Paperback Original
The Primrose Murder Society is the first adult mystery by Stacey Hackney, who has previously written two middle grade books. Indeed, this mystery also prominently features a kid – main character Lila’s rebellious little girl, Bea. When we meet mother and daughter, they’ve lost just about everything but each other. Lila’s well to do husband, Ryan, has been caught committing fraud and has abandoned them to run from the law. No one in Lila’s upper crust circle believes that she didn’t know about the crimes, and she has been shunned from society.
On top of that, Bea is shortly thrown out of her fancy school due to bad behavior and the state reclaims their house to help pay Ryan’s debts. With nowhere else to turn, Lila and Bea end up at the Primrose. It’s not a permanent arrangement. Lila’s mother’s boyfriend needs someone to clean out his mother’s apartment, and is allowing them to live there while they do. The apartment, however, is a hoarding nightmare and the Primrose is only meant for people over fifty five. Lila sticks out like a sore thumb and feels it immediately.
To complicate matters, Bea is not exactly cooperative about the change and keeps acting out. The only thing she chooses to be interested in is murder. The little girl is obsessed with true crime and Murder She Wrote, and latches on immediately to The Primrose’s unsolved case. A teenage girl, Sophia Kent, was murdered here some twenty odd years ago. Shortly after Lila and Bea arrive, Sophia’s grandfather passes and offers a two million dollar reward to solve the case. Bea is hooked.
Lila considers this silly fantasy until two fellow residents insert themselves into her life. One is Evelyn, a forceful if abrasive society lady and the other is Jasper, a retired investigator who hasn’t yet lost his skills. As Lila starts to think they can actually uncover a murderer, things around them start getting more and more dangerous. Lila might not have a choice but to solve the case if she doesn’t want to be a suspect herself.
This was a fun read. The characters are overall a joy to spend time with, and I could easily see this becoming a series. Though Bea’s behavior is occasionally frustrating to read about, it is very believable for a little girl who just wants to see her dad again and whose life has fallen apart. Lila and Bea grow and change together, and I hope to get to see them develop more. — Margaret Agnew