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Zofia Nowak’s Book of Superior Detecting: An unforgettable and page-turning mystery full of heart
'We have a case to solve, remember, Mr. Writer?'
Zofia's son, Janek, has vanished without a trace. Leaving behind her native Warsaw, she arrives in London, determined to uncover the truth - and she's certain that a celebrated writer called Steve holds the key to Janek's disappearance.
To fund her DIY investigation, Zofia takes on a string of cleaning jobs - a professional trajectory she finds very much beneath her. Armed with little more than her stubborn resolve and a second-hand detective manual, Zofia gathers evidence. After all, mother knows best - something she proves when she makes a shocking Steve's now dating Janek's ex-boyfriend. After some further digging it transpires that a former lover is not the only thing Steve has stolen from Janek...
Despite their mutual animosity, Zofia and Steve team up to get to the bottom of this tangled web of lies. Facing an unsolved murder, a stolen manuscript and a missing son, this unlikely duo must confront the secrets they've been hiding - not just from each other but from themselves.
With biting humour and a detective you've definitely never met before who breaks *every* rule in the book, Zofia Nowak's Book of Superior Detecting will keep you guessing - and laughing - until the very last page. Perfect for fans of Jonas Jonasson, Elizabeth is Missing and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.
'If you're looking for irresistible prose, it's here in this book. The protagonists' voices criss-cross in a near impossible harmony of heart, guts, shrewdness and nerve... I'm in awe' Helen Oyeyemi
Zofia's son, Janek, has vanished without a trace. Leaving behind her native Warsaw, she arrives in London, determined to uncover the truth - and she's certain that a celebrated writer called Steve holds the key to Janek's disappearance.
To fund her DIY investigation, Zofia takes on a string of cleaning jobs - a professional trajectory she finds very much beneath her. Armed with little more than her stubborn resolve and a second-hand detective manual, Zofia gathers evidence. After all, mother knows best - something she proves when she makes a shocking Steve's now dating Janek's ex-boyfriend. After some further digging it transpires that a former lover is not the only thing Steve has stolen from Janek...
Despite their mutual animosity, Zofia and Steve team up to get to the bottom of this tangled web of lies. Facing an unsolved murder, a stolen manuscript and a missing son, this unlikely duo must confront the secrets they've been hiding - not just from each other but from themselves.
With biting humour and a detective you've definitely never met before who breaks *every* rule in the book, Zofia Nowak's Book of Superior Detecting will keep you guessing - and laughing - until the very last page. Perfect for fans of Jonas Jonasson, Elizabeth is Missing and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.
'If you're looking for irresistible prose, it's here in this book. The protagonists' voices criss-cross in a near impossible harmony of heart, guts, shrewdness and nerve... I'm in awe' Helen Oyeyemi
343 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 26, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 5, 2025
Absolutely loved this book. Not since Eleanor Oliphant have we had such an unusual and unwittingly funny protagonist.
I loved the mystery that they were solving, I loved the characters and I loved how easy it was to absolutely devour. I also loved that every single man in this book was gay. Fabulous book. 5 stars.
Not out til June, but I really reckon it's gonna be a big one.
I loved the mystery that they were solving, I loved the characters and I loved how easy it was to absolutely devour. I also loved that every single man in this book was gay. Fabulous book. 5 stars.
Not out til June, but I really reckon it's gonna be a big one.
November 10, 2025
took me a while to read
August 4, 2025
As the cover suggests, Zofia Nowak's Book Of Superior Detecting is nominally a comic mystery, and one which attempts to build a grand comic grotesque in its protagonist. Zofia Nowak is working in London as a cleaner when we meet her, with definite opinions on the city, her clients and the 'Dirty Bitches' (other Polish cleaners) she lives with. The novel is set around the time of the Brexit referendum, partially to give it a slight political frisson and partially to allow her freedom of movement. Because whilst Zofia may appear to be a normal Polish cleaning lady, this is in fact merely a cover: she is there to investigate an LGBT author Steve and discover what he has to do with the disappearance of her son Janek. This leads to a grand mystery, a chase across the UK and Poland and quite a lot of Polish LGBT history, not just because Steve has written a novel about a gay man in communist era Poland, but because Janek is queer and had a complicated relationship with his mother. But then as written for half of the book in the first person, Zofia Nowak has complicated relationships with everyone.
As Zofia narrates the story, she also drops in tidbits about the practice of being a private detective, which she is gets from a Polish version of the Usbourne Official Detective's Handbook. The humour comes from this well-constructed older woman who has seen lots of hardship, but also caused a fair bit with her sharp tongue, and mile-a-minute opinions. The problem I had initially was that Cieplak writes her in a Polish pidgen English, aiming at an approximation of how a stereotypical Pole with passable English speaks. This is amusing but I found it quite patronising, not least because of the degree that which Zofia insists, and often displays, how smart she is. To miss out articles and depositions does make the voice click, but it also risks making the accent the joke. I came around to it, you have to, it is half of the book, but I am not sure how I feel about it. The other alternate chapters are about Steve (or as Zofia calls him Mr Writer), which is more of a palate cleanser, though Steve is a lot less interesting than Zofia.
I broadly enjoyed Zofia Nowak's Book Of Superior Detecting, despite this issue. This is more than just a comic mystery, indeed the mystery and the history of queer abuse in Poland is quite sobering in places. Cieplak bounces around issues constantly too, from Brexit to queer history, to more philosophical issues about who owns a life story. That is sometimes lost in Zofia's personality and speech patterns, but it is secretly quite ambitious even if I don't think it all quite works.
As Zofia narrates the story, she also drops in tidbits about the practice of being a private detective, which she is gets from a Polish version of the Usbourne Official Detective's Handbook. The humour comes from this well-constructed older woman who has seen lots of hardship, but also caused a fair bit with her sharp tongue, and mile-a-minute opinions. The problem I had initially was that Cieplak writes her in a Polish pidgen English, aiming at an approximation of how a stereotypical Pole with passable English speaks. This is amusing but I found it quite patronising, not least because of the degree that which Zofia insists, and often displays, how smart she is. To miss out articles and depositions does make the voice click, but it also risks making the accent the joke. I came around to it, you have to, it is half of the book, but I am not sure how I feel about it. The other alternate chapters are about Steve (or as Zofia calls him Mr Writer), which is more of a palate cleanser, though Steve is a lot less interesting than Zofia.
I broadly enjoyed Zofia Nowak's Book Of Superior Detecting, despite this issue. This is more than just a comic mystery, indeed the mystery and the history of queer abuse in Poland is quite sobering in places. Cieplak bounces around issues constantly too, from Brexit to queer history, to more philosophical issues about who owns a life story. That is sometimes lost in Zofia's personality and speech patterns, but it is secretly quite ambitious even if I don't think it all quite works.
December 4, 2025
This is a brilliantly observed novel that delivers an engrossing mystery but goes beyond the borders of cosy crime to something much interesting and fulfilling. If you enjoyed Thursday Murder Club you will enjoy this too but this will stay with you longer (Hopefully the inevitable Netflix adaptation of this is better as well).
It's about the formidable Zofia's search for the truth about her son's murder. From the very first chapter Zofia's passes brutal and breathtakingly rude (she would say honest) judgment on pretty much everything, including the city she has moved to in order to conduct her investigation, London, which she refers to (not entirely unfairly) as Chicken Town.
Zofia is an amazing character who is hilarious but also real, seemingly inspired by people the author knows well and loves. Alternate chapters follow her main suspect, an author, Mr Writer, who also feels real, well observed and perhaps somewhat autobiographical? I can see where Peter B, in his review, is coming from about the accent, the best stylistic choices are the ones you don't notice because you're lost in the story after all, and it, and the character switching, did catch my attention a couple of times, but overall I think it works well.
The book also covers a troubling aspect of Polish history that I was certainly unaware of in a way that is both thoughtful and thought provoking. This makes it more ambitious and gives it more weight than similar books in the same genre.
It's about the formidable Zofia's search for the truth about her son's murder. From the very first chapter Zofia's passes brutal and breathtakingly rude (she would say honest) judgment on pretty much everything, including the city she has moved to in order to conduct her investigation, London, which she refers to (not entirely unfairly) as Chicken Town.
Zofia is an amazing character who is hilarious but also real, seemingly inspired by people the author knows well and loves. Alternate chapters follow her main suspect, an author, Mr Writer, who also feels real, well observed and perhaps somewhat autobiographical? I can see where Peter B, in his review, is coming from about the accent, the best stylistic choices are the ones you don't notice because you're lost in the story after all, and it, and the character switching, did catch my attention a couple of times, but overall I think it works well.
The book also covers a troubling aspect of Polish history that I was certainly unaware of in a way that is both thoughtful and thought provoking. This makes it more ambitious and gives it more weight than similar books in the same genre.
July 3, 2025
Zofia has come to London to find her missing son Janek, and is posing as a cleaner in order to investigate Steve, aka “Mr. Writer,” who she believes might have something to do with her son’s disappearance. Her voice grabs you from page one — she can be controversial, bossy, and harsh, often steamrolling people to get what she wants, but she is incredibly funny and astute as well. I haven’t read a novel with such a unique voice in a very long time, and she is without a doubt one of the absolute highlights of this story. I also loved the little snippets from her book of detecting at the beginning of each of her POV chapters.
Despite the humorous tone, this book handles a lot of complex themes very well. I would highly recommend reading this one!
Despite the humorous tone, this book handles a lot of complex themes very well. I would highly recommend reading this one!
August 15, 2026
Perfection. I don't know how the author did it but this book is perfect. Tackling real themes with a blend of humor and reverence. Piotr has made such amazing characters in this one and I will not forget Zofia and the homosexual drama anytime soon. I'm okay with her being a gay icon. The best part of this novel is that it really feels like a journey. Piotr really takes the time to have you travel with Zofia and Steve and it really makes the story come alive. The first 100 pages were sooo fun between the perspective shifts of Zofia and Mr. Writer. I am genuinely sad it's over, despite reading it in a week, it feels hard to say goodbye to the characters the author created. Shows what type of person and writer the author is.
May 30, 2025
I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.
I am loving the recent trend we’re seeing of older female protagonists in fiction. It’s such a unique perspective that comes with different experiences and challenges and makes for really interesting reading. We have Zofia, who is temporarily living in London while she tries to find out what happened to her son. She’s biting, judgmental, driven, bossy, often quite funny, sometimes mean. She is relentless in getting what she wants and she’s like a hurricane as she barges her way into peoples’ lives to get what she needs from them. We alternate between Zofia and a writer she is stalking called ‘Steve’ or ‘Mr Writer.’ He is grieving and harbouring a secret and Zofia has her sights set on him to help with her investigation. She forces her way into a job cleaning for him so she can snoop and then proceeds to overturn his life while also forming a tentative alliance with him to help with her detective work.
This was a compelling and interesting mystery told from a unique voice. Zofia as a character is what makes this book, she adds a level of meddling that is absurd but also gets things done.
I am loving the recent trend we’re seeing of older female protagonists in fiction. It’s such a unique perspective that comes with different experiences and challenges and makes for really interesting reading. We have Zofia, who is temporarily living in London while she tries to find out what happened to her son. She’s biting, judgmental, driven, bossy, often quite funny, sometimes mean. She is relentless in getting what she wants and she’s like a hurricane as she barges her way into peoples’ lives to get what she needs from them. We alternate between Zofia and a writer she is stalking called ‘Steve’ or ‘Mr Writer.’ He is grieving and harbouring a secret and Zofia has her sights set on him to help with her investigation. She forces her way into a job cleaning for him so she can snoop and then proceeds to overturn his life while also forming a tentative alliance with him to help with her detective work.
This was a compelling and interesting mystery told from a unique voice. Zofia as a character is what makes this book, she adds a level of meddling that is absurd but also gets things done.
February 6, 2026
It was the book’s jacket that drew me to reading this clever whodunnit, and I’m so glad that I took a punt on it.
The protagonist of the story is the ‘hard as nails’, bordering-on-belligerent but still endearing Zofia, a London based cleaner who has thrown herself feet first into the world of detecting for reasons that are made clear early on.
The weaving of the storyline (and backstory) into Zofia’s set of circumstances is done very well, flitting between Zofia’s (at times comical) narration and the author’s.
As for the storyline and plot, it is not without its twists (of which there are many) and several passages required a revisit, just to make sure that THIS reader wasn’t losing the plot.
Overall, an enjoyable and engaging read that constantly leaves the reader guessing.
The protagonist of the story is the ‘hard as nails’, bordering-on-belligerent but still endearing Zofia, a London based cleaner who has thrown herself feet first into the world of detecting for reasons that are made clear early on.
The weaving of the storyline (and backstory) into Zofia’s set of circumstances is done very well, flitting between Zofia’s (at times comical) narration and the author’s.
As for the storyline and plot, it is not without its twists (of which there are many) and several passages required a revisit, just to make sure that THIS reader wasn’t losing the plot.
Overall, an enjoyable and engaging read that constantly leaves the reader guessing.
May 7, 2025
This is a brilliant book: a comic mystery about a writer and his (fake) cleaner who join forces to uncover the truth about past events that have shaped their lives. The central character of Zofia, a would-be detective, is a priceless creation, hilariously judgemental, driven, and scheming. Yet amidst the humour there are moments of real compassion, especially in the the storyline about the experience of sexual minorities in communist Poland. It's bold and original - highly recommended. I was lucky enough to read a proof copy and the book is out in June.
July 31, 2025
I loved this book! It’s got a great plot, full of twists, with a satisfying pay-off. It’s very, very funny (I was laughing out loud after the first few pages), but also genuinely moving. Zofia is a fantastic character. She’s massively opinionated and judgemental, but I couldn’t help rooting for her. I also really liked how it weaves in different strands of LGBTQ history, including the experience of being gay in Poland under communism, which wasn’t something I knew anything about before. I’d highly recommend it!
November 6, 2025
A wickedly, deliciously funny book. Not a crime novel as such, but nonetheless a tightly mapped whodunnit that works on several levels and encompasses several overlapping storylines. The characters are just fantastic - particularly Zofia who is both awful and charming at the same time. A highly addictive read; I didn't want it to end, but at the same time the book is the perfect length. A really unique, memorable and beguiling debut novel - I've been recommending this one to everyone!
February 18, 2026
This is a clever book, especially in the choice of the main character, Zofia Nowak, whose voice and opinions provide laughs along the way due to her delivery, stilted English, and lack of consideration (mostly) for others. The plot is a bit of a muddle, but the characters are interesting. Kinda like Agatha Raisin, but more snarky and with an Eastern European communism-raised mother figure running the show.
April 19, 2025
An absolutely brilliant read, which had me laughing out loud whilst also being a touching take on relationships and historic injustice. Wonderfully written - the title character is one for the ages - truly unique and unforgettable - and the author takes you on a journey that spans loss, moral jeopardy, joy, humour and thought-provoking drama.
May 11, 2025
I truly enjoyed reading this book. Character development has done something to me, as I was just so deeply drawn into the world. Countless moments of genuine and beautiful descriptions - showing a deep care for the characters and their memories.
The mix of genres brought fresh air and I can't wait to read author's next book.
The mix of genres brought fresh air and I can't wait to read author's next book.
July 13, 2025
I couldn't put this book down! It's so funny, and also moving. The characters are so well drawn, and I feel bereft having finished it as I loved Zofia and Steve, and their relationship, so much. I really hope someone turns this into a TV show. It's a total page turner. Highly recommend! Sequel please!
September 11, 2025
Zofia is a Polish mother and force of nature; charismatic and a-typical heroine! Steve is a subdued, grieving and reluctant author. Trying to find out why Zofia’s son went missing, the two end up working as a dysfunctional team to try and solve the mystery. Funny, moving and joyfully LGBTQ+ friendly.
September 28, 2025
This book made me laugh and cry. Its gentle humour weaves through the often difficult themes of loss, oppression and self realisation. The central characters are wonderfully flawed and the story clips along at a very engaging pace. I loved it so much that after I read it I bought it on Audible and listened to the story a second time. Highly recommend.
July 4, 2026
the book was interesting and read smoothly. I just could not get rid of the feeling that the way Zofia writes, the way she behaves, and certain descriptions of Poland are based on stereotypes and are not simply not representative of the Poland that I know -- they felt foreign, random, unexplainable. Piotr is a Pole though, and I am not, so it's a bit weird of me to claim that.
May 7, 2025
Zofia is a mother on a mission and will not let anyone get in the way of finding her son Janek. I found the pace to be slow and had trouble connecting with the story. I did appreciate Zofia's unrelenting observations and found her ignorant bliss of her own character defects to be quite amusing.
February 21, 2025
This is an INCREDIBLE book. So funny and gripping and beautifully written. Zofia alone is a masterclass in character. Read it!
August 8, 2025
3.5/5
December 6, 2025
A late ringer but my absolute favourite book of 2025!
May 30, 2026
Read for May 2026 Book Club
July 23, 2026
Fun book with super entertaining characters.
July 30, 2026
Entertaining, but over the top for me.
Enjoyed the complete lack of self awareness.
Enjoyed the complete lack of self awareness.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews