Cardiac Arrest by Lisa Q. Mathews is the first book in the NEW “Ladies Smythe & Westin” cozy mystery series. Publisher: Carina Press, November 2015

When a man falls at your feet, you’d better hope he’s not dead.

Twentysomething party girl Summer Smythe is starting over in the unlikeliest of places; Hibiscus Pointe, a kitschy retirement community inÿupscale Milano, Florida. Her new gig? Working for Dr. A, Milano’s much-loved cardiologist. But being in over her head is the least of Summer’s worries when her new boss drops dead. . .right in front of her.

Longtime resident Dorothy Westin prefers to mind her own business. But when the young blonde already causing ripples throughout Hibiscus Pointe becomes a person of interest in Dr. A’s murder, Dorothy springs into action. Not only because the real killer is still on the loose, but because there’s simply no way her clueless-but-kind new friend could have poisoned someone.

Dorothy and Summer soon discover that despite his chosen specialty, Dr. A had quite a reputation for breaking hearts. And if the Ladies Smythe and Westin don’t identify the guilty party fast, Summerÿwillÿend up in handcuffs. . .and Dorothy in a body bag.

I found this light drama to be pleasantly appealing as an unlikely duo bridges the generation gap with their amateur sleuthing. The author did a good job in setting this mystery up where the unlikeliest could be the killer but with each clue uncovered, the suspect list narrows until there’s only one person who could have done it. With a quirky cast of characters, engaging scenes that kept me amused and good dialogue, this was a fun read and it will be interesting to see what this duo find themselves involved in next time.