Spencer Quinn is the author of the fun and wildly successful Chet and Bernie mysteries, a long-running series that features a talking dog and his human, crime-solving, private-eye partner. In Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge, Quinn launches a fresh, new dynamic series featuring an aging heroine who becomes embroiled in an exciting, adventurous mystery.
Recent widow, Mrs. Loretta Plansky, is discerning and spry; a 71-year-old tennis-player. She and her husband, Norm, were a sophisticated couple who made millions with their unlikely invention of a “toaster knife,” a knife that actually toasts bread while you slice it. In order to retire, Loretta and Norm, parents of two adult children, sold the business with high hopes of living a leisurely Florida lifestyle of ease and comfort. However, things didn’t quite go according to plan. Norm died, and then Mrs. Plansky, hip replaced, decided to downsize. She moved from their large home into a new residence, an “itty-bitty” condo on Little Pine Lake—situated only a few miles from keeping tabs on her pesky, temperamental, 98-year-old father, who resides in an upscale assisted living community. Mrs. Plansky’s children and grandchildren don’t live nearby, but they climb out of the woodwork, gracious and attentive as can be when they need something—mainly money.
When tired and spent Mrs. Plansky receives a frantic, distressing phone call from someone whom she believes is her grandson--he needs $10,000 to post bail for a DUI arrest--she gives him what he asks for without question. Mrs. Plansky later learns, however, the call was a fraud perpetrated by overseas criminals who proceeded to wipe out her entire nest egg. When the police and FBI conclude they don’t have enough evidence to solve the whodunnit, Mrs. Plansky becomes intent on taking charge and seeking justice.
Quinn’s (Bark to the Future, Of Mutts and Men) briskly plotted nail-biter
takes unexpected twists and turns nicely balanced by Mrs. Plansky turning to
the ghost of her husband. He serves as a silent, tender touchstone empowering
her amidst a courageous, complicated quest for retribution. Fearless Mrs.Plansky barrels past her comfort zone and the limitations of her years, setting
off to Romania where she plunges head-long into danger. Her age never becomes a
detriment. Rather, she works it to her advantage, employing great ingenuity to
solve a crime that elevates her into an immensely likeable, wholly appealing
heroine.
Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge by Spencer Quinn
Forge Books, $26.99 hardcover,
304 pages, 9781250843333
Publishing Date: July 25, 2023
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NOTE: This review
is a reprint and is being posted (in a slightly different from) with the
permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this
review as published on Shelf Awareness
for the Book Trade (June 5, 2023), link HERE
A shortened version of this review was published on Shelf Awareness
for Readers (July 28, 2023). Link HERE to
read that review.