The Night in Question

By: Susan Fletcher

Narrated by: Jenny Funnell

A lyrical and emotionally engaging novel infused with mystery and wisdom about love, friendship, and the power of forgiveness.

Florrie Butterfield—eighty-seven, one-legged, and of cheerful disposition—believes there can't be any more adventures or surprises in life to experience. Yet one midsummer’s evening, there’s an accident at Babbington Hall—the adult residence where she lives—so shocking and strange that Florrie is suspicious; is this really an accident? Or is she being lied to? Is she, in fact, living alongside a potential murderer?

In her efforts to learn the truth, Florrie is forced to look back on her own life, with all its passions and regrets; she must confront her own bloody secret—and, at last, forgive herself. Above all, Florrie learns, through the help of her new friend, Stanhope, that you’re never too old to have the life you’ve always dreamed of. When it comes to love, it’s never too late.

Fans of moving fiction about late-in-life second chances such as Fredrik Backman's A Man Called Ove and Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry will love this un-putdownable book.

©2024 Susan Fletcher (P)2024 Dreamscape Media

Lovely contemplation of life

Beautifully written and well narrated story of love and loss and grief and the choices we make.

Mystery, life affirming, late life romance

Excellent combination of mystery story and the life story of an unconventional woman. Heartwarming, insightful, engaging, and reflective.

Very nice story!

I really enjoyed the looking back over Florie’s life. The reflection and observations as well as the mystery definitely kept my interest piqued. Had it only had one (reflection or mystery), it would not have been such a page turner!

Couldn't put it down

At last, a book where elderly characters are well rounded humans, neither caricatures nor super-human. Like real people with stories and lives which made them who they are. People who still have things to learn about life and love and forgiveness.

It was also refreshing to find a main character who is allowed to grow and change, without starting out with a miserable, empty existence.

I'm not usually fond of novels where the protagonist has secrets which aren't shared with the reader, even when the story is told from their point of view, but in this case Susan Fletcher makes it work.

Jenny Funnell does a fine job with the narration, bringing the story to life without calling attention to herself, except for one brief, badly done accent. She seems like the perfect voice for this story.

Beautiful reflection disguised as a mystery novel

A beautifully written, heartfelt reflection on a life well lived, disguised as detective fiction. In a culture where older women get remarkably little attention, 87-year-old Florrie speaks of living by your own standards, of feeling younger than your age, of trauma that lasts a lifetime, and of the power of sending love across space to those who need it. The first mystery novel ever to make me cry. Highly recommend.

Overall engaging

I am a little tired of the “hinting at the long ago secret throughout the present plot” device, but overall I enjoyed the book. Florrie was a great character, and her best friend Pinky was wonderful as well!

Vivid

Susan Fletcher is a genius of character-building and vivid descriptions of emotions and life’s magical moments . Thoroughly enjoyed being swept away by the adventures of Flore - the liovely ones, the bittersweet ones, even the sad and tragic. Many wonderful similarities in the telling of this story to Fletcher’s book, Highland Witch, a personal favorite.

Beautiful, Engaging Story

I loved everything about this book. The writing is poetic and thoughtful. The narration is perfect. I want to read more of Susan Fletcher's books and to listen to Jenny Funnell read me another story. This may well be the most pleasant audiobook I have ever listened to.

Loved the Performance; Really Liked Characters; Story Ok

It was hard for me to pick a rating on this book. I loved the performer. I’m pretty sure it was her delivery that kept me moving forward. I really liked the characters. And I mostly liked the writing except at times when it seemed like it would just spend too much time describing something. Also the mystery seemed a bit like a lesser player in this story. As a mystery lover I would have preferred more time on that. So many aspects of this book were 4s or 5s. But ultimately it was the slow pacing, wandering prose, and secondary placement of the mystery that made me give it a three.