Mindful of Murder

Meet Helen Thorpe. She's smart, preternaturally calm, deeply insightful and a freshly trained butler. On the day she is supposed to start her career as an unusually equanimous domestic professional serving one of the wealthiest families in the world, she is called back to a spiritual retreat where she used to work, the Yatra Institute, on one of British Columbia's gulf islands. The owner of the lodge, Helen's former employer Edna, has died while on a three-month silent self-retreat, leaving Helen instructions to settle her affairs.

But Edna's will is more detailed than most, and getting things in order means Helen must run the retreat for a select group to determine which of Edna's relatives will inherit the institute. Helen's classmates, newly minted butlers themselves, decide they can't let her do it alone and arrive to help Helen pull things off. After all, is there anything three butlers can't handle? As Helen carries out the will's instructions, she begins to think that someone had reason to want Edna dead. A reluctantly suspicious investigator, Helen and her band of butlers find themselves caught up in the mystery. (From HarperCollins Canada)

• 22 books to read for International Women's Day 2022

Susan Jubyis a Nanaimo,B.C.-based writer. Her other novels includeAlice, I Think,Nice RecoveryandRepublic of Dirt, which won the Leacock Medal for Humour.

• Susan Juby's novel Mindful of Murder is a murder mystery full of humour and compassion
• 66 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in spring 2022
• Susan Juby recommends 3 audiobooks she's recently loved
• 3 books that helped Susan Juby examine feminism today
• Susan Juby: 6 books that shaped my life
• Susan Juby on her crafty backup plans
• 3 books that helped Susan Juby examine the modern opioid crisis
• Susan Juby on her must-read books for pet lovers
• Susan Juby's favourite audiobooks for the holiday season
• Why Susan Juby loves audiobooks
• 100 writers in Canada the world should read

Interviews with Susan Juby

The Next Chapter18:32Susan Juby on Mindful Murder

Susan Juby talks to Shelagh Rogers about her novel, Mindful of Murder.

The Next Chapter10:47Susan Juby recommends three great audiobooks

Author and columnist Susan Juby on three favourite audiobooks for great listening.

The Next Chapter9:31Susan Juby on "back to the land" books

Novelist Susan Juby talks about three of her favourite books in the genre.

Other books by Susan Juby