Fotografía de autor

Steph Broadribb

Autor de Death in the Sunshine

9 Obras 206 Miembros 19 Reseñas

Series

Obras de Steph Broadribb

Death in the Sunshine (2022) 120 copias
Deep Down Dead (2016) 22 copias
Death at Paradise Palms (2022) 18 copias
Deep Blue Trouble (2017) 15 copias
Death on the Beach (2023) 14 copias
The Last Resort (2016) 6 copias
Deep Dirty Truth (2018) 5 copias
Deep Dark Night (2020) 5 copias
Burning Dust 1 copia

Etiquetado

Conocimiento común

Miembros

Reseñas

series, friendship, friends, frustration, retired-cop, retired-FBI, retirement-community, cooperation, procedural, retirees, suspense, investigation, investigators****

It was presumed to have been a suicide but the former CSI expert strongly disagrees.
I think that my lack of excitement for this one is because I have not read either of the first two books. This band of four fairly recent law enforcement retirees from the US and Britain come together to examine cases of suspected murder at the request of a civilian. This time it is the parents of a young woman whom the local law have determined to have committed suicide. Each member of the group has particular law enforcement skills and personal histories (this is the continuing thread that loses me). The investigation is solid and eye opening. I find the need for a mixed review due to my lack of preparation.
I requested and reviewed an EARC from Amazon Publishing UK/Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley.
… (más)
 
Denunciada
jetangen4571 | Jul 2, 2023 |
Book 1, DEATH IN THE SUNSHINE left the newly created Retired Detectives Club ready to take on a new case, despite uncomfortable relations between married couple Philip and Lizzie, and the fact that we know that Moira is hiding something quite significant.

There are several threads in this novel: the disappearance of Cody Ziegler, strange threatening messages that Moira is receiving on her phone, the difficult relations between Philip and Lizzie. All the group however are very glad to be back "working" but the local police are still not welcoming, seeing their investigation as interference.

Very readable.
… (más)
½
 
Denunciada
smik | otra reseña | Jun 16, 2023 |
A crime fiction that is not quite a cozy, and not quite geezer lit. Moira, married couple Philip and Lizzie, are British cops who have, for various reasons, decided to retire to Florida in the USA. Philip and Lizzie have been retired at The Homestead for about 10 years while Moira is recently arrived. Rick, on the other hand, is American, recently widowed. Moira is trying to maintain a low profile and seems to have a lot to hide. She is cautious not to reveal too much about herself to her new neighbours.

All four feel that they have been either forced into retirement or have retired too early, that they still have a lot to give. So when Moira discovers a body in the lap pool they slip into old ways. They all know what ought to be done in terms of an investigation, and find it hard to understand while the local police are slow to react.

A reasonably satisfying read with plenty of room for a sequel or two.
… (más)
½
 
Denunciada
smik | 6 reseñas más. | Jun 8, 2023 |
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S DEATH AT PARADISE PALMS ABOUT?
After they solved a murder a few months earlier, the Retired Detectives Club has gained a certain amount of notoriety around the Homestead Retirement Community, so it's not terribly surprising that when a resident has some concerns they call them for help. Particularly when that resident has had bad experiences with the police previously.

This particular resident is a retired movie star, Olivia Hamilton Ziegler. Her husband is missing, and she suspects foul play. They're having no problems and it's not like him to just not come home, not call, not pick up his phone, etc.

The Club jumps in, more than willing to help—they find a handful of decent suspects and start to dig into the background of each when a ransom demand shows up. Now they have a pressing deadline and more than a wife's intuition. It's time for these retired detectives to get to work.

DISTRACTED DETECTIVES
I'm not sure if this says something about Broadribb's view of Americans, but in Death in the Sunshine we see that the three British retirees have things from their past that are hovering over them. I like that dynamic, but it's good that not everyone has some deep, dark secret. Rick, our DEA retiree, seems to be baggage-free and easygoing. Maybe that just means we haven't seen his baggage, or maybe Broadribb just thinks Americans are shallow.*

* I'm kidding. Probably.

With our British friends, however, things have happened to push these problems from hanging over their heads to being front-and-center in their minds. Normally this would be good, they're working on the issues, dealing with the issues. However, when this club is the only one working on this kidnapping—the only outsiders aware of it—dealing with personal stuff becomes a distraction. Potentially a fatal one.

All three of these people make huge mistakes in the course of this investigation, easily observable mistakes (especially to the reader). And it's not because they're older, it's not because their minds are slower, or their bodies aren't up to what they used to be able to do—it's because their heads aren't in the game.

This makes for compelling storytelling, it's great to see flawed characters battling with their flaws—but it's a good thing they're all retired because this is the kind of thing that should hurt a career.

THE SERIES ARC
Ultimately, I think this series going to be telling the story of the shenanigans at the top of the Homestead Retirement Community. In Death in the Sunshine we see pretty clearly that TPTB filter the news and do what they can to prevent anything negative from getting out to the public or into the residents. And if it does show up, it's quickly erased.

This takes work on the Social Media, old-school media, and possibly even law enforcement fronts—there's no way that it's all coincidental, unintentional, or any other excusable motivation. So the questions that need to be answered are why is this being done, who profits, who is hurt by this, and what actions are being taken/pressures applied, to get these various and sundry groups to quash the information.

Some of the residents see that this is going on—but (if you ask me) not enough seem that concerned—Moira sure is and is doing something about it. She's working with a local reporter, although she has reason to believe that this is not the safest path for either of them to be taking. But that doesn't seem to deter her.

I really hope that she's able to get more of the Club on board with this soon—not that I want them distracted from their next big case. But she's going to need some backup.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT DEATH AT PARADISE PALMS?
I remember enjoying Death in the Sunshine, but I'd largely forgotten why. It was good to be reminded—this isn't your typical elderly amateur detective series—this is a grittier take on that trend, full of people who are only amateur now, it wasn't that long ago they were professionals, and they've still got the goods.

I did clock the Main Bad Guy instantly, and can only excuse the Club for not doing the same because of all their distractions (and because they're not aware that they're fictional characters, a lot of what tipped me off came from being a reader). So for me, the tension came from wanting to know how long it would take them to get around to discovering the truth—and how they'd use what they learned from the false trails to get there. That was enough for me—the good in this series doesn't come from the whodunit—but from how they're caught.

This, like all of Broadribb's work, is a fast and fun read—it hooks you early and doesn't let go until it's good and ready to. Just buckle in and enjoy the ride. I can't imagine I'll let the next one of these sit ignored on my Kindle as I did this one.
… (más)
½
 
Denunciada
hcnewton | otra reseña | May 24, 2023 |

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Estadísticas

Obras
9
Miembros
206
Popularidad
#107,332
Valoración
3.8
Reseñas
19
ISBNs
38

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