The Night in Question
A Novel
-
-
4.5 • 2 Ratings
-
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
For readers of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, comes this unforgettable novel about an eighty-seven-year-old woman on a quest for big answers and big adventures.
Florrie Butterfield has lived a life full of unexpected travel and adventure. But at eighty-seven, she isn’t expecting many more surprises to come her way.
Then, one midsummer’s night, something terrible occurs—so shocking and strange that Florrie grows wary. Is it really an accident, or is she being lied to? Is she living alongside a would-be murderer?
The only clue is a magenta envelope, discarded earlier that day.
With her suspicions overlooked and her abilities underestimated, Florrie is determined to uncover the truth. But as she turns detective, she finds herself looking back on her own life . . . and a long-buried secret, traced in faded scars over her knuckles, becomes ever harder to ignore.
Will she discover what really happened that night? Or will much more come to light than even she had imagined?
Prize-winning author Susan Fletcher’s new novel is an absorbing whodunnit that also looks at—and celebrates—the passions, regrets, secrets and adventures of one woman’s extraordinary and inspiring life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fletcher (House of Glass) expertly intertwines two mysteries in this eloquent and astute tale set in a British assisted living facility. The first mystery concerns Renata Green, manager of Babbington Hall, a retirement residence in the Oxfordshire countryside. Renata's fall from her office window is witnessed by 87-year-old Florrie Butterfield, who roams the facility's grounds in her wheelchair and is "as deaf as a saucepan without her hearing aids." Residents suspect Renata jumped in a suicide attempt that has left her comatose, but Florrie, who chatted with Renata earlier in the day and found her to be uncharacteristically cheery and outgoing, believes she was murdered. Following that hunch, the octogenarian sets about investigating with the help of fellow resident and former schoolteacher Stanhope Jones. As they gather clues, Fletcher lights the fuse on the second mystery: who is Florrie, anyway? What's behind the terrible secret she has trouble even thinking about in private? And what might she learn about forgiveness from her sleuthing with Stanhope? Fletcher points those questions in poignant directions, providing her unforgettable protagonist with resonant lessons about mending the past, all while maintaining satisfying tension in the central whodunit. This gloriously uplifting mystery will stay with readers long after they've turned the final page.
Customer Reviews
Hi
Talked about bosoms a little too much every now and then. Took a while to get to the point, but the wait was worth it! I really enjoyed reading this book.