As they begin to discuss the evidence Moira has witnessed at the crime scene, they come to the conclusion that not only do the police not want any outside help but have missed important clues. They decide that as a group they will secretly investigate the death and if they find out anything then they will bring it to the police. I absolutely loved every bit of this story. Be it the writing, the mystery behind the kidnapping, the excitement and tension of finding Cody before it is too late, suspense, character development (Moira's was the best!) and plot to story development - absolutely Fantabulous!

Her other novels include the Lori Anderson bounty-hunter series and the Starke/Bell psychological police-procedural books (writing as Stephanie Marland). Her books have been shortlisted for the eDunnit eBook of the Year Award, the ITW Best First Novel Award, the Dead Good Reader Awards for Fearless Female Character and Most Exceptional Debut, and longlisted for the Guardian Not The Booker Prize. To keep things short, I have to say that I ended up being surprisingly underwhelmed by Death In The Sunshine. I expected a new favorite, but instead sadly ended up with a dud... Repetition and bland characters don't exactly call for enticing reading, and I don't think I will be continuing the series at this point. Death at Paradise Palms by Steph Broadribb is the second book in the Retired Detectives Club, featuring four retired residents of The Homestead Retirement Community in Florida. It’s an exceptionally entertaining read that is mostly cozy, yet a solid whodunit. The premise is probably a little far-fetched, but the novel is pure escapism, so I tried not to overthink the practicality of retired folks (albeit all former law enforcement) gallivanting about after armed, murderous kidnappers. As is common in a first book setting up a series, it struggles to juggle pace & interest with the development of their world.I like the dynamic between the characters and I felt invested in them . The setting is in a warm and sunny place and that always helps to lift the mood for me too . The story on the other hand was excellent. Using ex detectives as sleuths was a great idea because the team were using their professional skills and this made their investigation more plausible. The book was well written, and I enjoyed it enough to know I should read more from this author.

Suitable for teen - adult, but adults would probably enjoy it more because of the ages of the characters. Also, Steph Broadribb's writing got in the way of her story some because of how she had British phraseology in play when the characters in a given situation were Americans. Sorry, love, you need to write everything in American English except for what the British characters are saying and/or thinking. (A descriptive sentence about a car by the kerb and several references to "hospital" instead of "the hospital" were particuarly irksome.) That's me saying this as a real Anglophile, too! I’m really looking forward to Death At Paradise Palms, Retired Detectives Club #2, when it’s published on November 29, 2022. And Philip and Lizzie seem to have some skeletons in their past as well. Although Philip retired due to health issues, Lizzie seems to believe there is more to his story than he is telling her which breaks her heart that he feels he needs to keep secrets from her.Der Charme des Buches, bzw. der Serie, wird natürlich von dem originellem Ermittlerteam bestritten. 4 Oldies, die es immer noch draufhaben und mittlerweile auch von den lokalen Behörden geachtet (und gefürchtet) werden, das ist natürlich cool. Die 4 passen gut zusammen, sind eine super Truppe, und nehmen die Fälle aus purem Enthusiasmus und Wahrheitsliebe an. Geld brauchen sie nicht mehr zu verdienen, ihnen geht es darum, den Leuten zu helfen und Verbrechen aufzuklären. Sehr sympathisch.

Since this is the first of a series it suffers from this need to set the scene in book one. On the basis of this initial novel I would say another episode would be welcome and read with some anticipation. Well 2021 has been a strange kind of year hasn’t it?! As the end of the year approaches I like to reflect on what’s happened over the past twelve months and start to plan for the new year.As a huge fan of Steph Broadribb’s Lori Anderson series, I was excited to see what direction she would go in with The Retired Detectives Club but admittedly also quite worried, as that book description reminded me just a little bit too much of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club. The comparisons between the two are rather inevitable and for me, personally, this one falls a tad short. I don't generally care about the person or tense of a book's narrator as I'm pretty flexible, but this is told in 3rd person present tense, which is unusual, and it took a little getting used to.