Mrs Mohr Goes Missing: 'An ingenious marriage of comedy and crime.' Olga Tokarczuk, 2018 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

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It is the year 1893. Thirty-eight-year-old Zofia Turbotynska has assured her husbands rise through the ranks to university professor and is now looking for something to fill her long days at home. To stave off the boredom and improve her social standing, she decides to organise a charity raffle. To recruit the requisite patronage of elderly aristocratic ladies, she visits Helcel House, a retirement home run by nuns. When two of the residents are found dead, Zofia discovers by chance that her real talents lie in solving crimes. The examining magistrates refusal to take seriously her insistence that foul play is involved spurs her on to start her own investigation, recruiting her quick-witted servant Franciszka as her assistant. With her husband blissfully unaware of her secret activities, Zofia ruthlessly follows the clues and gradually closes in on the truth. Drawing on Agatha Christie and filled with period character and charm,Mrs Mohr Goes Missing vividly recreates life in turn-of-the-century Poland, confronting a range of issues from class prejudice to womens rights, and proving that everyone is capable of finding their passion in life, however unlikely it may seem.

Reviews

Strong-minded Zofia is an appealing character and the sprightly narrative and vivid evocation of turn-of-the-century Poland make for an enjoyable tale.

* Guardian *

While there is a strong whiff of Agatha Christie in this book, it is much more than a pastiche... The story fuses high comedy with an evocative portrayal of the period. And the authors pseudonym conceals the identities of two well-known Polish writersably translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones.

* Sunday Express *

The unravelling of the mystery is ingenious... Its fun and sparky and the glimpse of turn-of-the-century Polish manners and mores is beguiling.

* Daily Mail *

An ingenious marriage of comedy and crime.

* Olga Tokarczuk, 2018 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature *

This is a delicious read.

* Michal Rusinek, satirist and childrens writer *

'This is an entertaining, and with its depiction of upper-class life in a now vanished society, an informative read.'

* Promoting Crime *

Highly comical...an extremely absorbing novel.

* Kurzojady *

The main appeal here is the pseudonymous Szymiczowas intriguing evocation of turn-of-the-century Poland, an area that remains underexplored in crime fiction. The approach is largely humorous, and some of the whimsy here will not appeal to all tastes. But for those readers who find themselves attuned to the wavelength of amateur sleuth Zofia Turbotyska, there is much pleasure to be had and even such issues as class and womens rights are addressed in the context of a pleasing narrative.

* European Literature Network *

Charming and moreishthis is a tale that conjures up the delightful books of Dorothy L Sayers and is the perfect diversion for annoying commutes.

* Stylist top books for March *

How have Dehnel and Tarczyski pulled it off By not taking the easy option, but by taking pains to recreate the Krakow of more than a century ago, comically satirising the haughty city without resorting to malice. As we read this book, we love and loathe old-time Krakow equally. And thats just what the authors wanted.

* Gazeta Wyborcza *

A delightful debut whodunit written with abundant wit and flair. Pray for a series to follow.

* Kirkus *

'Think Wes Anderson meets Agatha Christie. Szymiczkowas work is a well-crafted page-turner, but also offers a deeper comment on sexism and gender inequality in contemporary Poland.'

* Calvert Journal *

Author Bio

Jacek Dehnel is a writer, poet and translator. He has written several novels, among them Lala (Oneworld, 2018). He writes crime fiction under the pseudonym Maryla Szymiczkowa together with partner Piotr Tarczynski, a translator and historian. They live in Warsaw. Antonia Lloyd-Jones is a prize-winning translator of Polish literature. She has translated works by many of Polands leading contemporary novelists and authors of reportage, as well as crime fiction, poetry, screenplays, essays, and children's books. She is a mentor for the WCN Emerging Translator Mentorship Programme, and from 2015-17 was co-chair of the Translators Association. Her previous translations of work by Jacek Dehnel include the novels Lala (Oneworld Publications, 2018) and Saturn (Dedalus Books, 2012).