer: murder.

And so begins the tale of the three most unlikely murderers-in-the-making, and may hell protect anyone who underestimates them.

What’s Being Said About The Book

“Guaranteed to hook you…. At times both touching and darkly funny, A Beginner’s Guide to Murder explores the vital ways in which women can support one another through their darkest hours.” (Anna Bailey, Sunday Times best-selling author of Tall Bones)

“A beguiling, beautifully crafted treat of a novel. It holds so much wisdom yet wears it so lightly. There are shades of Kate Atkinson in the way Rosalind balances dark themes with dry humour, a great plot, exquisitely realised characters, and more than a hint of feminist sensibility…truly everything I want in a novel.” (Jessica Moor, best-selling author of Keeper)

“A quirky, witty thriller that reminds us not to underestimate the older generation.” (Best)

“[An] excellent character-driven tale…by turns amusing, sorrowful, and thrilling. Stopps is definitely a writer to watch.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Never Underestimate The Power Of Three Determined Women

My Thoughts

Three ladies who are in their 70s – Meg, Grace and Daphne work together to help a young girl, Nina, hide from a dangerous man.

This first sentence, in the voice of an older lady, grabbed me and pulled me right in.

“We had known him for two days when we decided to kill him.”

And from the second paragraph:

“Just a bunch of tired old women in a coffee shop after trying to do Pilates so that we could stay alive a little longer. Trying to cheat death, that’s how Grace put it. There’s such a clarity when Grace speaks. What she says, I often want to say; I think the same as her. She puts things much better than I do.”

That was all it took. I was not just smiling, I had been captured into the world of little old ladies who were preparing to step out of their comfort zones to do their civic duty.

Well, okay, I guess protecting someone and killing someone may not actually fit in the category of civic duty, but it sounded good. However, these little old ladies did reach out to a frightened girl who they observed running into the café and straight into the bathroom. When a suspicious-looking man came in looking for the girl, who he claimed was his daughter, the three ladies hesitated only briefly before assuring him that they’d seen nothing. The minute he left they rushed to her assistance.

Now, why would three women who vaguely knew each other risk getting involved in this frightened girl’s problems? Only after each woman shares some backstory, does the reader understand.

The alternating chapters by the three ladies and Nina, the girl who ran into the café, begin to change the dynamic of the story.

This is the touching story of three women who are willing to step up and help a stranger, and even consider plotting to murder the man in the café who claimed to be Nina’s father.

My Concerns

While this is a slow burn, which doesn’t work for everyone, it should hold your interest as it unwinds.

Final Thoughts

This audiobook is narrated beautifully. The characters are charming and interesting as they allow themselves to delve into their own strengths and weaknesses. It felt like a mix of cozy mystery with deeper, emotional concerns.

I can assure you that Rosalind Stopps is an author I will be watching.

Author Rosalind Stopps

About the Author

Rosalind Stopps lives in Margate and south east London with various humans and dogs. Her short stories have been published in five anthologies and read at live literature events in London, Leeds, Hong Kong and New York.

The Stranger She Knew is her debut novel and was shortlisted for the Paul Torday Memorial Prize 202

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