Jill Gardner hosts a talk on elder abuse at her Coffee, Books, & More shop, but doesn't think it has any personal bearing until she learns her aging Aunt Jackie has been getting some very strange calls. They're from a man claiming to be her deceased husband, Ted. This is very concerning, and Jill asks her boyfriend, local Police Chief Greg King, for help tracking down the predator.
Unfortunately, a more urgent crime takes his attention. A man has been murdered. He's a volunteer at The Senior Project, and boyfriend of the elder counselor, Paula, who gave the elder abuse talk at Jill's shop.
We are soon seeing both the neighborly solidarity of a small town, and the prickly conflicts of a small town. Quiet, gentle, even timid Paula soon seems to be the only person with a motive to kill her boyfriend. He seems to have been living entirely off her income, while promising big paychecks coming soon from his freelance computer maintenance and repair business. She was expecting them to marry soon; coworkers at The Senior Project say he was about to break up with her. Yet Jill and other friends are certain she's just not capable of it.
Meanwhile, town elections are coming up, and the mayor thinks Greg is going to run against him. This leads to a lot of conflict, and some nasty pressure on Jill from the mayor's campaign manager.
There's also the question of who has been making those calls to Aunt Jackie, and while it's reduced to a minor concern for Greg by the need to solve the murder
Along the way, we get to know Jill, Greg, and other locals. Jackie was engaged to Harrold until she started getting those calls that might be from her late husband, and he's not giving up on her. Sadie is the source of some of the best baked goods in Jill's shop. Deek is a "professional student" (his own words) who works part-time as a barista in Jill's shop, and is starting to come up with some creative ideas that are drawing in new business. And Jill's dog, Emma, is reliable and devoted.
It's an enjoyable story in an enjoyable setting. Recommended.
I received this audiobook as a gift, and am reviewing it voluntarily.
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