Murder from A to Z
Mystery Bookstore #11
By V.M. Burns
ISBN 9781496750822
Author’s Website: Vmburns.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie
Synopsis:
When Michigan bookshop owner and historical mystery author, Samantha Washington, and her sister, Jenna, agreed to host a class for seniors on estate planning, they didn’t plan on discovering shady doings at Shady Acres Retirement Village . . .
Nana Jo has volunteered her lawyer granddaughter, Jenna, to teach estate planning to retirees—with Sam providing her bookshop as the venue. But during the seminar, entitled Getting Your Ducks in Order, it quickly becomes clear someone’s up to Fowl Play. When elderly Alva Tarkington, accompanied by her niece, sits down for a consultation, Sam realizes the woman’s frequent blinking is actually Morse Code—S.O.S. The sisters get her alone, and Alva tells them she believes her life is in danger and must change her will . . .
Unfortunately, Alva is found dead the next day—seemingly from natural causes. But Nana Jo and the sisters suspect otherwise. In between penning her latest historical mystery, set in 1939 as England declares war on Germany and Lady Elizabeth Marsh pursues stolen paintings and a traitor, Sam teams up with the senior sleuths of Shady Acres to search for motives—beginning with Alva’s family. They soon learn not everyone is who they say they are, and someone is more than qualified to teach a class on cold-blooded murder . . . (from Goodreads)
Review:
Without exception, each cozy/historical mystery in this series is consistently better than the one prior! This gave me hours of pure enjoyment and suspense! Some of Sam’s (Samantha’s) big dreams have come true. As a relatively young widow, she is living the dream that she and her late husband nurtured. She owns a mystery bookstore, turned the huge loft into an apartment, and wrote and published the first in a series of historical British cozy mysteries. Sam never thought she could fall in love again. She and Frank, a restaurateur, will marry in two months.
Market Street Mysteries is growing into the pages of local readers. She also offers beneficial classes to the community. The current class offered the opportunity to learn about estate planning. Sam’s pit bull – uh, sister – Jenna is an attorney who is very knowledgeable about the subject, and is leading the class. Those attending include Sam’s grandmother, Nana Jo, and her friends from Shady Acres, a Senior living community where Nana Jo, Ruby, Dorothy, and Irma live. Frank, Sam’s fiancé, Jo, and her friends are like one big family, despite the age differences. The sense of community and kinship between the various ages is greatly appealing in this series.
One guest had her head bowed, seemingly out of it. After everyone left except the lady – Alva – and the woman who brought her there – Bethany – Alva looked up, caught Sam’s eye, and blinked, in Morse code, SOS. Sam caught on quickly and sent Jo take the younger woman with Alva out of the room. Alva began to interact as a fully functional woman, despite her earlier appearance. Alva needed help from Jenna, and handed her what she called an addendum to her will, to process urgently before “they” succeeded in killing her. This is one of the more poignant scenes in the book, the lengths Alva went to in order to alter her final wishes. Bethany was the wife of Carl, Alva’s great-nephew and only living relative. Jenna offered a free half-hour consult to Bethany and her husband, hoping to learn more about Alva and her potential killers.
Jenna and Sam went to Alva’s home the next morning, but Alva had died. Even before her body was removed, Carl and Bethany were trying desperately to find her will.
The detective with whom they helped find several murderers was on vacation. Brad “Stinky” Pitt, the king of ill-fitting polyester shirts and suits, caught the eye and heart of Frank’s mother, Dr. Camilla Patterson. She is a brilliant, stylish, renowned surgeon, and they were taking their vacation time together. In desperation, Sam called her future mother-in-law, who volunteered Brad’s help to them to get an autopsy done. Alva, a former artist, had been poisoned.
This excellent mystery kept me engaged from the first page, and my fascination grew from there. The case had many strands to follow, and plot twists were as dramatic as hairpin curves. Alva’s addendum opened much speculation among her heirs!
A second mystery enhances the present-day murder. Sam, whose first book baby was in the world, worked on her next novel. Writing fiction helped her clear her mind. This novel has its own mystery, set in England during WWII. Stolen paintings and murder were intriguing, especially in light of Alva’s estate.
The characters are a blast to follow! Sam, Nana Jo, and their friends from Shady Acres have a long history together. Their dry wit and vague resemblance to the Golden Girls gave this reader much to laugh at. Their love for each other and for solving mysteries is a treasure and an adventure. Each of the regulars could easily step off the page to “real life”. The short-term characters, including Alva, Bethany, and Carl, are described per their roles and become easily recognizable.
There was much more going on than Alva’s murder and inheritance. Sam found herself chatting with an FBI agent, an art appraiser, and the local museum owner, as well as the two ladies hired to help Alva. I was happy to figure out one tiny section of the puzzle while Sam did the heavy lifting to put everything together. There were definitely surprises of the depth of the deceptions. I am all-in for the next mystery in this series, and highly recommend this and others in the series!
