After a post-Christmas outing to Chicago, Sam and her grandmother Nana Jo, along with her grandmother’s friends, are returning home. Irma, always on the lookout for a new gentleman friend, entices Max to ride back with them. Wasn’t a good choice for Max - he doesn’t survive the trip. He was an author claiming to have written a book with a new theory about the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Now, Sam and her cohorts are determined to find out who killed him and why. Did it have something to do with his book, or not? The situation heats up when one of them appears to be targeted as well. It’s an exciting mystery, and the elderly ladies are a sight to behold. They may live in a retirement village, but they don’t act like it! A bonus to the story are the bits of the historical novel that Sam is writing. Readers are treated to two mysteries to solve in one novel. It’s a quick and engrossing read. ( )

Shady Acres Retirement Village sponsored a Christmas shopping excursion to Chicago and Samantha Washington went along with Nana Jo. On the trip home, flirtatious Irma has snagged a gentleman to accompany her home. Max, a noted author, has been working on his next book, an expose on the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Caught in traffic, the elderly ladies request a rest stop but when they return to the bus, they find Max dead.

After they are questioned by the local police they return home only to resolve to find out who among them is the murderer.

This series is so much fun, especially because of the elderly characters and the novel within the novel.
Will be watching for the next one! ( )

Bookmarked For Murder is the fifth book in the Mystery Bookshop series.

Samantha (Sam) Washington, NanaJo and gal pals from Shady Acres Retirement Village have just spent an exciting four days of shopping Christmas shopping in Chicago. As they are loading luggage on their bus, Sam notices that Irma, being Irma, has met a gentleman, Max, who seems to join the group for their trip home. They soon learn that Max is a celebrated author whose next book will reveal more information on assignation Robert Kennedy. On the trip back, a traffic accident has them stopped for an hour or two and many of the people on the bus are clamoring for a rest area stop. Finally, they convince the driver to stop at the next area. When they return to the bus, they find Max, who had stayed on the bus, in his seat dead. After their interrogation by the local police, they can complete their trip. The next day, with a little cajoling from NanaJo, Sam agrees to help NanaJo and her posse in learning who the killer was. They soon find that there are many suspects to consider, including a couple of residents of Shady Acres.

I love this series. The stories are all well-plotted and written. The series has a wonderful cast of believable characters. NanaJo and her posse of gal pals are truly enjoyable and provide a little humor to the story. Sam is an aspiring author, and she finds that working on her manuscript helps her to solve the mystery they work on. The manuscript is set in the 1930s in the countryside of England providing the reader a story within a story.

I’m anxiously awaiting the next book in this wonderful series. ( )

family-dynamics, friendship, murder-investigation, murder, situational-humor, verbal-humor, 1930s, contemporary, senior-citizens, cozy-mystery *****

An older, lauded, self involved journalist is murdered while on a charter bus from Chicago to Michigan in current day. The bookseller is heading up the investigation with her Nana Jo and her cronies at the retirement village while using the writing of a mystery novel set in 1938 England to relax and clarify her thoughts. Both mysteries are entirely too engaging! Loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )