Grilled 4 Murder, by JC Eaton

 

Publication Nov. 8, 2022

JC Eaton, the pen name for the husband-wife writing team of James E. Clapp and Ann Goldfarb, wins the award for sending me on one of my weirder internet searches, ie "What does moose urine smell like?" I mean, I live in Alaska and moose stroll in and out of my yard on a regular basis -- three youngsters yesterday, in fact -- but while I'm familiar with their moose nugget droppings, I've never once pondered what their urine smelled like. Well, live and learn. It's sold in concentrate to hunters and other wildlife seekers who want to attract moose. Now, true, I wasn't curious enough to go buy some but from all I could find, yep, in concentrated form, especially in a closed area, it's pretty,, uh, strong. Let's just say that I now know more about moose urine than I need to know and move on to the review. <grin>

The plot evolves around the murder of planning committee chair Cosmo. He was pushing for a waste transfer station to be built near Sun City West. That just happens to be where Sophie/Phee's mother lives. This is where the book gets to be part hilarious and part serious investigation. I like the way Phee's new husband Marshall supports her need to not just know while dropping little bits of info on how to better investigate and focus, but keep her mother and "never met a rumor they couldn't spread and make worse" friends off her back. Let's just say, living in a retirement village with this bunch, especially the members of the mystery book club, would be part constant headache, part frustration, and always entertaining. 

And, I can't go any further without mentioning another source of constant amusement and frustration, Streetman, the little chiweenie who is infamous for bad behavior and, uh, umm, "hot to trot" activity at the dog park. This go-round, he adopts a stray kitten that Phee's mother calls Essie. You know, Essie, for S.C., for Streetman's Cat. Somehow it all makes sense, even when the two begin appearing in matching outfits and Streetman pounces on a woman at the planning committee meeting for daring to screech at Essie, never mind neither of them should have been there anyway. 

Bottom line, I love this series and this book. I won't detail the plot any further as, quite frankly, the fun is in seeing not just whodunit but how many wild plans and rumors and insane antics the Sun City West bunch can get up to while Phee tries to do some investigating while still going about her normal day-to-day activities. And, oh, there's a cooking contest. How could I almost forget about it as it is a point of agitation and rumor and even devious competition. 

Thanks to #NetGalley and #BeyondThePagePublishing for allowing me to drop in on Phee and friends again. I laughed out loud throughout.