Murder Leaves a Permanent Mark
When the publisher cancelled Elizabeth Perona’s Bicket List Mysteries several years ago, I assumed that meant that the adventures of these senior citizens were over. So imagine my delight in seeing that the father/daughter writing team have self-published some new books. I dove back in with book four, Murder in the Tattoo Parlor.
The series features a group of friends in their 70’s who decide to help each other check items off their bucket lists. The main character is Francine McNamara, but there are five friends overall.
What I’d forgotten about the series was that it introduced a supernatural element with the second book. This story jumps in with that storyline on page one. I’m still not impressed with that part of the books. The authors have made an adjust to this ongoing storyline, which they explain in the prologue to the 2025 edition of this book, which is the one I read. But you know what? As much as I don’t like it, I’m also curious where they are going with it. Yep, I’m being inconsistent as always. And yes, I’m being vague on purpose since it’s a spoiler for earlier books in the series. I do also have to point out that this particular storyline also opens a plot hole in this book.
The mystery in this book kicks off when Francine and Charlotte agree to go with Joy to her appointment to get a tattoo. Yes, it’s on Joy’s bucket list, but she’s not so sure she’ll actually follow through. They show up for the late-night appointment only to find the tattoo artist dead. The new police chief wants them to stay far away from the case, but Francine can’t help but start investigating. Her biggest surprise is that none of her friends seems that interested in helping with the case since they all have their own distractions. Can Francine figure out what happened?
I was smiling as the story got going. These are fun characters, and I hadn’t realized how much I missed them. Yes, I’d forgotten some of what was going on in their lives, but the book did a good job of reminding me. We don’t see as much of the group as a whole, but the time with the characters was fun.
But the mystery could have been stronger. Francine spends a lot of time going around in circles. Parts of the story were a little obvious early. Yet, the ending is rather abrupt and left me wondering exactly what a character was thinking earlier in the book. Yes, things made sense, but it wasn’t developed enough to be fully satisfying.
On the other hand, I enjoyed the humor of the book. It’s not a laugh a page story, but there are definitely laughs and grins throughout.
And, as I said, I’m curious to see where some of the storylines are going in book five. I expect I’ll get to it as some point.
This is one of those books that I have a hard time recommending or not. I’m glad I picked up Murder in the Tattoo Parlor, but it is flawed. If the premise of the series appeals to you, I recommend at least picking up the first book, which I remember thoroughly loving.
Here are the rest of Elizabeth Perona’s Bucket List Mysteries.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for stopping by. In order to combat spam, I moderate most comments. I'll get to your comment as soon as I can.