I'll start by admitting I never read mysteries of any kind. My brain always thinks I've missed something because I'm dumb when I don't get what's happening, so I quit. I almost did that with this book, quit, that is, but I would only be confused for about 30 seconds before someone explained a bit of detail that triggered something in my brain, or a name would crop up that I remembered -- just something to give readers a bit of context and continue on.

I also thought it was wicked clever of the author to have Joyce keep a diary. Instead of dragging through a scene in which someone is interviewed, for instance, she sums up what happened and adds little quips about having a crumble in the oven.

This is one of the most respectful, smart, and well-written books about elderly people (70+) that I've ever read that does NOT make them super youthful (zero health problems, for example). People die due to age, they wear out, they'll forget something once in a while, but in general, you can't beat how amazing Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron (Red Ron!) and Ibrahim are. The secondary characters are great, too, including a police duo, a weird priest, and an aging boxer and his friends.

My audiobook copy also had an interview at the end with the author where he says the book has no swearing. He just didn't want to, which was hard given Ron's bulldozing nature at times.