Murder at the Second–Hand Shop: A small-town cosy mystery series

by Anna Grue, Nina Sokol (Translator)

In the dozy Danish provinces, death hides among the dusty bric‑a‑brac…

The elderly volunteers at the second-hand shop keep dropping dead. Heart attacks. Strokes. A simple case of old age, say the police. Sad but inevitable.

Newly retired Mrs Mortensen begs to differ. This "Danish Miss Marple" and her dachshund, Mortensen III, sniff a sinister pattern.

Sharp‑tongued, sharp‑eyed, and fueled by justice and cake, Mrs Mortensen launches her own probe, stirring gossip, grudges, and small-town spats. The deeper she digs, the surer she gets... someone's picking off shop volunteers, one "oops" at a time.

Can this tea-spiller out-sleuth a sly slayer before she (or Mortensen III) becomes the next "accidental" casualty?

Forget Scandi this is hygge homicide with a giggle. Perfect for fans of cheeky whodunnits, Scandinavian mysteries and Hannah Hendy's "The Dinner Lady Detectives".

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 7, 2026

About the author

Anna Grue debuterede i 2005 med spændingsromanen Noget for noget, der indbragte hende Det Danske Kriminalakademis diplom for fremragende debut. Året efter fulgte Det taler vi ikke om, og i 2007 udkom Dybt at falde, som er første bind i Dan Sommerdahl-serien. Bind to, tre og fire, Judaskysset, Kunsten at dø, og Den skaldede detektiv, fulgte i 2008, 2009 og 2010. I 2011 udkom Anna Grues novellesamling De andre, som i 2012 blev efterfulgt af bind fem i serien om Dan Sommerdahl. Et spørgsmål om penge.
Romanerne om Dan Sommerdahl er solgt til udgivelse i syv lande, heriblandt Tyskland, Frankrig og Italien.

Reviews

[Vanna Book-Mage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ha ha, really enjoyed this.

[Veronica M C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe it's a 3.5, but I'm rounding up! This was a light and easy read although it was about murder. If you enjoyed the Thursday Murder Club, you might like this also.

[Kjersti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute old lady mystery. I listened to the audiobook which helped with the Danish words. Apparently this author is famous in Denmark and this is the first in a series - but the only one translated to English 😢

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murder at the Second-Hand Shop was a charming cosy mystery that I listened to as an audiobook.

The premise is wonderfully quirky: a retired woman and her dachshund investigating a string of suspicious deaths among volunteers at a second-hand shop. The small-town Danish setting gave the story a unique feel, and I could definitely see why fans of cosy mysteries would enjoy spending time with these characters.

Mrs Mortensen was a fun amateur sleuth, and I enjoyed following along as she inserted herself into the investigation despite the police dismissing the deaths as natural causes. The mystery itself was well put together, and the audiobook narration suited the story nicely.

For me personally, I think I’ve discovered that cosy mysteries aren’t quite my preferred genre. While I appreciated what the author was doing and thought the story was well executed, I never became fully invested in the mystery or felt the need to keep listening “just one more chapter.”

Overall, this was an enjoyable and easy listen that I can see appealing to readers who love cosy mysteries, amateur sleuths, and gentle whodunnits. It simply wasn’t quite the right fit for my personal reading tastes.

[Charvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about this quirky cooking-obsessed old woman trying to solve murders with all her knowledge of crime novels and the aid of her enthusiastic daughter and granddaughter, not to forget Mr Mortensen, the dog.

The second-hand shop Mrs Mortensen volunteers at sees one death and then another, and now our protagonist is certain that there is a murderer on the loose. What does the murderer want, and who will be next? This is a rather amusing and fun story because the character of Mrs Mortensen is just so entertaining. This woman believes the world is dying because they don't eat nutritious homemade meals, has nothing to do but start a feud with a woman at the secondhand shop over a bookshelf and then just keeps poking her nose into the death till the police just give in to her demands.

The plot itself was also intriguing and I wasn't able to figure out the pieces of the mystery until quite late, although I wasn't really trying because I was happy to be entertained with the characters. You get to meet quite an odd and quirky bunch of retirees at the secondhand bookstore, and I think the author did a good job fleshing them out and building their relationships. I really liked the familial relationships Mrs Mortensen had with her daughter and granddaughter - the dynamics were complex and felt real.

Overall an entertaining read, I especially enjoyed listening to the audiobook!

[Karen Mace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I listened to the audioversion of this book and it was really well narrated.

This is a really sweet and fun cosy mystery, with dodgy goings on that leads the main character to take up an investigative role to figure out what is happening to so many of the volunteers at the secondhand shop.

Mrs Mortensen is the 'Miss Marple' character in this book. Very set in her ways, with her trusty dachsund by her side and being retired she has a lot of time on her hands to meddle! When elderly volunteers from the shop begin to die, it's all put down to natural causes and just a coincidence, but she's seeing it as more than that and her mind goes into overdrive as she starts to delve into the main protagonists surrounding the shop and in the local community.

there's a fair bit of humour thrown into the story which helps keep your interest and it was a really easy read, and I'm looking forward to what mystery she has to solve in the next book!

[Shay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was disappointing to learn, as far as I can find, that only the first two books in the series have been translated into English. Hopefully they will translate the rest soon. I liked the world world building and the characters were fleshed out well so they felt like real people.

The main character does talk/think quite frequently about weight and body issues. Talk of calories, good foods, bad foods, diets, body shaming, restricting etc. It might be a lot for some people. It does become less frequent further on in the novel as the mystery builds up. There is also mention of a child with a very limited diet but the adults seem to handle it well and encourage her to try new foods and expand her safe foods without shaming while providing already accepted foods.

[Xanthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this on audiobook format.
Judging by the reviews, I expected to like this novel more than I actually did.
It was slow to start, with way too many pages about food. Infact, the subject of food kept coming up through the story. Add the protagonist’s half hearted attempts at weight loss, and you have pure, irrelevant tedium. Then there’s the weirdness of the protagonist’s daughter and granddaughter sometimes referring to her as Mrs Mortensen… and her dog’s name being Mortensen. That got annoying.
As for the plot, it just wasn’t all that interesting. The tempo of the novel was slow, and the characters not particularly engaging. I’m assuming this will be a series but I won’t be bothering with it, if so.

[Dawn Plestina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure: the reason I found this book to be a lot of fun to read is because I volunteer with a Friends of the public library where we sort books for people to buy.

I enjoyed the main character, Mrs. Mortenson because she reminds me of myself — retired and a little snarky. I appreciated the family dynamic as well, and while the actual who done it was not difficult to figure out, the overall story kept my interest. I did feel that at the very end, the sort of PSA or “ABC after school special” addition was a bit forced, but other than that, I enjoyed the book.

[Sio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy a good murder mystery, and this certainly fit the bill. Deaths that are seemingly natural causes (until they're not) piling up for those working at the second hand store in a small Danish town. The main character of Anna-Maj does make me think of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, but unlike the latter, I actually like Anna-Maj! The secondary characters are as well-developed and three dimensional as Anna, and there wasn't one that annoyed me in the least.

I will be looking forward to reading/listening to more books in this series.

[Alysha · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️
No thoughts, just vibes and thrift shop gossip.

I listened to the audiobook and it was just what the doctor ordered.

It's a light, easy-to-follow Danish cozy mystery that trades dark crime drama for local drama, eccentric volunteers, and Mrs. Mortensen's clever dachshund.

It didn't blow my mind or keep me guessing until the very last page, but as a casual, cozy filler read, it absolutely hit the spot. 📚

[Kat Vu · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a very cute cozy murder mystery read - the main lady reminds me A LOT of sophie from howls moving castle with her quick wit and no nonsense personality. i liked the small town vibes and how she made herself the main character LOL i think it’s a series but it was a good quick read i also liked how its set in Europe bc it gave old european grandma tryna feed her kids LOL

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have been better if it had been about 1/4 shorter. Just too long. It was cute with a woman who obviously thought she was Miss Marple - but of course she wasn't.

[Dixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! The author did a great job with the relationships with daughter and granddaughter! This is a good book!

[Day Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cozy mystery full of cozy characters. Unfortunately it just didn't wow but was a good stable story to listen to.

[Marianne Burke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this cozy mystery with an unexpected detective.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 porque el final fue muy ????

[Cathy Agnew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this as an audiobook, liked the main character and the entertaining story. Plus, any book with a wire haired dachshund gets a tick from me!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Update: I keep thinking about AnnaMae as a character and want to know more about her. And her imperfect character. Given this I am giving 4 stars

This is an excellent cozy mystery. The main character of Anna Mae I am not fond of but she grew on me. She is highly judge mental but when I realized that was her internal monologue and not how she outwardly acted I liked her more. The writing was a bit rustic in the beginning but hit a more even stride by the end. Will I read another mystery with this character- yes. I am looking forward to see how she grows.