Protected: Memorial Day Weekend and Things
May 31, 2023
Monthly Reads | May 2023 Reads
June 5, 2023
Did she jump—or was she pushed? The Retired Detectives have a theory. Now they just need the evidence…
The brand-new Shimmering Sands retirement community is a beachfront paradise—until realtor Jessie Beckton plunges to her death from the penthouse suite she’s selling. When the cops rule out foul play, the Retired Detectives agree to step in. They’re certain Jessie was murdered—but how can they prove it when the apartment was locked from the inside?
As the gang pursue their investigation, a host of potential suspects emerge who all have secrets to hide. But just as they seem to be closing in on a culprit, a shocking second murder sends them back to square one.
Meanwhile, former CSI Lizzie’s marriage to ex-DCI Philip suffers a fateful blow. And their partners in crime-solving, Rick and Moira, find their new romance tested when a mystery woman from Rick’s past appears—with a child in tow.
The team must put aside their differences and join forces with a former adversary if they’re to solve the case. But in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, can they lure the killer into the open before one of them pays the ultimate price?
Characters
Retired Detectives
- Moira – Former DCI, took medical retirement after an undercover sting went wrong – one of her agents shot another one of her agents and then jumped to his death
- Rick – Former DEA agent – Moira and Rick are now a couple!
- Phillip – Former DCI, had to retire due to heart issues
- Lizzie – Former CSI, married to Phillip
Shimmering Sands and Other Characters
- Jessie – murder victim, real estate agent that had moved from New York to Florida to be closer to her parents
- Sindee – Jessi’s boss, a “hard-ass”; Sindee had a soft spot for Jessie and people also thought that Jessie was her mini-me due to her looks
- Josh Stratton – Jessie’s ex; Jessie had broken up with him about a week before her death. He had followed her to Florida but she was not really happy with their relationship, he was very controlling
- Elton, Jessie’s coworker and friend
- Pheonix Salford-Keynes – Jessie’s coach
- Carl Fossway – a dad at the gym that Jessie was volunteering at; turns out he was married but had told Jessie he was separated
- Belinda Fossway – Carl’s wife; she caused a scene and tried to get into an altercation with Jessie when she found out that Carl and Jessie were going on dates
- Brett Donaldson – owner of SSC Sport, where Jessie helped out at
- Bethany Thompson – Jessie’s roommate
- Lucas Francis – Competitor in the real estate market
- Carl Staples – building manager
- Adam Coulter – Head of operations
- Chester Golding – Detective on Jessie’s case that didn’t think it was suicide
- James Golding – Detective from previous cases that doesn’t approve of the meddling four retired detectives
- Estelle and Bibi – Ricks estranged daughter and her child; Estelle was angry with Rick for working too much when Rick’s wife was dying of cancer so Estelle disowned Rick until the beginning of this book
My Review
I have read the first two books in this series and would not recommend jumping into this series without starting at the beginning. This series is not Thursday Murder Club – it is not old people getting together with witty banter solving crimes. This is four, retired detectives that had successful careers that are not ready to completely be done with their past lives.
The third book in this series follows the format of the others, jumping back and forth between characters perspectives. I feel we didn’t get much from Lizzie in this one.
This one felt rushed and a lot more far fetched. There were also some inconsistencies in the story line – when the characters say they had filled someone in on their investigation, and that person was willing to help out, but they had actually never told the person they were investigating and had been under cover when they met them. A little unbelievable to be able to call all of the suspect together and just have them show up as well…
I did like the relationship between Phillip and Lizzie in this book and how it has evolved from the first book. They have worked through health issues and betrayals and seem to have found each other again.
The ending for this has set Moira up into a dilemma from her past life with a huge decision that could change her future. It has set it up for a fourth book. My issue with this is that it seemed to throw this huge plot into the last few chapters of this (it had sprinkled little bits of the storyline in the other books, but not much detail) after Moira ‘all of a sudden’ remembered details from the night of the failed sting that she had forgotten and conveniently found solid evidence to help close her case.
This was an enjoyable read, I have liked the series. I think that the next book could be interesting based on the setup from this book.
Spoilers
Carl is the murderer. He had been using the empty penthouses as a side hustle. He would rent them out for parties and other illegal activities.
Sindee caught him one evening and was going to rat him out. Carl was going to murder her at the showing and mistook Jessie for Sindee. By the time he realized it wasn’t Sindee, Jessie had seen the knife so he had to kill her. He told Sindee the mob had killed Jessie to keep them quiet so Sindee didn’t say anything. She finally was going to come clean so Carl killed her.
Moira has a flashback to her failed sting when she is standing on the balcony and remembers that her agent had told her he left her all the evidence she needed to expose her boss. She finds it on a USB drive in her box of things. She sends it in to the British papers and her boss and the big drug boss are brought in. Her old agency calls and wants her to come back out of retirement. The ending of this book leaves us with Rick telling Moira he loves her and Moira needing to make a decision to come out of retirement or not