Mostly Murders

Her mother had never visited Elkhorn Slough. And no one had ever been murdered there. But there was a first time for everything.

Mother-daughter murder night, is what Beth and her mother Lana would call it when they would relax together, watching detective shows in bed all evening. Now Beth is living a quiet life in Elkhorn Slough with her daughter Jaqueline, called Jack, while Lana is rich, successful and completely tuned into a high-power, high-energy LA existence. But when she has to seek treatment for cancer, she ends up temporarily moving in with Beth and Jack. But the reunion is a troubled one. Lana’s success has come at the cost of her relationship with Beth, who sees Lana as selfish and dominating, leaving Jack uneasily caught between the two of them.

But when Jack stumbles across a dead body, Lana throws herself headfirst into investigating to prove her granddaughter’s innocence and give herself something other than her cancer treatment to occupy her mind. On the surface this sounds like yet another senior sleuth cosy mystery set in a small town. But Mother Daughter Murder Night isn’t just about cosy small-town shenanigans. It is also a powerful and uplifting testament to strong women who stand up for themselves, who refuse to be silenced and demand to be seen and taken seriously, regardless of their age or race or looks.

Lana, Beth and Jack represent three generations of women who fight against the odds and create a life of value for themselves, and at the same time serve as a reminder that a strong woman isn’t the same as a perfect woman. Being strong isn’t about breezing through life never making a mistake or never having regrets or doubts. True strength means experiencing life through mistakes, regrets and doubts, and still having the resilience to carry on. It is a book about strong women and complicated families, written by the author Nina Simon for her mother as a way to entertain both of them during her mother’s chemo treatments, and the messages of representation and resistance for women everywhere are beautiful and loving.

Cosy mystery – Contemporary