Thursday, January 23, 2020

Botched 4 Murder (A Sophie Kimball Mystery #4)

Author:  J. C. Eaton
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496719881
Kensington Publishing
283 Pages
$7.99; $6.87 Amazon
December 18, 2018

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Sophie “Phee” Kimball is getting dragged into the drama again at her mom’s Arizona retirement community.  A new board member wants to get rid of two golf course and replace them with eco-friendly parks, and some of the residents are pretty teed off about it.  On top of that, her mother’s book club friend Myrna is being pushed out of the bocce league.  These seniors are serious about winning, and Myrna’s dragging them down.  She’s so bad at bocce, in fact, that when a community member’s dead body is discovered while Myrna’s practicing for a tournament, she assumes it was one of her own errant balls that killed the woman.

But before Myrna can be tossed off the bocce court and into criminal court, the police find an arrow in the victim’s neck.  It looks like this was no accident - and Phee and her investigator boyfriend Marshall will have to team up to bounce a killer into the slammer...

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Sophie "Phee" Kimball works as a bookkeeper for a private investigation firm in Arizona, and has recently started dating one of the PIs.  Her mother Harriet, who lives in a retirement community has taken it in her head that this means Phee can cajole her employers to do her bidding. This time out, Phee is roped into attending a meeting at the community because Harriet and her friends are against turning two of the golf courses into parks, which one of the board members is determined to do.  It's no surprise when the meeting turns heated, nor when Phee is hounded to help Harriet convince the other board members to vote 'no' on the proposal.  But when a murder occurs at the retirement community, Phee is once again dragged into the investigation, and finds herself at the beck and call of the seniors, trying to keep them calm and convinced a serial killer is not at large.

When Harriet discovers that Phee's firm is also once again involved in the investigation, Phee knows that unless a killer is found soon, things will only get worse with the seniors and that might mean one of them might be next on the list...

I have to say that I absolutely love reading these books.  Phee moved from Minnesota to Arizona to escape the frigid winters (not that I blame her; it's the same reason I moved from Minnesota to Las Vegas), but unfortunately, she moved a stone's throw from her mother Harriet who drives her crazy and turns her life into chaos every chance she gets.

This time out, the seniors are determined to corner the remaining board members and make them 'see reason' but what ensues is at times quite funny to read.  I love Phee's 'inside thoughts'; she has a gift for sarcasm and wit that's truly delighting, and she's the type of person I'd love to have as a friend (but only if I could sidestep Harriet).  The seniors have a way about them, but I honestly don't know which way, for even though they're humorous, they manage to go over the deep end about almost everything, which gives me a chuckle nonetheless.

Phee's relationship with Marshall is progressing, and he's a tolerant sort (being a private investigator, that's a good thing) because he manages to remain patient when he's around the seniors but is always on top of the investigation - even if Phee doesn't know it herself. 

When we finally discover the truth of the matter, and it all starts coming together, there's a bit of a climax that's definitely engrossing, and makes the entire book worthwhile.  This was an enjoyable book, and I look forward to the next in the series.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Botched-Murder-Sophie-Kimball-Mystery/dp/1496719883/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3156868134

More on J. C. Eaton's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/e/j-c-eaton/

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