Reviewed by Elgin Writers Guild Member Wendy Tippin
As a young senior and a voracious reader of cozy mysteries, I have noticed a rejuvenation of a
trend in cozies that have a cast of senior citizen sleuths much like in the days of Agatha Christie’s Miss
Marple. Perhaps you are familiar with Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club mystery series or “Vera
Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers” by Jesse Q. Sutanto – both current examples of mysteries
with seniors as amateur detectives.
Because I’m attempting to write a cozy mystery, I’m always on the lookout for ways to learn
more about writing fiction, particularly mystery and more specifically, cozy mystery. I joined the Crime
Writers of Canada as a supporting member otherwise known as “a person who loves to read crime
writing.” In April of this year, I attended a CWC webinar called “How to Write a Cozy Mystery” by author Jonathan Whitelaw who started writing as a journalist in Scotland and now makes his home as a cozy writer in Grande Prairie, Alberta.
The first book in his Lake District Mysteries, “The Bingo Hall Detectives,” is a humorous cozy
with a twist on the stereotypical relationship between mother-in-law and son-in-law. Jason Brazel and
Amita are forced into strained situations because Jason is unemployed, and Amita pushes him into
driving her to wherever she needs to go which is quite often the local bingo hall.
Their roles are odds because, on the one hand, Jason is a tech-adverse journalist who has the
disposition and soul of an old man with few friends outside his previous profession, and, on the other,
Amita is a tech-savvy senior citizen with high energy levels and numerous acquaintances who meet
regularly. She is frustrated with Jason’s lack of initiative to get a new job and thinks he could be much
more than a journalist.
Unfortunately, one of her bingo buddies is found dead from an apparent accident, but Amita is
suspicious of the circumstances right away, knowing what she knows about her friend. Amita insists that Jason drive her around as she investigates what she sees as the murder of a friend. Jason dismisses
Amita’s efforts to find the murderer as does the local detective. These dismissals only invigorate Amita
to continue as she tries to solve the murder and disprove that she is not over the hill.
By the end of the book, Jason and Amita come to a mutual understanding of each other’s foibles
and quirks. The tension in their personal relationship is soothed, and they settle comfortably into family
life.
I look forward to the next two books in the series, “The Village Hall Vendetta” and “The Concert
Hall Killer” which I have on hold with the Library. I can’t wait to see the next adventures of Jason and
Amita. You have to love a spunky senior!
