“Pickleball and Peril” is the fifth novel in a cozy murder series, The Senior Snoop Society Mysteries. Three retired women in their 70s find out they still have the vitality and wits to solve murders that the police cannot. Imagine Jessica Fletcher meets the Golden Girls!
The Senior Snoop Society is asked to visit an estate on a luxurious Santa Catalina Island, which is off the coast from California. The matriarch of the Whitmore family, 73-year-old Agatha, has died while playing pickleball. The executer of Agatha’s will and finances interrupts Rose Marie’s, Viola’s and Harriet’s weekly poker game to offer them a job. He wants them to be “consultants” for a family treasure hunt. They think they will experience a relaxing weekend watching rich people squabble over money. Little do they know they will stumble onto a murder mystery.
The ladies arrive to the island earlier than the family to familiarize themselves with the property and prepare for the reading of Agatha’s will. Agatha is thought to have around $300 million. Her family is anxious to find out what their inheritance will be. But Agatha has a surprise. She has left $280 million to charity. The remaining $20 million will be given to the family member who can solve the treasure hunt. The next morning the family starts tearing up the house and grounds trying find the money.
Rose Marie, Viola and Harriet wander to the pickleball court to talk the Agatha’s pickleball instructor. His information leads the trio to believe Agatha might have been poisoned. The police are called to the island. The treasure hunt must wait for the police to look for clues. Everyone is considered a suspect. There is Bernard, an investment banker who keeps getting threatening phone calls; his gold digging girlfriend Molly, a real estate developer who might have to file for bankruptcy; and Raven, a college student who needs money to pay her tuition.
Will the elderly sleuths be able to solve the murder with nothing but their wits and determination or will the killer go free?
“Magnolia Murdersworth is, unsurprisingly, a pen name — but she’s the kind of woman who wears oversized hats, sips tea with just a splash of something stronger, and always keeps a magnifying glass in her purse (just in case).” (Amazon)
I usually read books that have a little more depth. But I enjoy a cozy mystery every now and then. This series offers a change of pace with a lot of humor. I plan to read her earlier books when I need a break from serious novels. Happy reading!
