The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp - Leonie Swann

I've discovered I have a newly found affinity for mysteries with seniors as the protagonists. Why? Maybe because I'm getting closer to that age group!

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann is one of those books.

Swann opens the book with Hettie perusing a curious set of shoes. Hettie just happens to be a tortoise! But she's one of a group of characters that populate Sunset Hall. The Hall is home to a group of seniors that live as a family. They're determined to not be sent to a institutional care home. They're a quirky bunch, all with some health issues, with memory loss being one of them. Swann alludes to their past employments, but I'll let you discover what those might be.

A body is found in their greenhouse (classic) and then another next door. There's no doubt about it - these are both murders and it's definitely too close to home! And of course, they start their own investigation. Given that memory loss is at the top of the list, we have more than one unreliable narrator. 
The past and present collide many times. What's now and what's then? As a reader we don't know and the path to the final aha moment doubles back on itself more than once.

I quite enjoyed this book, the characters, the premise and the plot. I do think it could be shortened up a wee bit though. See for yourself - read an excerpt of the Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp.