Author: Karen McSpade
Genre: Mystery
Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9798839900240
Independently Published
420 Pages
$10.99; $.99 Amazon
July 16, 2022
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But Piper's already in a predicament of prodigious proportions when an art heist at the Bancroft Estate leaves a bodyguard dead...and she and her crime-fighting gal pals are at the center of the crime scene. With more suspects than the hottie sheriff can shake a stick at, it's no surprise the Mayor has requested help from the new private eyes.
Tangled in another mystery in Savory, Alabama, Piper is determined to solve the case with the help of her quirky senior sleuth friends dubbed the Dentures and Diamonds Crime Squad. These zany retirees traded in their female rock band glory to fight crime, but can they help Piper maintain her cover and catch the killer before she or another Savory resident winds up dead?
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Piper Sandstone, aka Sharon, has just opened the Queen's Bees Private Investigation firm along with her senior sleuthing friends Doris, Rosemary, Patty Sue and Margie (aka the Diamonds and Dentures Crime Squad), and they're just off a case of finding a killer and a champion dog. Now they're ready for business. But before they do so, they're attending the dog show at the estate of a wealthy art collector. Unfortunately, things don't go well -- the art is stolen right off the walls, and during the show. So now they have to wonder who would have planned this? It doesn't help when the owner, Henry Hughes, shows up, screaming at everyone, nor when the PIs find a dead security guard.
Someone had to know about the heist. Was it the security guard they found, Marco Jenkins? Or the IT guy who claims a hacker broke into the system? Or was it someone close to Mr. Hughes, who might have thought this a good opportunity? But Piper knows art like this can't be sold, and only another private investor will buy it. So where do they go from here?
With the unwanted help of Piper's new bodyguard, Gemma Bianchi, hired by her uncle, Chief Hobbs, to protect her (really, how can a woman so small protect anyone?), and Gemma constantly telling her everything Piper does is a bad idea, she's still determined to solve the case. If the PIs don't, they just might be relegated to finding more cases involving cows. But just as things seem to be getting interesting, her Chicago friends Nancy and Morgan have surprises in store for themselves.
Piper's also trying to take time out for herself -- and her interest in the sheriff. On a picnic together she's miffed that Gemma insists on tagging along, albeit 'being invisible'. She doesn't even want a bodyguard!
Yet she has to work on the case, and when they may or may not have hit upon a major clue...and meanwhile, back in Chicago, Piper's friends are still having problems of their own -- and need to get to her...
We know that Piper has been hiding out in Savory, ever since she cornered dirty cops in the Windy City. Until the case comes to trial, she's been living as Sharon in her PI business. But unfortunately, a glimpse of Piper has hit the news because the ladies are investigation the high-end art robbery and two deaths.
The hit men are on the trail. Her good cop friends from Chicago are following the hit men and trying to get to Piper first. And Piper and her friends are trying to solve the heist and the murder. How can her bodyguard Gemma keep Piper safe if she won't let her?...
This is a blast, watching the seniors at work while they try and stay by Piper's side. Piper, meanwhile, is trying to do her job and not worry about anything else; but then again, she doesn't know the hit men are on their way. Still, I have to say that the last is probably the best part of the book. Everything comes together neatly, and we get a climax that's both intense and funny at the same time. The book ties up all the ends together weaving the story to a satisfying conclusion, and Piper and her friends definitely have their hands full, leaving something else to look forward to...but I won't spoil it. Highly recommended.
I received a copy of this book from the author and BookSprout but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Karen McSpade's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/karen-mcspade/
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