Peg and Rose Solve a Murder: A Charming and Humorous Cozy Mystery

by Laurien Berenson

Murder, She Wrote meets The Golden Girls in the award-winning author’s brand-new series! Two cantankerous septuagenarians, opposites in every way, put aside their differences to stop a killer… if they don’t throttle each other first!

Rose Donovan looks for the good in everyone. With her sister-in-law, Peg, that sometimes requires a lot of searching. Even a sixty-something former nun like Rose has her limits, and gruff Peg Turnbull sure knows how to push them. But after forty years of bickering, they’re attempting to start over, partnering up to join the local bridge club.

Peg and Rose barely have a chance to celebrate their first win before one of the club’s most accomplished players is killed in his home. As the newest members, the sisters-in-law come under scrutiny and decide to start some digging of their own. Bridge is typically seen as a wholesome pastime, yet this group of senior citizens harbors a wealth of vices, including gambling, cheating, and adultery . . .

By comparison, Peg and Rose’s fractious relationship is starting to feel almost functional. But as their suspect list narrows, they’re unaware that their logic has a dangerous flaw. And they’ll have to hope that their teamwork holds steady when they’re confronted by a killer who’s through with playing games . . .

“Lots of canine fun . . . Anyone who loves dogs, especially poodles, dog shows, and silver-haired sleuths, will enjoy this new cozy mystery series.” —San Francisco Book Review

• ISBN10: 1496735781
• ISBN13: 9781496735782
• Publish Date: 30 August 2022
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Kensington
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9781496735782

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Peg and Rose Solve a Murder is the first book in a new cozy series by Laurien Berenson. Released 30th Aug 2022 by Kensington Books, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a really well written and engaging cozy with a distinct Odd Couple vibe with a little bit of Golden Girls thrown in for good measure. The plot is fun; late middle aged sisters-in-law with decades of unpleasantly fractious interactions decide to join a local bridge club as partners (and repair/build a relationship with one another). They couldn't be more different, one's a former nun who renounced her habit to marry a priest, the other is a pragmatic professional purebred dog show judge who generally has little time for what she considers distractions and non-practicalities.

As with most of the author's oeuvre, there is a surprisingly educational amount of minutiae and interesting behind-the-scenes nuts and bolts info about the dog show world and especially poodles. The book shows some of how professional handlers and their assistants function in the dog world and how judges interact with them and the dogs themselves.

The plotting is well paced and the climax and denouement are fair-play and satisfying. The characterizations are where it really shines though - the author is very adept at making them come alive in all their imperfections and iracsibility.

Four stars. Recommended for fans of cozies, and especially for fans of the author's other work.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.