Captivating Characters - Phyllis Hudson

On the last Friday of every month, Carol at Reading Ladies Book Club hosts Captivating Characters where you can share your post about the most captivating character (real or fictional) you encountered in the past month. 

This Month's Captivating Character: Phillis Hudson

The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson
Published by Berkley on May 27, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Mystery, Fiction
Rating: 
Goodreads

A dysfunctional book club must pull together when one of their members goes missing.

The five members of the St. Tredock Book Club disagree on everything, from the books they read to the biscuits they eat. But when one of the group suddenly disappears and a dead body is discovered at his house, these bibliophiles must put their differences aside to solve the mystery.

Having recently moved to Cornwall, Nova Davies started the book club to impress her new colleagues at the community center, but so far it’s a disaster. To make matters worse, six thousand pounds is stolen from the community center during one of her meetings, putting both her job and the whole center at risk.

Suspicion for the theft falls on book club member Michael, especially when a dead body is discovered at his house and Michael disappears. The police think he’s simply run away, but the other members have their own theories. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove he’s a murderer as well as a thief, while secret romance reader Arthur believes Michael’s eloped with his mistress, and teenage sci-fi fan Ash thinks dark forces are at play.

While trying to find Michael and recover the money, each book club member has their own secrets to protect. With inspiration from their favorite fictional sleuths, they won’t rest until they’ve cracked the case and everyone is safe at home where they belong.

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At first glance, Phyllis seems like a grumpy old lady. She loved her dog and treated him better than most people, but this woman had layers. She was often honest to a fault, but she also wanted to be helpful and did care. She was a BIG Agatha Christie fangirl, and her musings about Christie's various sleuths were amusing. Some may say she was nosey, but that was just her Miss Marple tendency to observe and collect data. The whole time, I knew there was something more to her story, and when it was finally uncovered towards the end, it was heartbreaking. BUT being the tough old gal that she was, Phyllis found the silver lining and kept moving forwards. Absolutely loved her strength and moxie. 

What captivating characters did you meet?
Let us know in the comments!