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In this introductory novel of a possible series, readers are being introduced to an elderly widow whose golden years did not come out exactly as she planned but who is trying to make the best of it. Her husband was a dreamer who wanted to move away from the cold weather and live the rest of his retirement on a Florida beach. As soon as all the legalities had being taken care of and their home sold, just as he finished signing all the necessary paperwork, he dropped dead leaving his wife all alone in a place that she did not want to be. Now, Kate Kennedy is stuck on a Florida condo missing the nice weather she was used to living up north. She is bored and does not know what to do, but she has some good friends that live in the area. When an acquaintance of theirs is found murdered on the beach, they get involved in their own personal investigation as a sort of lark and a sense of excitement. What they will discover is that things are bound to get hotter in the Sunshine State and the only people they can count on are themselves. DEATH WITH AN OCEAN VIEW is another one in a slew of mysteries starring senior citizens acting as amateur sleuths who are inspired from the classic books they read and MURDER SHE WROTE reruns. Kate Kennedy does not provide anything new in this over-saturated group of mystery books that can be read quickly and quietly. There is a murder, lots of town gossip, red herrings galore, a frustrated police detective dealing with the elderly women, and a plot twist ending that comes out of left field that makes little to no sense to the main storyline presented with this book. The impression one gets from reading this novel is that the author loves what she did and enjoys trying to write her own mystery. Unfortunately, there are too many elements and common mistakes which may cause readers to lose the thrill of reading this book. There is too much material crammed in fewer than 200 pages. Kate Kennedy is an interesting character but the book's plot structure is poorly constructed. Each chapter acts like a checklist in which the author makes sure that all the elements that she wants to introduce are there before moving on to the next page. DEATH WITH AN OCEAN VIEW is a valiant effort, but it needs a lot of rework if it wants to be taken seriously by the following book. Maybe next time.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, June 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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