Determined to have a very relaxing weekend, I browsed Libby for the newest mystery titles. The Primrose Murder Society promised a cozy mystery with intergenerational friendships, so it sounded like the perfect pick.
Lila Shaw’s life is a mess. Her husband is on the run from authorities. Her daughter has been expelled from school. And their home has just been seized by the government. With no place to go, a desperate Lila takes up the offer to stay at an apartment that belonged to the late mother of her mom’s boyfriend while cleaning it up. Because the apartment is in the Primrose, a building only for residents aged 50+, it’s just a temporary solution – but it’s better than nothing.
Lila’s young daughter Bea has the pluck of a tiny Nancy Drew with the macabre interests of Wednesday Addams. She gets excited when she learns that the building had an unsolved murder. Her fascination with the case becomes hard to quell when the opportunity to solve it arises with a financial reward attached. Lila and Bea soon team up with a pair of elderly residents, including a retired detective, to see if they can unravel the tangled threads of a crime that has haunted the building for decades. They soon learn, though, that the amateur sleuth life comes with its own costs.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a cozy mystery set in the American South, so this was a nice little change for me, as was the mother/young daughter dynamic. The novel has all the traits fans of cozies look for: endearing characters with entertaining idiosyncrasies, a complex mystery, and heartwarming moments around connections and relationships. It’s an enjoyable read and a great pick for fans of The Marlow Murder Club and The Busybody Book Club. |
