Shake, Murder and Roll
Gail Oust
Obsidian, May 3 2011, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451231987
Serenity Cove Estates, South Carolina is a retirement community where Kate McCall chose to live after her husband retired. When he died, she stayed there making friends with several women who formed the Bunco Babe’s squad because they love playing the dice game of the same name. Retirement villages are normally serene, but Kate does not know the meaning of the word as she has been involved in two homicide cases that she solved (see Whack and Roll and “Till Dice Do Us Part).
Another death occurs when Dr. Sheila Rapport, host of a cable gardening show, gives a talk at Serenity Cove. In the middle of her speech, Sheila collapses. Her companion Dr. Vaughn Bascomb has a more serious reaction and dies. When Sheila recovers, she tells Kate they were poisoned. Knowing Kate’s track record, she asks her to find out the killer is though she assumes it is a stalker. Kate uncovers a horde of suspects with means, motive and opportunity for one of the pair, but who wanted both dead remains just out of reach until the culprit tries to kill Kate.
Putting aside the fact that Kate risks her life as a sub-genre hazard, she and the women in the retirement community are energetic and active. Kate is a believable character who refreshingly admits she addicted to homicide investigation. Her love life adds pizzazz to the mix as Kate like the other Buncos babes roll the dice on murder.
Harriet Klausner
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