private-investigators, retirement-community, retirees, family-dynamics, friendship****

Interesting cozy set in a retirement community in Arizona and while I'm surprised that I haven't read anything in this series before, it was so well constructed that I never got lost. I thought it was well written and filled with fun characters and lots of twists and red herrings. The publisher's blurb is a good hook and if you like Pickleball and private detective agencies you'll love this book.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. ( )

Sophie "Phee" Kimball works for a private investigation firm in Arizona as their bookkeeper. Her boyfriend, Marshall, is one of the investigators, and they're trying to build a quiet life together. However, that's not going to happen with Phee's mother nearby in Sun City. Harriet's just landed her own radio show on a local station, where she's going to be talking about the murder mysteries her book club reads. But on the first day, Harriet and her friend Myrna discover the body of the programming director with scissors in his chest...while they're on the air. When Phee rushes over to the station, her PI boyfriend and the police not far behind, there's definitely a dead man. So Phee has to deal with two hysterical women who insist there's a killer on the loose and he or she might be after them next.

When Harriet gives Phee the information that the killer might be a jealous girlfriend, Phee finds herself once again drawn into the investigation. But there's more going on -- her boss Nate Williams is having trouble figuring out who's stealing from a local home goods chain, and has asked Phee to go over their books for him and see if she can find out where the discrepancies lie.

But when Phee starts digging into the murder, she thinks there's more going on than meets the eye. And when she discovers the truth, it's wilder than anyone expected, and leads to a fiasco that could take some time to sort out...

I absolutely love this series. Phee is beleaguered by Harriet at every turn, and Harriet is always convinced someone is out to do her in. She drags Phee into her escapades, and there's no way out. This time there's no difference, but when Harriet finds a dead body, she's convinced (again) there's a serial killer on the loose, and is insistent that Phee find the person -- and proceeds to broadcast it to anyone who will listen. She's also convinced the ghost of a dead woman has cursed her and her friends.

Refusing to give up her radio gig, Phee has to placate Harriet and her friends before they tear down what's left of her sanity. Between that and work, she's running ragged, and is out looking for clues from the retirees who might know something. When it all comes to a head, there's an extremely funny scene that I, for one, wouldn't want to be part of, but still would love to watch from the sidelines.

When the murderer is caught it all comes down to one of the oldest motives in the book, but the plot was terrific and the clues gave us enough red herrings that we had to think about who might have done the deed; in the end it was a surprise, but as always, a delightful one that gives us an ending making us look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended. ( )