Mrs Pargeter (Melita to no one but her late husband) has always kept her distance from the shady businesses that her late husband was engaged in. The lifestyle it has set her up in is extremely comfortable, allowing her to be generous to those who need such generosity, and all of her husband’s old acquaintances have an unswerving loyalty and devotion to her. But she has always claimed that she is completely unaware of the nature of Mr Pargeter’s activities…

But it seems that her supposed ignorance may be about to be exposed. To protect one of Mr P’s associates from revenge from a pair of criminal brothers who he owes a significant amount of money to. The simple solution – to bring their criminal empire to its knees. Because Mrs P knows the brothers from the time they kidnapped her…

This is the latest from my favourite of Simon Brett’s series. The Mrs Pargeter series has always been entertaining. While the mystery element can waver from full-blown whodunnit to… well, this, a romp, basically, the notion of an honourable oldish woman surrounded by good-hearted ne’er-do-wells is quite a fun one.

This one… well, as I said, it’s a romp, with about half of the book set back in the early days of Mr and Mrs P’s marriage. So we finally get a proper look at Mr Pargeter and, I think, get an idea of exactly what he was up to and the extent of his criminal activities. Which, it has to be said, were far more extensive than I’d assumed and I’m not particularly sure that I wanted to know that basically he controlled all the organised crime in London and Essex for a good while. Personally, I think it would have been best to keep his activities nebulous. Instead, we get what feels a bit like an eighties sitcom set in the London underworld.

Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy this one, but it’s not the strongest in the series. The fate of the gangsters – and, in particular the cause of their fate – seemed rather over the top, making the ending seem a little silly in contrast to the seriousness of at least one of the villains.

So, best to place your tongue firmly in your cheek for this one, and, as I said, don’t expect a mystery.

Mrs Pargeter’s Past is out in hardback and ebook on October 7^th from Severn House. Many thanks for the review e-copy.