Sphere The Margaret Code Meet the detective duo youll never forget in this compulsive and charming debut crime novel.

by Richard Hooton

MEET THE DETECTIVE DUO YOU'LL NEVER FORGET

For fans of The Marlow Murder Club , Richard Osman and The List of Suspicious Things

'One of the best books I've read this year' ALEX GRAY

'An absorbingly unusual murder mystery' CHRIS BROOKMYRE

'Delightfully cosy' PETERBOROUGH TELEGRAPH

'Wry, compelling and ever so poignant' NAOMI KELSEY

'A cleverly crafted mystery with an amateur detective duo you root for even against the odds' EMILY CRITCHLEY
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89-year-old Margaret has lived on Garnon Crescent all her life, except for those few years she never talks about. She knows all the neighbours; their hopes, their heartbreaks.

Only recently, Margaret's memory isn't what it used to be. She is sure Barbara, her best friend and neighbour, told her something important. Something she was supposed to remember.

When Barbara is found dead, Margaret determines to recover her missing memory. She and her grandson James begin to investigate, but soon strange incidents occur in her home. Margaret's daughter thinks her memory is getting worse, but Margaret knows somebody wants her out of the way.

Because Margaret holds the key to solving this crime. If only she could remember where she put it.

Genres: Mystery

352 pages, Hardcover

Published April 10, 2025

Reviews

[Helen's always reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It's not easy to get someone to open up. With a machine you can take it apart to understand its workings, how it functions and fits together. Humans are infinitely more complex. Words have to be your tools to prise them open."

Margaret is a pensioner living in the house she and her husband moved into when they were young. Her husband, Albert, has died a year before and now, her best friend has been murdered. But there was something Barbara told Margaret before she died. If only Margaret could remember what that was....

I finished The Margaret Code in three days! It sucked me in and held me hostage from the very first page. I loved Magaret's character and the fact that she's actually an intriguing, clever person who's dismissed because she's old. The book subtly touches on themes of becoming old and feeling like a burden to your family, of being inconspicuous because everyone underestimates the elderly and of losing what makes you you - your memories and experiences.

Margaret and her grandson, James, team up to find a killer and, more importantly, Margaret's memories. They run into trouble around every corner, mostly in the form of Margaret's daughter and James' mother, Shirley, who keeps a hawk's eye on the duo.

TMC was a charming, funny, endearing novel that will stick with me forever. It's also a testament to grannies everywhere - we should learn from them, visit them as often as we can, support them as much as we are able to, and, when the need arises, help them catch killers as one is wont to do.

[Anna Leonie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot here is about a geriatric, dementia suffering elderly woman solves a murder. The problem is the characterisation of the main character. She's completely unbelievable. We have an 89 year old woman who has had some serious dementia events where she's had serious lapses of memory who has the self confidence to get up and speak in public meetings, will swap clothes with girlfriends (similar to what teenagers might do) and conduct themselves generally like someone who isn't muddled most of the time and unsure of herself. Further, she is written as someone who doted on her now-deceased husband, so it's probably fair to say she's spent most of her life cooking and cleaning inside their partnership, yet she simply doesn't know that taking the skin off an orange is 'peeling' it rather than 'unpeeling' it. The story was deeply unsatisfying because it's difficult to buy into the reality of the protagonist's character.

[Sarah B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margaret Winterbottom is an 89 year old widow of Albert and she has been in the same home on Garnon Crescent for most of her adult life. Margaret and Alfred brought up two children in this home - Tom and Shirley. Shirley is married to Matthew and they have a son called James (15 years old). The book starts with a death of Margaret's friend, Barbara Jones in suspicious circumstances. The only problem is Barbara told Margaret something and Margaret is unable to remember it due to her failing memory. I loved how Margaret and her grandson bond over trying to recover the important clue and how their relationship worked. Can they decipher the code using the clues they uncover to solve the crime? This book was an entertaining read. It was emotional at times with some laugh out loud moments and nostalgia.

[A Bookworm Crafts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cosy crime novel is told from the point of view of Margaret, an 89-year-old woman with the beginnings of dementia. When her neighbour Barbara is murdered, Margaret and her grandson James investigate the case. If only Margaret could remember what Barbara told her before her death...

This was a fun read with a delightful protagonist. I loved hearing the story from Margaret's perspective as it provided both humour and heartfelt moments. I did guess most of the ending quite early on, but I enjoyed the journey.

A recommended read for fans of Elizabeth is Missing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Emily Hernández · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to audiobook (12hr+). I kept telling myself that I was enjoying it more than I actually was... Started as mildly entertaining and easy to listen to, but got much harder to enjoy as it went. Several tropes that aren't for me (guessing someone's computer password, a secret baby, secretly recording confessions, someone showing up to save you right in the nick of time, etc.). The ending was guessable and just meh. I was hoping that this would give me a similar cozy feeling to the Thursday Murder Club which also handled the topic of aging so well, but this left me feeling like the author thinks all old people are just miserable all of the time. I've read much worse books, but this one was not my cup of tea and not one I'd recommend.

[Tabitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at first that it was narrated by Margaret, don't know why just wasn't expecting it I guess. It was a quick read that was both sad and heartwarming. Seeing it through Margaret's eyes as she struggles to remember and then having to admit to the disease was gut wrenching and has you rooting for her all the way through. The heartwarming is in her deep love of her late husband and of the love and tenderness her grandson James cares for her. I will say that I had the murderer pinged fairly early but not the motive. The ending was also nice because I had a dread that I knew how it was going to end for Margaret but while it is implied it gives it a gentleness and respectfulness I wasn't excepting but grateful for.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret is 89. Her memory is fading. When her next-door neighbor is murdered, she and her grandson James decide to figure out who did it. Between memory lapses, talking to her dead husband, objects in the house being put in wrong spots, the television turning on by itself, Margaret knows someone has been in her house, but no one believes her except James. The ending was a sad surprise. This story draws a reader into the mind of the elderly who are dealing with memory loss, dementia, etc.

[Miki Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Margaret's neighbour Barbara is murdered she knows that Barbara told her something important but she can't remember what it was. Try as she might, it won't come back to her.
Her daughter Shirley is convinced that she is talking nonsense and arranges for her to see the doctor to be assessed for Dementia.
It's down to Margaret and her grandson James to work out what happened to Barbara.
An interesting and entertaining read that highlights what some people are going through.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margaret is eighty nine, she is fiercely independent and even though she knows that her mind is not as sharp as it used to be, and her senior moments are getting worryingly more frequent, she is determined to stay in the home she has lived in for so many years and where the memories of her late husband are her companion. When a friend and neighbour is murdered, Margaret desperately tries to remember something

[Emg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very slow moving and, to my taste, too much time on Margaret's internalizations. Skipped the middle section and found that the ending made sense without having read the middle section.