Home » Posts tagged 'retirement home'
Tag Archives: retirement home
Murder on Tour–plot within a plot
Murder on Tour
By V.M. Burns
Samantha Washington is an independent bookstore owner in North Harbor, Michigan. As a local author with her first book, a cozy mystery, to her credit, she is invited to be on panels at the North Harbor Book Festival hosted by Michigan Southwestern University.
When a publicist is murdered, Samantha (Sam) recruits her Nana Jo and her friends from Shady Acres Retirement Village to join her in solving the crime. It turns out to be more difficult than one would imagine as Sam uncovers among the authors multiple layers of affairs and treachery that could rival a soap opera.
This series is unusual in that Sam is writing historical fiction. We witness the process in spurts as Sam turns to her laptop frequently when she is blocked or needs a break in her investigations. The occurrences in the book she is writing with a setting of 1939 mirror in some ways the current crime. The first time I read a book in this series I found the technique somewhat distracting. In Murder on Tour, however, I thought it played well. Either the author has become more skillful or I have incorporated this style into my reading mindset.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #9 in the Mystery Bookshop Mystery Series, but could be read as a standalone
Publication: November 28,2023—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
“But don’t discount the importance of escapist fiction. Books are subjective, and people read books for different reasons. Given everything that’s happened in the world, many of us need to escape to maintain our sanity.”
These women didn’t know a lot about mysteries, but they would defend me to the death if anyone said an unkind word about my book. Some days, you need people like that in your corner.
He stared at me for several beats…I didn’t flinch. I taught English to high school students who could smell fear a mile away. Woe to the teacher stupid enough to blink during a stare-down. But he was good. Really good.
Remarkably Bright Creatures–looking for family
Remarkably Bright Creatures
by Shelby Van Felt
Remarkably Bright Creatures brings together characters who are searching, who are in pain, who are living out their lives the best way they know how. Marcellus is a giant Pacific octopus. He was rescued and now is spending the rest of his “sentence” at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. He knows that he has a lifespan of four years. Being a highly intelligent creature, he is doing a backwards countdown on his days and realizes there are not many left. Also ending the close of her life, with less precision, is Tova, the extremely competent 70 year old janitor at the Aquarium. She enjoys her job, and it keeps her busy. Her husband and son have both passed away—a fact which is daily present with her as she moves through time with sadness.
When Tova’s estranged brother passes away, she is forced to think about how she will end her days without anyone to care for her. Meanwhile she does have people in her life who love her, especially a group of friends called the Knit-Wits and the grocery store/deli owner Ethan who has a big heart.
Cameron is a young man who has an uncanny ability to regurgitate random facts but has never quite found his place in the world and considers himself a failure at everything he does. He was raised by his Aunt Jeanne after being dropped off by his mother. He never even knew who his father is. At the end of his relationship and financial ropes, he finds a high school class ring and goes off in search of his father. His journey takes him to the town where Tova works.
There are many clues that rise to the surface, some provided by Marcellus who really is a “remarkably bright creature.” He and Tova develop a relationship after she realizes that he gets out of his tank most nights. He recognizes her sadness and finds ways to communicate with her and help her. Although one clue sends the reader on the path of discovery, it takes several more before the actual mystery of various relationships is revealed. Tova did not know her son as well as she thought she did. Other characters have issues they have to come to grips with also. I like the way the author explores the depths of character of the people and animals that populate this book. Remarkably Bright Creatures handles well its themes of family, love, grief, and overcoming your past rather than letting your past determine your future.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Fiction
Notes: Contains swearing
Publication: May 3, 2022—Ecco
Memorable Lines:
Terry’s small daughter chose my name. Marcellus McSquiddles, in full. Yes, it is a preposterous name. It leads many humans to assume I am a squid, which is an insult of the worst sort.
The Knit-Wits have been her friends for years, and sometimes she still feels as if she’s a mistaken jigsaw piece who found her way into the wrong puzzle.
Every few seconds, with a loud whoosh, a burst of wind smacks him in the side of the head as another semi truck hurls down the freeway, like a parade of oversized beetles, mocking him with their menacing grilles as he stands on the shoulder in front of the camper’s popped hood.
Cry Wolf–part cozy, part police procedural
Cry Wolf
by Annette Dashofy
Readers get to ride along briefly with Zoe Chambers as she completes her nonstop shift as a Monongahela County EMS paramedic responding to a machete attack. As interesting as that is, it only gets more so as the characters involved are soon also identified as part of murder scenarios. In Cry Wolf, Annette Dashofy continues the personal tale of Zoe and her boyfriend, Pete Adams, who is Vance Township’s Chief of Police. The network expands to include Harry, Pete’s father with Alzheimer’s and Jason Cox, Zoe’s newly discovered half-brother.
Zoe’s boss is hospitalized, and she has to take over his coroner’s duties putting her closer to the investigation of both murders. Meanwhile the folks at Golden Oaks retirement home help out with the sleuthing, and Pete tries to come to grips with this newly found family relationship of Zoe’s. Vance’s small police force is currently undermanned due to a young officer’s reluctance to serve after his first police shooting results in a death.
Cry Wolf has a complicated plot with lots of interwoven threads and action scenes and a little humor thrown in. The characters are interesting and well-developed. This is a book you won’t want to put down until its surprise ending and satisfactory conclusion.
I would like to extend my thanks to Edelweiss and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #7 in the Zoe Chambers Mystery Series, but the author does a great job of bringing the reader up to speed on the characters.
Publication: September 18, 2018—Henery Press
Memorable Lines:
“Kristopher was livid. He has a very clear picture of how he wants his life to be. When anyone or anything interferes with that vision, he throws a temper tantrum to rival most two-year-olds.”
Zoe wondered what her dad would have been like in old age. On one hand, she’d been spared watching time and illness ravage his mind and body. On the other, she’d give just about anything to have him in her life, no matter what shape he’d be in.
education pathways 