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Coopers Chase Retirement Village is a peaceful, lovely location for well-heeled older folks in their twilight years. It has a “contemporary upscale restaurant,” a pool, a sauna, and Pilates and yoga classes. The center offers lectures, a crossword club, a puzzle room, and all one would expect would be suitable and enjoyable for retirees with varied interests.
And then there’s the four-member Thursday Murder Club, which meets once a week in the Jigsaw Room to discuss and investigate cold cases. When a man connected to Coopers Chase is murdered, the two men and two women of the club dive in to help solve the crime. Not that the local police want their help, but the unexpectedly sneaky club members manage to insert themselves into the investigation using their useful pooled skills, taking advantage of their ages and the typical expectations younger folks have of them.
This is the kind of murder novel that isn’t necessarily about the mystery or the solving of it, though that is a vital piece of the plot, but about the characters. It’s just plain good fun watching four septuagenarians trick unsuspecting younger people into giving them information. Each of the club members has a distinct personality, skill set and background to help him or her tap into useful resources or figure out clues. The mystery itself had a few red herrings, each followed through eventually, until the culprit was revealed at the very end.
The droll style of the writing and the retirees’ hijinks had me chuckling regularly. If you’re looking for a clever and light clean mystery book, this is a perfect choice.
Rated: Mild. Profanity is minimal, with one use of moderate profanity, five instances of mild language, and about six uses of the name of Deity in vain. There is no sexual content. Violence includes the two murders, one of which is administered by medication in a syringe and the other is a man being hit over the head. There are a few instances of suicide and one of euthanasia.
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