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A review by dollycas
Seniors Sleuth by J.J. Chow
4.0
Dollycas’s Thoughts
J.J. Chow introduces us to Winston Wong, a man trying to start over after his investments dry up and his sister bails him out by buying him a house to live in. He decides to become a sleuth like his favorite childhood detective. He is not licensed but takes out an ad in the Pennysaver to get his new business off the ground. A typo in the ad changes his plan just a bit. Instead of a Senior Sleuth he becomes a Seniors Sleuth and his first case has him investigating a death at an assisted living center.
The author gave us the requisite quirky characters for a cozy mystery. The residents of the Sweet Breeze are certainly unique, from the bejeweled Anastasia Templeton, to the dapper gent who plays the piano, Jazzman, and the curmudgeonly amputee Pete Russell. Nurse Kristen Blake seems to be the only staff outside of the manager of the place who spends more time playing video games than spending time with the residents. This part of the story didn’t ring true for me. A place like this would be required to have more staff. The meals are delivered by Meals on Wheels and that was odd to me too. Maybe things are different in California.
Winston’s first case starts out being just a small matter of easing someone’s mind but snowballs when he learns the man that died did not die of natural causes. Yet he kept stays on the case to find the killer. This was quite a mystery for his first case.
This is a very light mystery with all the cozy elements. A really good first effort to start this series. I enjoyed it but some of the details held me back from loving it. I am interested to see where the author takes her Senior Sleuth next.
J.J. Chow introduces us to Winston Wong, a man trying to start over after his investments dry up and his sister bails him out by buying him a house to live in. He decides to become a sleuth like his favorite childhood detective. He is not licensed but takes out an ad in the Pennysaver to get his new business off the ground. A typo in the ad changes his plan just a bit. Instead of a Senior Sleuth he becomes a Seniors Sleuth and his first case has him investigating a death at an assisted living center.
The author gave us the requisite quirky characters for a cozy mystery. The residents of the Sweet Breeze are certainly unique, from the bejeweled Anastasia Templeton, to the dapper gent who plays the piano, Jazzman, and the curmudgeonly amputee Pete Russell. Nurse Kristen Blake seems to be the only staff outside of the manager of the place who spends more time playing video games than spending time with the residents. This part of the story didn’t ring true for me. A place like this would be required to have more staff. The meals are delivered by Meals on Wheels and that was odd to me too. Maybe things are different in California.
Winston’s first case starts out being just a small matter of easing someone’s mind but snowballs when he learns the man that died did not die of natural causes. Yet he kept stays on the case to find the killer. This was quite a mystery for his first case.
This is a very light mystery with all the cozy elements. A really good first effort to start this series. I enjoyed it but some of the details held me back from loving it. I am interested to see where the author takes her Senior Sleuth next.