Murder at the River Bend Retirement Resort is a cozy mystery with a sleuth who has to learn on the job. Despite her best intentions, Miriam makes mistake after mistake and yet moves ever closer to discovering a cold blooded killer who has no remorse.
REVIEW
“I’m afraid that’s the difference between fiction and reality.” is the phrase that summarizes Mrs. Miriam Lipsky's adventure in Murder at the River Bend Retirement Resort. Because what else could be more accurate when instead of creating a story, you have to discover by yourself the real culprit, especially when your best friend’s life is at stake?
Stan Schatt wrote an attractive cozy mystery in which he interlaces the mystery plot with the main character’s life, offering us a plus by the exploration of Mrs. Miriam Lipsky as a person. She learnt a lot from both friends and foes and from any other person with whom she has contact during her investigation.
As I said, Murder at the River Bend Retirement Resort is an attractive story, but also a genuine one, because it respects the rules (or guidelines?) of the genre:
- the main character is most of the time a woman who is an amateur sleuth – ✔
- the main character is not a police officer, a detective or any other profession that could actually give her the needed “weapons” to solve the murder, but still, she will get the help from one of those – ✔
- the set – again, usually, is a small town that should be the last one in which such horrid deed should have happened – ✔
- a fast pace, with several twists and turns, varied in number and importance – ✔
- it is said that there are not “adult” scenes and also the accent is put both on the plot and character's development – ✔ and ✔
These are the most five known and/or accepted characteristics of a cozy mystery. Is it hard to write an appealing, fresh story in these lines? Maybe. But I think that Mr. Schatt did it and even a reader who doesn’t try often this genre could spend a pleasant afternoon.
At the end, I would like to say two more things:
- another common feature of the cozy mystery is that they come in a series and that Miriam Lipsky deserves this chance at one and
- during the “amateur investigation”, other secrets (even not related directly to the crime) are revealed; they will be red herrings for the investigator and say more about the human nature…
Enjoy!✔
Description:
Published: July 12th, 2017
When a very disagreeable resident of the exclusive River Bend Retirement Resort is murdered, bestselling mystery writer Miriam Lipsky has to find the real killer to save her dear friend from prison. She finds the retirement home seethes with intrigue, passion, and jealousy. To make matters worse, it’s hard to distinguish what residents actually saw from what they imagined.
Miriam finds she has to search for the killer while juggling an autistic grandson, a divorced daughter with a tendency to choose the wrong man, her best friend’s overly friendly husband, and a stalker who leaves her more and more threatening notes. To make matters worse, her rabbi who won’t take no for an answer when it comes to fixing her up.
Miriam, a widow after a disastrous marriage, has given up on love. Just when she is sure that part of her life is over, someone new appears from a very unexpected place.
Murder at the River Bend Retirement Resort is a cozy mystery with a sleuth who has to learn on the job. Despite her best intentions, Miriam makes mistake after mistake and yet moves ever closer to discovering a cold blooded killer who has no remorse.
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