Dru’s Short Musing:
The last words said to Harry propelled him and his caregiver to investigate his neighbor’s death, especially when some of Harry’s observations suggest there’s more to this than meets the eye.

With an intriguing premise and a multi-plot storyline, I was immediately pulled into the story from the first page to its conclusion. The author did a great job in staging this well-written whodunit with crisp writing and a comfortable tone, making it easy to follow along with what was intended. The mystery was nicely executed giving us a pool of neighborly suspects, plenty of clues and red herrings to keep the reader locked into the world around this drama. With visually descriptive narrative, engaging and witty banter and a small-town atmosphere, we are put in the middle of this action-packed tale like a movie being played out in front of us. Emma and Harry are an unlikely amateur sleuth duo and I love the dynamics between the two, as they give each other a purpose that they need in their life. As the duo continue digging into the situation, they find themselves in the crosshairs of a murderer who will stop at nothing to remain hidden. This is a terrific book and a great start to what I hope will be a series.

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: January 27, 2026
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

Book Synopsis:
A cranky widower and his spirited caregiver team up to solve his neighbor’s murder in this charming and original mystery, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Benjamin Stevenson.

Once a globe-trotting anthropologist, Harry Lancaster is now certain that all his grand adventures are behind him. Recently widowed and suffering from a fractured hip, Harry spends his days and nights behind a pair of binoculars, nose-deep in his neighbors’ affairs. His millennial caregiver, Emma, is determined to get him out of his armchair and back into the world.

Fate intervenes when Harry’s mysterious neighbor, Sue, phones, pleading for help. But instead of rescuing her, Harry and Emma find Sue dead: poisoned, days after a break-in at Sue’s house. Harry resolves to find out what happened, and Emma insists on going along for the ride. Together, they discover motives and suspects abound in Harry’s quaint condominium community—putting them both in the crosshairs of a cold-blooded killer.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.