I started reading this series many years ago when I picked up a copy of “How to Murder your Mother-in-Law” at my (then) local library. I just could not get over the title and then read through the series for a number of years. As it turns out, I stopped reading the series just before this book was originally released, so reading it on its re-release was the first time I had read it.
Ms. Cannell’s style with humorous jabs and nods to manners is present and accounted for. Ellie Haskell, our sleuth, has left home, husband and family to venture back into her old boarding school to help search for a purloined sports trophy. She runs across her an older girl she always looked up to, a woman who was several years behind her, and finally, her old school nemesis. We get to visit with the teachers and school administrators who had made an impression on her (rightly or wrongly as the case may be.)
The story is more about these relationships than it is about a murder mystery. While there is a death, it doesn’t happen until more than ¾ of the way through the book. Even then, it isn’t something that is really part of Ellie’s investigation until much later in the story.
I enjoyed reading the book as it brought me back into line with this series. I’m hoping with its re-release, the author is planning on adding more books to the series. I’ve always enjoyed her writing style and would like to see more or at least a book which ties up the ending of the series for its readers.
I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher, Alibi, via Netgalley.
