What do you think?
The Girls
Janet Hallas and Susan Burt, who run a gift shop in a village in England's agricultural Midlands, experience a chain of events encompassing the joys of parenthood, the contentment of country life--and a dead body in the septic tank
234 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
John Bowen
30 books15 followersJohn Griffith Bowen was a British playwright and novelist. He was born in Calcutta, India, and worked in publishing, drama and television.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gr...
Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gr...
Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 444 reviews
August 24, 2015
Taut. Enigmatic. & masterful.
A lost gem of Gothic wickedness.
A delight for fans of both Shirley Jackson & Iris Murdoch--Bowen reminds one of these brilliant girls!
A lost gem of Gothic wickedness.
A delight for fans of both Shirley Jackson & Iris Murdoch--Bowen reminds one of these brilliant girls!
April 20, 2018
A little gem. This dark comedy of manners and mores from 1988 scores for me on three important points: first, it is beautifully written. NOT flowery and poetic, heaven help us, no, but wonderful plain-spoken descriptions and observations that, in the tradition of the best writing, mean that the thing described or observed can never be seen in quite the same way again. Bowen's descriptions, and catalogues, of the content of an English country garden are so beautiful it made me want to get straight to a garden center. His description of a rather old, poorly constructed and over-taxed septic tank at the bottom of that idyllic garden was so detailed and rigorous that I shudder to think about the research he must have done. And as a former teacher of creative writing, I marvelled at the clever and apt use of the omniscient voice, and the story structure that lulls the readers into a sense of complacency, like dozing in a deck chair in that lovely garden on a warm summer's afternoon, only to shock you out of that complacency like being slapped by a cold, dead hand.
Because second, it is dark. Dark, dark, dark. And hilarious. I am doing my best to avoid spoilers here, but trust me, when I say that when the action starts, it is not for the faint-hearted. This is "Mapp and Lucia", directed by Alfred Hitchcock, in his "Psycho" years.
And yet ... third, it is incredibly touching and even life-affirming. "The Heart wants what it wants ..." but with all due respect to Emily Dickinson, John Bowen's little gem of a novel demonstrates that it cares very much indeed.
Because second, it is dark. Dark, dark, dark. And hilarious. I am doing my best to avoid spoilers here, but trust me, when I say that when the action starts, it is not for the faint-hearted. This is "Mapp and Lucia", directed by Alfred Hitchcock, in his "Psycho" years.
And yet ... third, it is incredibly touching and even life-affirming. "The Heart wants what it wants ..." but with all due respect to Emily Dickinson, John Bowen's little gem of a novel demonstrates that it cares very much indeed.
July 15, 2026
The fabulous Edward Gorey illustrations on the front and back covers give this book a distinct appeal. The publisher's description: "A WRY, MACABRE TALE OF SIMPLE LIVING, BRUTAL MURDER, AND A REASONABLY HAPPY COUPLE" make it entirely irresistible. To me, at least.
This is a darling of a book. She's an eccentric British aunt with a few things up her sleeve. Where has this book been hiding, I ask you, why is it only appearing to me now? Do any of you know of this John Bowen person, this writer who cozies you in and then, once he has you, subjects you to the darker (and danker... and stinkier) sides of life? Yes, stinky, even in the charming 1970s world of Cotswolds, England!
I'm rambling. Tony's review of this is better, and it's because of his review, and his mention of Patricia Highsmith, that I immediately sourced my beautiful copy. I see some of the reasons why people mention her name, but my opinion is that Pat Highsmith is inimitable, and is far more serious and brooding than dear Mr. Bowen. So let's leave her to the side for now, and say that this story about two women, partners in love and life (and... death?), is enchanting, revolting, fascinating, entertaining, and ultimately satisfying.
P.S.: There's a scene with a man on a white horse, who shows up in the early morning mist, and who has an excellent sense of smell, and knows just what to say, which is a particularly wonderful bit of writing. You should read it.
This is a darling of a book. She's an eccentric British aunt with a few things up her sleeve. Where has this book been hiding, I ask you, why is it only appearing to me now? Do any of you know of this John Bowen person, this writer who cozies you in and then, once he has you, subjects you to the darker (and danker... and stinkier) sides of life? Yes, stinky, even in the charming 1970s world of Cotswolds, England!
I'm rambling. Tony's review of this is better, and it's because of his review, and his mention of Patricia Highsmith, that I immediately sourced my beautiful copy. I see some of the reasons why people mention her name, but my opinion is that Pat Highsmith is inimitable, and is far more serious and brooding than dear Mr. Bowen. So let's leave her to the side for now, and say that this story about two women, partners in love and life (and... death?), is enchanting, revolting, fascinating, entertaining, and ultimately satisfying.
P.S.: There's a scene with a man on a white horse, who shows up in the early morning mist, and who has an excellent sense of smell, and knows just what to say, which is a particularly wonderful bit of writing. You should read it.
November 19, 2024
Don’t know how a book about murder ended up as one of my coziest reads of the year???
March 28, 2024
Very good. I read it in one day because it was a very pleasant engrossing read. Unexpected ending.
I am going to keep my eye out for more re-issues by McNally Editions. Lucy Scholes is Senior Editor of the press, as well as a columnist for The Paris Review, and a number of well-respected British periodicals. McNally Editions re-issues neglected novels from years past that are out of print. Reminds me of Persephone Books, British Library Women Writers Series, Dean Street Press, Handheld Press, and Virago Modern Classics.
Here is praise on the back book cover which I think is a fair and apt description of the book from Michelle Slung of the Washington Post:
• “The trappings of this sly little novel are like the crumbs leading Hansel and Gretel to gingerbread danger...[For] people who like Myra Breckinridge as well as Miss Marple; fans of Beryl Bainbridge, Russell Greenan and Patricia Highsmith; those who feel Barbar Pym-ish and some days and Stephen King-ish on others.”
...and from Gore Vidal:
“Of all the writers of suspense novels, John Bowen is the most startingly offbeat; politely he leads you down the garden path—look at the roses, he murmurs, the dismembered foot, the Victorian teahouse which contains...satisfying horror!”
Review (I could only find one....I hope that changes with this re-issue!):
• https://geraniumcatsbookshelf.blogspo...
Note: I loved the front cover by the renowned artist, Edward Gorey!
Synopsis from inner flap of book’s front cover:
• In their lovely old Cotswold village, Janet and Susan are known to all the other villagers as “the girls”—a fixture. Partners in love and work, co-proprietors of a picturesque shop specializing in the work of local artisans and farmers, they lead an enviable, enviably settled life. So it’s no catastrophe when Sue, the younger of the two, feels the need to take a month to travel on her own, leaving Jan alone to run their stall at the Inland Waterways Rally Craft Fair. Nor is it any real threat when a kindly gay man named Alan lends Jan a hand in Sue’s absence, or when the two wind up sharing some wine and even a bunk for the night.
If Jan turned out to be pregnant some weeks after Sue’s return to the nest, what’s that but cause for joy? And when Alan happens to come visiting, by and by, finding the delighted girls raising a beautiful baby boy, who can blame him for wanting to share in a small part of their bliss?
Yes, theirs is an enviable, enviably settled life. And the girls will defend it with every tool at their disposal.
I am going to keep my eye out for more re-issues by McNally Editions. Lucy Scholes is Senior Editor of the press, as well as a columnist for The Paris Review, and a number of well-respected British periodicals. McNally Editions re-issues neglected novels from years past that are out of print. Reminds me of Persephone Books, British Library Women Writers Series, Dean Street Press, Handheld Press, and Virago Modern Classics.
Here is praise on the back book cover which I think is a fair and apt description of the book from Michelle Slung of the Washington Post:
• “The trappings of this sly little novel are like the crumbs leading Hansel and Gretel to gingerbread danger...[For] people who like Myra Breckinridge as well as Miss Marple; fans of Beryl Bainbridge, Russell Greenan and Patricia Highsmith; those who feel Barbar Pym-ish and some days and Stephen King-ish on others.”
...and from Gore Vidal:
“Of all the writers of suspense novels, John Bowen is the most startingly offbeat; politely he leads you down the garden path—look at the roses, he murmurs, the dismembered foot, the Victorian teahouse which contains...satisfying horror!”
Review (I could only find one....I hope that changes with this re-issue!):
• https://geraniumcatsbookshelf.blogspo...
Note: I loved the front cover by the renowned artist, Edward Gorey!
Synopsis from inner flap of book’s front cover:
• In their lovely old Cotswold village, Janet and Susan are known to all the other villagers as “the girls”—a fixture. Partners in love and work, co-proprietors of a picturesque shop specializing in the work of local artisans and farmers, they lead an enviable, enviably settled life. So it’s no catastrophe when Sue, the younger of the two, feels the need to take a month to travel on her own, leaving Jan alone to run their stall at the Inland Waterways Rally Craft Fair. Nor is it any real threat when a kindly gay man named Alan lends Jan a hand in Sue’s absence, or when the two wind up sharing some wine and even a bunk for the night.
If Jan turned out to be pregnant some weeks after Sue’s return to the nest, what’s that but cause for joy? And when Alan happens to come visiting, by and by, finding the delighted girls raising a beautiful baby boy, who can blame him for wanting to share in a small part of their bliss?
Yes, theirs is an enviable, enviably settled life. And the girls will defend it with every tool at their disposal.
August 21, 2024
The British playwright John Bowen is perhaps best known for his television plays, such as the folk-horror-inspired Robin Redbreast and creepy ghost stories like The Ice House. These dramas, plus the gently unsettling Edward Gorey illustration on the front cover of my copy of The Girls, will give you a feel for this novel’s off-kilter tone.
First published in 1986, The Girls is a savage gem in which the cosiness of life in an idyllic English village is destabilised by domestic horror. Think Barbara Pym crossed with Inside No. 9 and you’re pretty much there – maybe with a smidgen of Lolly Willowes or Barbara Comyns in the mix, just for good measure. I adored this surreal, dreamlike book and feel sure it will feature in my end-of-year highlights.
The story takes place in the mid-1970s, with much of the action unfolding over a sequence of heady summers, an atmosphere that greatly enhances the story’s unsettling combination of tones. Susan and Janet – the ‘girls’ of the novel’s title – share a cottage in a small village in the Cotswolds. They are partners in business and in life, devoting their time to producing a vast array of cheeses, jams and hand-embroidered smocks, which they sell in their local gift shop and at craft fairs across the country.
The girls were an old-fashioned couple, as they still are. They had come together in the days when the Women’s Movement was at its most militant, and many a wife and mother was led into lesbianism by having her consciousness raised, but Susan had never heard of the Women’s Movement and Janet was not sure that she approved of what she had heard. Instead they fell innocently in love… (p. 24)
Interestingly, if the girls were two young men living together, making yogurt and sewing smocks, tongues would be wagging. But as it is, the villagers are very accepting of Sue and Jan, who have lived together in the cottage for the past seven years.
Early in the novel, a pedigree boar escapes while en route to service a local sow, setting the tone for this peculiar story, which is flecked with touches of the absurd. Naturally, the incident causes chaos for the villagers, not least for Jan and Sue when the animal enters their shop…
Blinded by smocking, the boar broke from the rack and cannoned off the chest-freezer, knocking over the cold cabinet. Elderflower Cooler mingled with the blood on his back, and the lemon juice must have stung his wounds, for his squealed again and continued to do so. Martin and the breeder appeared with corrugated iron. ‘You keep that bloody iron out of this shop,’ Janet shouted. She imagined, as in some comedy routine, the two men knocking each other over with sheets of corrugated iron, while the boar ran to and fro between their feet and the contents of the shop were destroyed. (p. 17)
The episode with the escaped pig prompts Sue to reflect on what she is doing with her life. It’s true that she and Jan have been building a shared existence together, but was it all just a way of retreating from the world, consuming the days as the years slip by? It’s difficult to say. Sue knows that Jan has enriched her life, awakening her emotionally and providing the security in which their love has blossomed. But are those structures and routines now becoming constraints, restricting the girls’ scope to evolve as individuals?
Against this backdrop of restlessness, Sue books a package holiday to Crete, giving her the space to do some soul-searching on her own while Jan stays in the village. Naturally, Jan is nervous about this development, but she realises that Sue, who is ten years her junior, needs the space to find herself.
Left to her own devices, Jan is plagued by nightmares in which Sue is either perishing at the hands of foreign criminals or having the time of her life without a second thought for Jan. Jealousy has never been a problem for Jan before, but in the lonely depths of night, her imagination runs wild.
To read the rest of my review, please visit:
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2024...
First published in 1986, The Girls is a savage gem in which the cosiness of life in an idyllic English village is destabilised by domestic horror. Think Barbara Pym crossed with Inside No. 9 and you’re pretty much there – maybe with a smidgen of Lolly Willowes or Barbara Comyns in the mix, just for good measure. I adored this surreal, dreamlike book and feel sure it will feature in my end-of-year highlights.
The story takes place in the mid-1970s, with much of the action unfolding over a sequence of heady summers, an atmosphere that greatly enhances the story’s unsettling combination of tones. Susan and Janet – the ‘girls’ of the novel’s title – share a cottage in a small village in the Cotswolds. They are partners in business and in life, devoting their time to producing a vast array of cheeses, jams and hand-embroidered smocks, which they sell in their local gift shop and at craft fairs across the country.
The girls were an old-fashioned couple, as they still are. They had come together in the days when the Women’s Movement was at its most militant, and many a wife and mother was led into lesbianism by having her consciousness raised, but Susan had never heard of the Women’s Movement and Janet was not sure that she approved of what she had heard. Instead they fell innocently in love… (p. 24)
Interestingly, if the girls were two young men living together, making yogurt and sewing smocks, tongues would be wagging. But as it is, the villagers are very accepting of Sue and Jan, who have lived together in the cottage for the past seven years.
Early in the novel, a pedigree boar escapes while en route to service a local sow, setting the tone for this peculiar story, which is flecked with touches of the absurd. Naturally, the incident causes chaos for the villagers, not least for Jan and Sue when the animal enters their shop…
Blinded by smocking, the boar broke from the rack and cannoned off the chest-freezer, knocking over the cold cabinet. Elderflower Cooler mingled with the blood on his back, and the lemon juice must have stung his wounds, for his squealed again and continued to do so. Martin and the breeder appeared with corrugated iron. ‘You keep that bloody iron out of this shop,’ Janet shouted. She imagined, as in some comedy routine, the two men knocking each other over with sheets of corrugated iron, while the boar ran to and fro between their feet and the contents of the shop were destroyed. (p. 17)
The episode with the escaped pig prompts Sue to reflect on what she is doing with her life. It’s true that she and Jan have been building a shared existence together, but was it all just a way of retreating from the world, consuming the days as the years slip by? It’s difficult to say. Sue knows that Jan has enriched her life, awakening her emotionally and providing the security in which their love has blossomed. But are those structures and routines now becoming constraints, restricting the girls’ scope to evolve as individuals?
Against this backdrop of restlessness, Sue books a package holiday to Crete, giving her the space to do some soul-searching on her own while Jan stays in the village. Naturally, Jan is nervous about this development, but she realises that Sue, who is ten years her junior, needs the space to find herself.
Left to her own devices, Jan is plagued by nightmares in which Sue is either perishing at the hands of foreign criminals or having the time of her life without a second thought for Jan. Jealousy has never been a problem for Jan before, but in the lonely depths of night, her imagination runs wild.
To read the rest of my review, please visit:
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2024...
November 4, 2025
Well this is absolutely splendid stuff. I stumbled upon it in a bookstore, saw the Gorey cover, read the blurb making reference to the strange mix of Barbara Pym and Stephen King, the rave from Gore Vidal and Armstad Maupin, and bought immediately.
Very very glad I did.
Highly recommended to one and all.
Very very glad I did.
Highly recommended to one and all.
September 22, 2026
4.5,rounded up.
I've had a copy of this FOREVER - literally at least over 30 years, attracted no doubt by the Gorey cover illustration (as I collect his lithos!). I believe I tried to read it once, as the second chapter rang dim bells in my memory, but I don't think I ever got all the way through it. It practically defines the term 'sui generis' - I can't think of anything else I've read that even comes close - perhaps maybe a touch of Barbara Comyns, but even that's a stretch.
What I particularly liked about it is the general tone - which has a droll, dry wit, but also is just very matter of fact about things that generally are NOT talked about in polite society. The story centers round the titular MCs - Janet and Susan, a genial pair of young lesbians (Susan is 27, Jan 10 years older), living their lives in their quaint Cotswold village, running a putative gift shop and minding their own business.
The synopsis above gives away a little TOO much info, and it's actually better to go into it blindly, so the surprises really ARE surprising. Suffice it to say things take a turn towards the macabre, but all turns out well in the end. A lovely little palate cleanser after the heavy lifting of the Booker longlist.
I've had a copy of this FOREVER - literally at least over 30 years, attracted no doubt by the Gorey cover illustration (as I collect his lithos!). I believe I tried to read it once, as the second chapter rang dim bells in my memory, but I don't think I ever got all the way through it. It practically defines the term 'sui generis' - I can't think of anything else I've read that even comes close - perhaps maybe a touch of Barbara Comyns, but even that's a stretch.
What I particularly liked about it is the general tone - which has a droll, dry wit, but also is just very matter of fact about things that generally are NOT talked about in polite society. The story centers round the titular MCs - Janet and Susan, a genial pair of young lesbians (Susan is 27, Jan 10 years older), living their lives in their quaint Cotswold village, running a putative gift shop and minding their own business.
The synopsis above gives away a little TOO much info, and it's actually better to go into it blindly, so the surprises really ARE surprising. Suffice it to say things take a turn towards the macabre, but all turns out well in the end. A lovely little palate cleanser after the heavy lifting of the Booker longlist.
June 24, 2026
The back cover of this book promises a wry, macabre tale of simple living, brutal murder, and a reasonably happy couple. There's a killing, not quite a murder, more like a Patricia Highsmith kind of offing, with plenty of malice but no intent. Still, there'll be a body in the septic tank before long.
Also, like Highsmith, the eponymous Girls, are a Lesbian couple. Two men, their foils, are a homosexual couple. It's all rather matter-of-fact. A fifth character, Mrs Marshall, does not reveal her sexual preference, but the author tells us in a Foreward that she is the only character taken from real life. And she is spectacular. I only wish Mrs Marshall had a few more scenes.
The author also tells us, to start Chapter 12, that This is not a mystery story. Indeed we see everything happen first-hand. And, he continues, You know well enough by now that the watcher was Bob. And yes, we're pretty sure that's him. But there's a tension, nevertheless, if only will someone be caught, and how so.
The story unravels, and the author intrudes. He explains things:
No horror can be invented by a writer of fiction which has not already happened. Who could invent the Holocaust, the Vietnam War, Laos, Idi Amin, the death squads of Argentina and San Salvador, the Fifth Brigade of President Mugabe and the prison camps of Iran where political prisoners are drained of blood to provide transfusions for fifteen-year-old soldiers? Literature follows and feeds on history; it does not lead.
Still, I was unprepared at the end, when the writing changed from the third-person to the first. But that did tidy things up.
Also, like Highsmith, the eponymous Girls, are a Lesbian couple. Two men, their foils, are a homosexual couple. It's all rather matter-of-fact. A fifth character, Mrs Marshall, does not reveal her sexual preference, but the author tells us in a Foreward that she is the only character taken from real life. And she is spectacular. I only wish Mrs Marshall had a few more scenes.
The author also tells us, to start Chapter 12, that This is not a mystery story. Indeed we see everything happen first-hand. And, he continues, You know well enough by now that the watcher was Bob. And yes, we're pretty sure that's him. But there's a tension, nevertheless, if only will someone be caught, and how so.
The story unravels, and the author intrudes. He explains things:
No horror can be invented by a writer of fiction which has not already happened. Who could invent the Holocaust, the Vietnam War, Laos, Idi Amin, the death squads of Argentina and San Salvador, the Fifth Brigade of President Mugabe and the prison camps of Iran where political prisoners are drained of blood to provide transfusions for fifteen-year-old soldiers? Literature follows and feeds on history; it does not lead.
Still, I was unprepared at the end, when the writing changed from the third-person to the first. But that did tidy things up.
March 6, 2024
This is a quirky, well-paced story with great characters. A comfort read with a dark twist. As a Goodread’s friend said, “The Edward Gorey cover is a tip-off that all is not well…!”
Fans of Barbara Comyns and Hilary Mantel’s non-historical novels will enjoy this. I loved it and I highly recommend it.
Fans of Barbara Comyns and Hilary Mantel’s non-historical novels will enjoy this. I loved it and I highly recommend it.
September 13, 2010
It begins as cozy as all get-out: two goodhearted lesbians running a Midlands tea shoppe and selling craft items and artisanal cheeses. Drolleries ensue-- then a turn of events you wouldn't ever have expected (but still, nothing entirely out of possibility.)
Ah but THEN enter a wholly unexpected dark dark twist. It sneaks up on you, in the best possible way.
Ah but THEN enter a wholly unexpected dark dark twist. It sneaks up on you, in the best possible way.
July 3, 2026
4 stars, down from 4.5 for repeated ‘koala bear’.
This book is the lovechild of a cosy, 1970s English village story and an almost slapstick murder novel. The titular girls live and work together, then (no spoiler) events brings their son into being - but misunderstandings, overreactions, and an odd acceptance by the housekeeper of events make for a read where you never quite know where it’s going to go in the next chapter. Thrilling, but not page turning, cute, but not dull, this is one of the few books I have trouble categorising.
But - they’re not bears, they’re marsupials.
This book is the lovechild of a cosy, 1970s English village story and an almost slapstick murder novel. The titular girls live and work together, then (no spoiler) events brings their son into being - but misunderstandings, overreactions, and an odd acceptance by the housekeeper of events make for a read where you never quite know where it’s going to go in the next chapter. Thrilling, but not page turning, cute, but not dull, this is one of the few books I have trouble categorising.
But - they’re not bears, they’re marsupials.
September 6, 2024
When I read on the back of this book: “for those who feel Barbara Pym-ish on some days and Stephen King-ish on others”, I wasn’t sure what I was in for. But it’s a terrifically enjoyable read. Gentle and unnerving but not for the squeamish.
March 30, 2026
one of the most entertaining books i have ever read. felt like a roald dahl children’s book but with the perfect amount of spooky macabre drama. amazing how a british white man could write so well about a couple of queer women. thank you claude for the charming annotations <3
August 23, 2025
why would you name your son Butch....
January 18, 2024
"Cozy-Macabre" is a genre I could definitely stand to have a lot more of in my life! This dark, comic novel was a lot of fun and maybe perfect winter reading.
May 5, 2024
One of the weirdest and most twisted books ive ever read :)
September 19, 2024
let’s go lesbians
funny, dark, AND cozy?? what more could you want. couldn’t put it down, had to find out how it ended. almost wish it was longer
funny, dark, AND cozy?? what more could you want. couldn’t put it down, had to find out how it ended. almost wish it was longer
August 18, 2025
just two lesbians living quietly bothering no one running a tea shop and making crafts and gardening and getting into a massive spot of trouble, oops
June 10, 2026
What a delicious book. Very Highsmithian, but with a gentle wry English countryside touch and a deft sense of humor. I laughed out loud many times. No spoilers - don't read the flap, the quotes, or the introduction. Just let yourself be charmed, amused and suprised.
December 7, 2024
Top 2 funniest books I’ve ever read. I’m actually still processing the whiplash of the comedy of errors that ensued
March 6, 2025
Let’s goooooo lesbianssasss
September 5, 2025
So fun and a little kooky! Very readable and fast paced book. The humor feels very dark and also very British (affectionate). I loved it and frankly found it incredibly touching.
November 16, 2025
Just grand, this one. Bowen writes with aplomb, but never bombast. Everything works flawlessly and so matter-of-factly. The descriptions of nature, the work of the Girls in their home and small shop, the quiet bucolic hamlet, the relationships, it is all so perfectly rendered. It is all feels so unremarkable even the killing, but there is a subtle beauty to it all that makes you realize you are in the hands of a master storyteller. Never has the regularity of life felt so magical and possible. I absolutely adored this book. And that last half page? Stunning, just stunning.
January 10, 2026
I'm usually very wary of men writing sapphic characters but this one was really good; their relationship was lifelike without any fetishisation. What I liked best was the women's unwavering devotion to each other. If you can trust your partner to immediately help you deal with the body of a man you just killed, they're the one.
It's described as a 1980s English countryside cosy murder mystery/thriller but that's not accurate because the murder happens only around the 50% mark, being not the point. The subtitle, "A Story of Village Life," is a major understatement, but accurate because a lot of the book is about two women and their life in a village. They run a gift shop and have been together for seven years. They booth at fairs to sell their hand-sewn smocks or homemade cheese/honey. As they live on farmland, there are hilarious incidents like a pig barrelling into their shop, or bullocks breaking into their garden. There is nothing of the city here.
After the women have a short break, Jan gets accidentally pregnant and gives birth to a son. Jan and Sue very happily raise him together, but then one day, the biological father arrives, says something that can be misconstrued, and Sue unintentionally kills him. They dump in the septic tank, but then the man's best friend shows up to doggedly investigate the disappearance, possibly out of love as well. I'd say that the ending is fair and a lot more compassionate than contemporary murder-thrillers.
It's described as a 1980s English countryside cosy murder mystery/thriller but that's not accurate because the murder happens only around the 50% mark, being not the point. The subtitle, "A Story of Village Life," is a major understatement, but accurate because a lot of the book is about two women and their life in a village. They run a gift shop and have been together for seven years. They booth at fairs to sell their hand-sewn smocks or homemade cheese/honey. As they live on farmland, there are hilarious incidents like a pig barrelling into their shop, or bullocks breaking into their garden. There is nothing of the city here.
After the women have a short break, Jan gets accidentally pregnant and gives birth to a son. Jan and Sue very happily raise him together, but then one day, the biological father arrives, says something that can be misconstrued, and Sue unintentionally kills him. They dump in the septic tank, but then the man's best friend shows up to doggedly investigate the disappearance, possibly out of love as well. I'd say that the ending is fair and a lot more compassionate than contemporary murder-thrillers.
Read
February 27, 2024siiiiiiiick. the particulars (ocarinas & jam & elderflower cooler & whatnot) are so sarah records that the inexorable march of the plot from escaped pig to sue in crete to jan meets alan to... what happens after just sorta bubbles under the surface until the ol' septic tank comes into play. highest possible rec for anyone who digs russell greenan (and vice versa). lingering Q that continues to creep me out: when, chronologically, does the 1st chapter take place?
December 27, 2023
So fun and interesting! Shame it’s not more widely read. Good for McNally editions for reprinting this.
July 9, 2025
I LOVEEEEEEEEEEE the girls >.< !!!!!!!!!!!!! S + P + B FOREVER <333
easy to read and so fun imo. i really loved this story!!!
easy to read and so fun imo. i really loved this story!!!
December 9, 2025
This is the type of book I am always looking to read and I feel quite lucky to have found and read it.
April 14, 2026
“The best time gave way to a worse time which was still not a bad time.” Jan-and-Sue, rabbit men, & the septic tank… a tale as old as time! The dark humor, poetic imagery, twists— clever & scrumptious. Read it twice already and WILL be reading it again. Bloody objects!!
Poll for the crowd: Do you think it’s a compliment or an insult to say someone has “a face which had been much in the open air”? Lmk
Poll for the crowd: Do you think it’s a compliment or an insult to say someone has “a face which had been much in the open air”? Lmk
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