Mike Befeler has done it again. Fans of Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie, and more, hold on to your rockers! At the Old Detectives Home, the top detectives of all time must unite to solve their most difficult whodunit yet-without killing each other, of course.
$16.99 – $26.99
Imagine a retirement home populated with such residents as an aging Hercule Poirot and a dementia-suffering Sherlock Holmes, and run by staff including Art Doyle, Dash Hammett, and Dot Sayers. In this light-hearted spoof of the mystery genre, every character is either a real person from the mystery writing world or a character from a mystery novel. On anything but a dark and stormy night, a dead body is found. The staff managers find themselves unable to control the unruly old detectives. Mix in clues and red herrings galore as this colorful cast of suspects investigate each other to solve the mystery of who done it.
I’ve been a fan of this writer since his Retirement Can Be… series. I thoroughly enjoyed The Back Wing and The Front Wing as well, his characters just come to life. Am reading Last Gasp Motel now, and eagerly awaiting the next one in the series.
I enjoyed this book overall–the concept of an Old Detectives’ Home, I think, is a winner from the get-go. I enjoyed meeting all the personalities, seeing how “name” detectives and detective writers alike are “aging gracefully”–at least in some cases!–and how their lively curiosities still don’t miss a trick. When a generally unpopular soul is murdered, the host of elderly detectives put their “thinking caps” on, use their “gray cells,” and bounce ideas, suspects, and scenarios off each other until, finally–of course–they arrive at the who, the how, and the why. I probably would have enjoyed this book more had I been more “steeped” in detective literature–and what the author does to Sherlock Holmes just made me sad. So those were “minuses” in my particular case; that being said, however, if you’re well-immersed in the works of Doyle, Christie, and the like, you will find this story full of “inside jokes” and entertaining one-liners enough to make you laugh out loud. I found the pacing to be a tad slow; it felt as if the story dallied too much in chatter and “side trips” about the residents, the home, etc. But overall? A fun read, one you can settle in with and get a smile!
Have every one of his books and they are great can’t wait to start this book
Mike Befeler has created a delightful fantasy about an old peoples’ home housing all the most famous sleuths and characters in detective history. They are all living together, as expected, not so harmoniously. Befeler is quite clever in revealing the distinct personalities of the characters through their dialogues with each other. Were the book to be dramatized in Hollywood or in the UK, it would become a veritable goldmine for character actors.
Extremely creative and captivating
I just finished this book. It is a fun read with all the old detectives in it. I have read all of Mr Befriends books and I think this rates right at the top.
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