Who Killed Swami Schwartz? (Senior Sleuth Mystery Series)

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Summary: Who knew retiring in Florida could be so suspenseful?
Review: And dangerous. Dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker Kate Kennedy is just starting to adjust to widowhood in South Florida when her yogi, Swami Schwartz, drops dead after having dinner with his rich and eccentric financial backers. All the suspects seem unnaturally obsessed with death and burial - or at least with finding some alternatives to both.

With the help of her colorful ex-sister-in-law Marlene and Ballou, her perceptive West Highland Terrier, Kate discovers stranger than usual doings at the Ocean Vista retirement condos. (You'll never look at your freezer in the same way again.)

Kate is engaging, Marlene is hysterical. The residents of Ocean Vista need a keeper. And all the available men have too many secrets to make any chance at romance predictable.

Just when she's got you completely tied up in a knotty plot, Nora Charles untangles all the threads with a deft flick of the wrist for a satisfying snap of an ending. I highly recommend Who Killed Swami Schwartz; it's even better than Kate's first adventure, Death with an Ocean View.

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Summary: Second in Series Seriously Sinks
Review: While I thoroughly enjoyed the first novel in this series by the author, and started out enjoying the second, "Who Killed Swami Schwartz", there were two major drawbacks to this title. First, the excessive dwelling on, by the main character Kate Kennedy, about her husband's death during the signing of the condo and her continued lamentations regarding her missing him, takes away a great deal from the enjoyment of the series. As readers, dear author, take note: we get it, he died, she's a widow, it's a lot to contend with. Let's move on with character development. Second, while I won't give away the ending to this novel, the denoument is incredibly disappointing. Did the author, Nora Charles, run out of steam and lose interest in the telling? It certainly appears to be the case. I will definitely read the third in this series, if it becomes available, and hope that it will be as interesting and clever as the first.

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Summary: Love this book!
Review: Who Killed Swami Schwartz? draws us further into the Florida retirement intrigues of newly-widowed Kate Kennedy, her faithful West Highland Terrier, Ballou, and her boisterous sister-in-law Marlene. Author Nora Charles weaves an intricate, not to say outrageous, plot, as she did in the first book of the series, Death with an Ocean View. Kate and Marlene get into plenty of trouble, especially when investigating why a renowned yoga guru should suddenly die at a party. Their research leads them to a cryogenics firm where you can get your head frozen for $30,000 or your whole body for $128,000 and the local pub Marlene likes to frequent. Suspects abound, including a distinguished doctor, a handsome Indian yoga associate of Swami Schwartz, the bleached-blonde widow of a Westerns film actor, the sweet young waitress at the pub.....

Charles clearly has fun with her writing and passes it along to her readers. Her characters are multidimensional and believable. There is also an element of infectious farce. Whether on a beach or at a ski resort, in an airport or at home, readers will spend enjoyable hours with this delightful Florida-based series.