Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody - A Review

Review

JANE DARROWFIELD, PROFESSIONAL BUSYBODY by Barbara Ross

The First Jane Darrowfield Mystery

After taking early retirement Jane Darrowfield traveled, worked on her garden, and organized her photos; enjoying all the things she didn't have time for previously. Then she started helping friends with little problems. Working in the corporate word prepared her dealing with life's little conflicts and annoyances and Jane discovered she was good at it.  Yet she hesitated when asked to solve a problem at a 55 plus community, especially when the director was so vague about what the actual problem was. But when he didn't balk at the fee she requested, Jane decided to look into the matter. What she found was not so much an active community for older residents, but high school revisited, with its cliques and mean-spiritedness in residents closer to 70 than 17! Will Jane be able to sort out the root cause of the problem before things at Walden Spring get even more out of hand?

As a woman of mature years myself (although I couldn't live in Walden Spring just yet) I enjoy seeing seniors treated as real people. There are rivalries, jealousy, insecurities, and romance whether one is 20 or 60. While the majority of the seniors here live in a 55 plus community, they are not exiled or put out to pasture. Rather they're living intense, active lives. The fact that several of these people are acting more like juvenile delinquents in just icing on the cake. I especially like Jane and find her an immensely likeable protagonist. She's smart, capable, and knows when to ask for help.

JANE DARROWFIELD, PROFESSIONAL BUSYBODY reminds us that life doesn't end after 50...unless there's murder! The first book in this new series has an ingenious plot, interesting characters, and equal parts fun and danger!