Elise M. Stone

I wanted to like this goofy little cozy mystery set in a senior citizens' residence in a small town near Tuscon, Arizona. My beloved Arizona settings came across as true to life. The descriptions and interactions of the wide variety of distinct characters seemed spot on. But the overall story was disappointing and fell flat.

The best word I can find to describe most of the prose is pedestrian. The action and relationships came across as stiff and clumsy. Then there's the uncompelling mystery, with an unlikable victim and a complete lack of suspects capable or inclined to have done it. This forced the author to end the story with a completely invented perpetrator and what amounts to a fanciful motive. The 'clues' that were supposed to support these inventions were unconvincing.… (mere)

A suspicious death occurs when six women visit an Arizona ‘dude ranch’ managed by an older woman who happens to be an amateur sleuth. There isn’t much in the way of crime-solving here. Instead, the book revolves around the MC’s day to day running of the ranch, challenged by the toxic relationship of the 6 guests, who are ex-college roomies with emotional baggage. Our MC also worries about her husband, who is suffering from long covid. Despite these issues, this is a lightweight read, but I failed to keep track of who was who amongst the female visitors. Also, it is apparent that the main character is from a prior series as there is frequent mention of characters and events from the past, though knowledge of these is not needed to understand the plot. Overall, I thought this a bit dull and found myself skimming over some of the extraneous chatter. But it is probably standard fare for cozy mysteries, which I have yet to develop a great appreciation for.
I won a free copy of this book (thanks to the author & publisher!) and am voluntarily providing an honest review.… (mere)