Chris' Fish Place

This was a kindle freebie.  I am conflicted a bit about this book.  In some ways, it was a bit too stereotypical in the “old folks discover the internet but still spin out folksy wisdom” type of a way.  But there is something charming about the mystery.

                This is 7^th in the series, but I haven’t read the others.  It was easy enough to get into for a newbie  The premise is Emily runs a travel group/agency and murders happen when she goes on trips to places.  The main customers seem to be seniors, including Emily's grandmother.  The thing that annoyed the most was the main character’s, Emily, e-husband.  He had gender reassignment, which isn’t my problem.  But if I am suppose to believe that Emily is down with the whole thing, why does Emily still use the male name of Jack instead of the chosen one of Jackie?  I could understand say, Jacks, but it just seemed a bit off.  I could understand if this was right after the surgery, but both Emily and Jackie have moved on and are re-married. So it felt a little strange, off, and borderline insulting.  I should note, however, that Jackie is shown as a transgender who is NOT addicted to anything and who is happy and well adjusted.  She might be a sterotype in terms of shoes, but considering Emily is also this way, I'm willing to let that go.

                That said – what I really enjoyed about this book was the use of humor.  Even if I had trouble believing that the old folks didn’t remember about the coffee shops not serving coffee, the “high” seniors scene was very entertaining, especially with the legs and balls.  Additionally, while the use of Jack instead of Jackie struck me as odd, I have to applaud the use of female friendship and teamwork.  Jackie and Emily work very well together, and the friendship is done well.  While I found it little hard to keep all the seniors in Emily’s group straight, the friendships were conveyed well, and  it was nice seeing a group work together instead of being in opposition.