Murder at Royale Court by G.P. Gardner

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Cleo Mack is settling into her job as director of Harbor Village, a retirement community in Fairhope, Alabama but there’s still a bit of a learning curve—like the unique tax structure of the community.  Fortunately for Cleo, she has other duties awaiting her so she’s able to get away from the loquacious and persistent Terry Wozinak before her eyes glaze over.

Not that she’s exactly looking forward to the preparations for the planned programs at the Village: a discussion of old cars. Fairhope is hosting a big car show and expecting thousands of people to show up.  While this isn’t Cleo’s idea of a good time, a lot of people seem to be excited about it and she hopes the residents will find the speaker entertaining.

In fact, the show seems to be quite the draw, bringing in the owner of Harbor Village, Travis McKenzie who also just happens to be Cleo’s ex-husband.  Their relationship is cordial enough but the meeting is still not something Cleo is looking forward to, especially since she’s going to have to present him with the latest financial reports which are good, but maybe not good enough.

Then what should have been a fun outing to a yarn shop turns into a homicide investigation when a body is discovered on the premises.  Cleo has no intention of being involved but after her success with an earlier investigation some of the community’s residents are counting on her to solve the case.

This is the second in the Cleo Mack mysteries and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I had read the first one quite some time ago so it took me a bit to get back up to speed on the full cast of characters. With some books, the supporting cast is just window dressing but Gardner takes the time to make each one stand out a bit.  I’m a sucker for good characterization; throw in an entertaining plot and let me learn a bit about a subject, and I am sold. This one ticks all the boxes for me. There is even a cat.  The subplot about collectible cars presented was interesting and I am NOT a car person.  I also learned a bit about how the big car shows operate.

Being a person of a certain age myself, I appreciate Cleo’s maturity and thoughtful approach to problems murderous and otherwise. I especially like that she never badgers anyone to tell her anything or accuses anyone of murder as do so many cozy heroines.  I sometimes think it’s a wonder more of them haven’t been murdered. But I digress.  The senior citizens add a lot of zest, especially Jim and Nita Bergen, but there are others who definitely add to the stories.

Though the library owns these titles, I have bought copies for me to keep since I think these will be ones I’ll want to re-read. While it didn’t really affect my enjoyment, I rather wish I had gone back and read the first in the series just to spend more time in Harbor Village.