Posted: (AEST).
January 2026 Bookbug
Not to Disturb by Muriel Spark
A tiny taste of murder is contained in this 1971 novella. I read the entire of Murel Spark’s Not to Disturb in one late day trip as a passenger monarch of the car.
If you love dialogue, this is the book for you. It’s all chats, and a bit like watching an incredibly British theatre as it very almost reads like a script. One that doesn’t at all take itself seriously and in fact breaking the fourth wall often, albeit in such a way that is explainable in such a way as a dream or a tabloid.
While I couldn’t relate at all to any of the characters, I did however find that the rhythm of the prose was quite an easy read once I found my bearings of where I even was in the course of the story.
At one point in the novella, it is mentioned that the Baroness learned to eat an orange with a knife and fork, without ever touching the orange. I felt like this was how this murder mystery was handled, not touching any of the usual focus of the bitter murder but instead exploring the perspective of the servants all around it.
All in all a light read on a rainy drive.
I read this book as part of Bookbug, as it is their January 2026 book!
Book cover accompanying the review is a Little Pixel Library book cover I have drawn.