By Kate Solly
Publisher Affirm Press, 2025
Review:
by Jane Patrick
Kate Solly’s second novel is an entertaining addition to the cosy crime genre. Anyone with direct or vicarious experience of being the full-time carer of three young children will empathise with the central character – Felicity Parker, known as Fleck. Fleck is clearly very clever. She loves puzzles— even D.A.’s obscure Friday cryptic crossword. She is somewhat socially isolated and is struggling with her mundane organisational tasks now that her eldest child has started school. She also thinks she may have ADHD.
In her quest for friendship and meaningful activity, she comes across the Many Hands craft store and Trixie, a turquoise-haired young mother and crafter. The store is operated as a social enterprise by the Many Hands Society. Trixie is accused of stealing from their funds, and she convinces Fleck to investigate the theft and expose the true culprit. So this story does not begin with a dead body, although as Fleck finally gets closer to the solution, there is a degree of physical threat.
Most of the book follows Fleck’s detecting activities: spying on people involved in the management of the Society and writing up information with coloured pens— in which she is often accompanied by her children. The concept of the puzzle expert investigator may be familiar to readers from the television series Ludwig. Fleck is not as incisive as the investigator in that series, and she follows several red herrings when she has time in her day to engage in sleuthing.
The book cover suggests that as a mother with young children, Fleck is invisible, and this ability to blend in makes detecting easier. She is certainly underestimated by some of those in charge of the Society.
Fleck was used to solving problems in a social setting. When she joined in with trivia nights and break room crosswords, she was always careful to temper her intellect … Nobody liked a show-off.
Despite her cleverness, Fleck chases “clues” down rabbit holes and misses what seems obvious to the reader from the hints scattered throughout the story.
Fleck and Trixie are likeable characters, and the details of their lives with their children are entertaining, amusing, and as charming as the budgerigars that Trixie crochets and the classic dress patterns that Fleck collects. Their friends, neighbours, and other characters in the story are well drawn, varied, and relatable. The action takes place in the fictional suburb of Paradise Heights and in non-fictional Melbourne settings.
It was fun to read a crime story set in a familiar Australian suburban environment. Rather incongruously against this background, it transpires that there is very nasty criminal behaviour going on. The police become involved, an undercover agent is revealed, and an ex-wife provides information. Does Fleck hold the key to the puzzle? Does she even know she does?
This is a delightful read.
Publisher’s blurb
Being invisible is hard, but it’s PERFECT if you want to be a detective.
Meet Fleck Parker: Mother, Crafter, and Amateur Detective.
Fleck loves a good puzzle. She spends most of her time feeling invisible, caring for three small children, and that’s fine, really. But it does make her brain itch occasionally.
When Trixie, fellow school-mum and avid crafter, is accused of stealing money from Many Hands, the women’s charity known for its charming store full of handmade crafts, Fleck feels compelled to investigate and clear Trixie’s name. From playground stake-outs to tailing cars while nursing the baby to sleep, Fleck and Trixie uncover a case more complex than either of them could have imagined.
Will they crack the case?