The Bingo Hall Detectives

By: Jonathan Whitelaw

Narrated by: Sid Sagar

Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Eyes down to find a killer who’s playing to win....

An irresistible slice of murder and mystery—there’s a killer on the loose in the Lake District, and the members of the Penrith Bingo Club have decided they’re the ones to catch the culprit....

Jason Brazel is an out-of-work journalist who lives in Penrith with his family and mother-in-law, Amita. She knows everyone and everything that’s going on in this corner of the Lakes.

So when it’s discovered that Madeline Forbisher, one of Amita’s fellow regulars at the bingo club has died, found by the postman outside her crumbling country home close to Ullswater Lake, she senses immediately this is no accident. The trouble is, no one else seems to take her suspicions seriously.

That is, until she enlists the help of her friends at the Penrith Bingo Club. Dismissed by many as eccentric, over the hill or out of touch, it turns out that it’s unlucky for some that these amateur sleuths are on the case....

©2022 Jonathan Whitelaw (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Charming cozy mystery

Funny, heart-warming mystery! Excellent narration. I laughed out loud and enjoyed the vivid characters. Recommend for a cozy mystery with British humor and an unlikely but charming detective duo.

Good enough

I liked the book, the characters, but somehow the magic wasn't there. I have given silly cozy books five stars because I looked forward to listening to them and my mind did not drift. I gave this review three stars as I checked out my podcasts first before continuing to listen where I left off. I didn't finish chapters before leaving the car, etc. I will purchase to the next book. Narration is excellent.

Disappointing

Slow moving
Not much detecting happening
Constant conflict between main characters irritating. Poor charater developement

Good, for first in series

Great narration. A little slow going. Enjoyed and we probably get another book, if there is another.
Didn't figure out the mystery, always a bonus.

good mystery

Good mystery with an interesting and unique dynamic between the 2 main characters. Their changing relationship as the book progresses really adds to the story.

The title of the book is somewhat misleading - not that that matters much, but kind curious. One of the 2 main characters is a 70-something that belongs to a bingo club, but the club as a whole doesn't really do any detecting. Again, that doesn't really matter and the book is definitely worth a listen anyway.

Hope this becomes a series!

Oh my, creative, funny and a murder!

Excellent production! Entertaining story enhanced by a marvelous performer. I laughed, I cried and I cheered.

Not too bad, slow moving but excellent narrator

As a previous reviewer pointed out, the story was slow moving. I found some parts unnecessary (eg meeting the inspector grand daughter) and questioned the existence of the Inspector, who did not play any role in solving the mystery. Other than these, the storyline is generally okay, and it was a very interesting combo of mother and son in law solving crimes. I had my suspects listed, but did not see it coming that way. A nice twist to the whodunnit.

Amita was such a lovely and likeable character, and her frenemy Georgie added a touch of laughter to the story. I wasn’t sure about Jason though, as I found him to be always so passive.

The best from this audio book was the narrator! He was so wonderful with his portrayal of all the characters - the accent, the voice and the way they talked (especially Georgie). He had such a good reading voice too, and it was such a treat to listen to this book due to him.

I look forward to listening to book 2.

More, More, More

I drive cross country for a living and needed some lighthearted listening. Likable, relatable and quick witted sarcastic characters come alive in what I hope to be a long series of Bingo Hall mischief!!

I Swear I Know These Characters

Jonathan Whitelaw has written vivid, imperfect, interesting, characters that feel like real people I have known. The family at the center of The Bingo Hall Detectives is filled with love without being either too sweet or too one dimensional. The mystery clips right along and has a satisfying conclusion. I had a great time with The Bingo Hall Detectives and hope this is the start of a series.

I barely liked the protagonist

And not until the end. The bickering between the main character and his mother in law was annoying.