Retired teachers Pat, Thelma and Liz are back in another tale from J M Hall. When a former co-worker ropes them into investigating the death of her ex-husband, the ladies find themselves immersed in the murky world of education bureaucracy. They’re thoroughly normal people with their own lives, but as former colleagues, they stay connected through coffee at the local garden centre every week.
Neville Hilton was a former Ofsted Inspector, whose role was to assess schools and report on their efficacy. As a man who followed the rules to the letter with no flexibility or interpretation, he didn’t win many friends. In fact, no one seems sad about his demise. Not the staff at the school who was forced to close after his report, not his current colleagues in the local school academy trust and not even his current wife. Which makes investigating his death a challenge as no one is willing to help. The only people looking for answers are the distraught cleaner who found Neville’s body, and her boss – his ex-wife, Jax.
Pat, Thelma and Liz don’t mean to get involved in the case, and yet they do, because they can’t resist pulling at the threads of unanswered questions. Was the death as natural as the police report claims? Why is Neville’s current wife so hostile and acting so suspiciously?
The author is someone who clearly feels passionate about education, as passionate as his main characters. During their investigation, they see the fall out from school inspections and the anger caused by seemingly unfair inspection reports leaps off the page.
What we get is a richly drafted story, every motivation examined and explored, and I found myself unable to stop reading, willing the ladies to find the solution. The lead characters are richly drawn, and you really get to know them. They’re fully developed, human flawed, which makes them even more formidable and likeable, and it’s easy to become totally immersed in the world created by J M Hall.
A Brush with Death is out on March 13 from Avon Books
Many thanks to the author, NetGalley and Avon Books for the digital advance copy for review.
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