A Pen Dipped in Poison – Liz, Pat & Thelma Are Back With Another Mystery

Last Updated on April 22, 2026

If you’re a return visitor to my cozy mystery site, you will know that more often than not, my love of the genre knows no bounds.

I love the books, the TV shows, the movies, puzzle books – you name it, I’ll give it a go.

That is also why I downloaded A Pen Dipped in Poison by J.M. Hall, having already read the first novel in the series, which was quite enjoyable.

I liked the reluctant heroes of Liz, Pat and Thelma and the fact that both they and the plot are rooted in the real world.

So off I went, diving head first into the second book in the series expecting more of the same. Did it pay off? Hmmmm…

Here Come The Girls

At the end of the first book, our intrepid trio had successfully figured out what happened to their friend Topsy.

They had resolved some issues in their own lives and so I fully expected the next book to pick up with the ladies a little more willing to engage in their newest mystery.

Not so. While Liz and Thelma still meet up, it’s over 100 pages into the book before Pat joins them, for reasons which are never fully explained.

The plot goes like this. The primary school that all three women used to teach at has been taken over and turned into an academy.

It’s the summer fair and everything is going well until the new head of the school – Kayleigh – received a malicious note telling her she’s not wanted at the school.

Thelma suggests that it’s from a disgruntled ex-PTA member and everybody is relieved.

Fast forward to the new school year and Liz has been asked to volunteer at her old school, assisting her friend Jan in the classroom.

That’s when she discovers that poison pen letters have been sent to a lot of the teachers and staff. Everybody is understandably upset but nobody wants to talk about it or go to the police.

At this point, Thelma is asked to be a school governor and Pat, who has yet to meet up with her friends, is doing her own thing, bidding for a construction job at the school on behalf of her husband.

Between them they all realise that something is very wrong at the school. And, once again, they each barely dip their toe into the water of trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

Eventually, they decide that one way or another they are going to get to the bottom of these malicious notes and work out who is sending them and why.

That’s the plot in a nutshell. There are a few side plots that ultimately tie into the overall story but the crux is the letters and the reason for sending them.

Far Too Long

For some reason this book is longer than the standard cozy mystery novel which normally runs to about 300 pages. Of course some are shorter or longer, but they generally end up somewhere around that size.

Normally, a longer book is perfectly fine if the story is solid enough. It allows for a few more subplots, greater character development etc…

So, given that this book does neither of those things, I cannot for the life of me understand why it went on so long.

I’ll give you an example. Repetition in books is a real pet peeve of mine. In this instance, Thelma has an inkling that there’s something about the letters that doesn’t set right.

100 pages later and she’s still thinking the same thing. And then again.

That’s the main problem with A Pen Dipped in Poison. The three women go back and forth and round in circles never really getting anywhere.

If Liz rang Jan once to ask her about the letters, she must have rang her ten times. Pat’s annoyance at her family is never ending.

They all keep secrets, none of them want to tell their husbands about anything and they barely even speak to each other.

Basically, I found it difficult to even finish. It just draaaaaaaaaaged on and eventually when it did reach its inevitable conclusion, it was all rather tame.

What was good about the first book is missing from this. There’s no fun, no quirky humor and the friendship is almost non existent.

Are There Any Good Points?

I’m sad to say that J.M. Hall is missed the mark with this one. It’s repetitive, unfunny, too long and our three lovely ladies are simply burdened by their own personal problems.

It’s such a shame because I love Liz, Pat and Thelma and as women who are only in their sixties, they should be having a blast.

Instead they are simply overwhelmed, unhappy most of the time and secretive to the point where you wonder if their friendship will even hold up.

The plot of the letters, albeit an old trope, could have been so much better. Each note is about five lines long and appears to absolutely shatter the confidence of the receiver – to the extent that they need time off work.

Absolutely nobody is happy in this book. Not even mildly content. It’s not a cozy mystery, it’s a depressing read.

For me, it’s a disappointment. I’m also reluctant to pick up the third instalment unless I am virtually guaranteed that it is edited better.

Follow On Books

And, speaking of the third book, A Clocked Stopped Dead is the next book in the series.

This time around the ladies are confronted with a rather mystical mystery when their good friend Marguerite claims to have uncovered a mysterious charity shop that has since vanished.

Is it real? Was it a vision? Will the ladies get to the bottom of the mystery?

The fourth novel is called A Brush With Death and that is due out in March 2025.