Author: J.C. Eaton
Genre: Mystery
Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781954717732
Beyond the Page Publishing
206 Pages
$13.99; $4.99 Amazon
March 15, 2022
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spring is in the air as Sun City West gears up for its annual Bye Bye Birdie festivities, when residents bid a fond farewell to the snowbirds and happily reclaim the town for themselves. But planning comes to a screeching halt when the town curmudgeon plummets to her death from the library bell tower and sheriff's deputies suspect foul play. With the celebration on hold -- and Phee's mother worried that she won't get her moment in the spotlight on a local TV show slated to cover the event -- Phee is thrust into the role of sleuth once again to find the killer.
As Phee soon discovers, there's no love lost between the town and the unfortunate victim, and with the clock ticking and virtually everyone a potential suspect, she's got her work cut out for her. Then a passel of horseflesh goes missing, and Phee starts to think the two crimes might be connected. With the town on edge and high noon approaching, she'll have to wrangle with a band of daring desperados and lasso a lawbreaker who's dead set on sending her to boot hill...
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Sophie "Phee" Kimball works as a bookkeeper for a private investigation firm near Sun City, Arizona. She's also engaged to one of the private investigators, Marshall Gregory, and just wants to have a quiet life with him. Unfortunately, that's never going to happen. Her mother Harriet lives in Sun City West, a retirement community for active seniors -- or, in Harriet's case, seniors with overactive imaginations. Every time something occurs, Harriet's sure she or one of her friends is going to be either a suspect or murdered in their beds.
When a local woman named Billie, or the deli-witch, as Harriet and her friends call her, is found at the bottom of the bell tower in the library, and Harriet wants Phee to ask her boss to investigate. But both he and Marshall are on the trail of local horse thieves, and can't be located half of the time due to spotty cell phone signals. That, of course, only leaves Phee, who dreads once again even agreeing to help.
Harriet is afraid if the case isn't solved, then she'll lose her chance to be on television (long story) and so Phee is suckered in once more. What results is another hilarious episode in A Day In the Life of Phee and Her Hysterical Mother. Its' fun, feisty, over-the-top, and one of the most humorous books I've read in awhile.
Phee, of course, has her thoughts given only to us, the reader, and they are worth reading the book alone. We follow along as she tries to rein Harriet and her friends in, something that is never going to happen, and she's on the trail of a killer once more. But when she starts questioning people, there isn't a single one who has anything good to say about her, which makes Phee's job more difficult.
Toward the end she has to ask for help from someone she never thought she'd need to -- and when Harriet and this person get together the results are truly a hoot. Oh, yes, let's not forget Harriet's Chiweenie, Streetman -- in all his glory as an amorous pup out to make a conquest and strutting his stuff while making Phee crazy.
When Phee discovers that what she's chasing and what Marshall is chasing might be connected (no surprise there; it's in the blurb) the climax comes together in so many ways that the entire thing has another funny scene that no one could have seen coming.
I have read every book in this series, and each one is more delightful than the last. This one is no different, and I eagerly await the next in the series. Highly recommended.
I was given an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
More on J.C. Eaton's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/e/j-c-eaton/
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