Charlotte Sawyer is the activities director at a retirement community in Seattle, Washington, and - among other things - oversees a program for senior citizens who are writing their autobiographies.
When one would-be author wants to spice up her story by saying she shot her husband, it causes a hubbub.....and leads to a discussion of fiction vs. non-fiction.
Charlotte has other things on her mind as well. Her former fiancé called off the wedding five days before the nuptials, leaving Charlotte with a stack of bills and a large dollop of self-doubt. And Charlotte's step-sister Jocelyn has gone off on a 'tech-free' retreat, leaving Charlotte to water her plants and take care of the mail.
As it happens, Jocelyn's mail contains a package from her best friend Louise, with a key and a mysterious note about hidden files. Shortly afterward Louise is found dead from a supposed drug overdose, and - when Charlotte goes to Louise's apartment to look for the files - she meets private investigator Max Cutler.
Max has been hired to look into Louise's death, which her cousin suspects was murder. Moreover, when Charlotte and Max try to inform Jocelyn about Louise's demise, they learn that Jocelyn isn't at the tech-free retreat and her whereabouts are unknown. 😧
Charlotte and Max team up to investigate Louise's death, and find two likely paths for inquiry. Firstly, Louise, Jocelyn, and several other women belong(ed) to an 'investment club' that's about to reap a huge profit. This brings up the possibility that one of the club members is killing off her compatriots, to get all the money for herself.
Secondly, the investment club was secretly involved in another activity. The members were looking into 'cold case' rapes and murders. The impetus for this investigation was Jocelyn's rape, on her college campus, 15 years ago. The police never solved the case, and in fact LOST all the files. The club members think Jocelyn's attacker went on to assault and kill other women, and they're trying to track down the perp and bring him to justice. Did the rapist/murderer find out they're on his trail?
As Charlotte and Max pursue their dual-approach inquiries they put their lives in grave danger.
Max is an interesting character. As a child he lived in a cult with his mother, and was almost burned to death when the cult leader set fire to the compound. Many people were killed.....and Max lost his mom.
However, all the children were rescued - and three of the boys (including Max) were taken in and raised by a loving foster father.
Max grew up, got married, and became a criminal profiler, but lost his wife and job when stress and anxiety derailed him. Afterwards, Max moved to Seattle and became a private investigator. A side issue of the story involves Max searching for the cult leader who killed his mom, and I imagine this will be revisited in future books in the series.
As Charlotte and Max work together, there are sparks of attraction that lead to a slow-burning romance.....and hot encounters between the sheets. So if you like romance in your books (unlike me) there it is. LOL 💖
During the course of the story, we meet a variety of interesting characters, including: members of the investment club; the police officer who was in charge of Jocelyn's old rape case; senior citizens at the retirement community; Max's foster father and foster brothers; Charlotte's ex-fiancé (guess what he wants....ha ha ha); and more.
The solution to the mystery struck me as unlikely, but the book is entertaining.....and there's a fun surprise at the end. I would recommend the novel to fans of romantic suspense.
Rating: 3 stars
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