Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

At 75 years old, Carol is sure that she has finally gotten murder out of her blood. Having served time for seven killings (and those are only the ones that can be proven), why shouldn't she now enjoy her final years in a luxurious retirement home? There she makes friends and enjoys lattes and other delights she missed while in prison, all the while keeping murder firmly in the realm of passing fancies. Then, after a dead man falls past her balcony, she's shocked to find that many of her neighbors are former crime-fighters. They are just as shocked to discover Carol's past. If she can solve this new murder—for which she is the prime suspect—she might avoid prison, but will this community ever feel like home again? Narrator Walker brings her experience portraying introspective older characters (as in Frederik Backman's My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry) and dials up the humor. She knows when to give tender moments space and how to deliver every bit of off-color comedy. While the novel revels in many cozy mystery tropes, it's almost an anti-cozy, with its sex, drugs, and violence. VERDICT On the spectrum between Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club and Philip Fracassi's The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre, Craig's (Murder at Crime Manor) novel finds the sweet (and hilariously murderous) spot.—Matthew Galloway

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Carol has pretty much paid her debt to society after serving 35 years in prison for eight killings (she’s actually not quite sure of the exact number of murders). At 75, she’s finally free, convinced she’s “earned” the privilege of “living in the most luxurious surroundings” that is Sheldon Oaks, a posh retirement home in North London’s tony Hampstead neighborhood. Having returned to an internet-savvy society, however, Carol’s past doesn’t stay buried for long. When the first corpse falls from on high, she is, of course, the immediate primary suspect. “Have a little imagination,” she thinks. “Someone gets killed, and the automatic assumption is that the known killer did it. If Jamie Oliver walks past a spaghetti carbonara, does that mean he cooked it?” Finding the actual murderer is her only path to exoneration, especially since she’s rather enjoying “the lattes and cappuccinos and whatnot.” She’s also found “the sort of people [she] was happy to spend the rest of her days with,” a former detective, home secretary, and pathologist. Despite their out-loud suspicions—not to mention the multiplying body count—the trio-plus-Carol turn out to be a far more effective investigation team than the local police. Craig clearly relies on his background as actor, comedian, and TV writer to achieve pitch-perfect timing in making murder most fun.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A killing in a retirement home poses quite a problem for a resident who’s a former serial killer. Carol Quinn was convicted of seven murders, although there might have been some that slipped through the cracks. Now 75, she’s lost the urge to kill and been released from prison, moving into Sheldon Oaks, a posh retirement home near London’s Hampstead Heath. Since only Giles Temple, the owner of Sheldon Oaks, and Elisa, the concierge, know of Carol’s past, she’s able to make friends by joining activities like the baking club, where she and the charming and erudite Margaret do most of the work while Desmond, Geoffrey, and Catherine mostly look on and enjoy the final products. After a while, Geoffrey, a former police officer, develops a nagging feeling he recognizes Carol from somewhere, and finally recalls where. He tells Margaret, who just happens to be a former home secretary, and they inform Catherine, a pathologist. Carol is an intelligent and likable character, but now that her lovely new friends know about her past, they avoid her, upsetting her no end. Then, while she’s sitting on her balcony one day, a body plummets from the roof. It’s Desmond, and Carol—against her own interests—insists he was the victim of a murder. As an experienced killer herself, Carol is perfectly placed to investigate. All she wants is a peaceful retirement, but the fickle finger of fate has a strange sense of humor. Geoffrey thinks Carol probably killed Desmond, but she’s willing to join the club her former friends set up to investigate the murder, in which they all have expertise to offer. A little digging shows there were plenty of people with motive to kill Desmond, but given her record, Carol knows she’ll end up back in prison if she doesn’t prove herself innocent. The group is loath to trust her, but cooperation may be the key to solving the crime. A fine mystery whose mordant humor makes it outstanding. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

British actor, comedian, and mystery novelist Craig (Murder at Crime Manor) delivers a sparkling whodunit set at Sheldon Oaks, a luxury retirement community in the wealthy North London borough of Hampstead. For new arrival Carol Quinn, 75, the opulence of Sheldon Oaks, with its sauna, pool, and martial arts studio, offers a welcome change from the dusty prison cell she’s occupied for the past 35 years. Convicted of seven homicides (and perhaps guilty of a few more), Carol negotiated a reduction in her sentence long ago (“Want to know how to knock a few decades off your sentence? Tell them where the bodies are buried”). Now that she’s out, she just wants to relax, make new friends, and keep her criminal past buried. When fellow Sheldon Oaks resident Sir Desmond Crisp falls to his death from the facility’s roof, however, police out Carol to her fellow residents as a serial killer and brand her the prime suspect. For once, she’s innocent, so she joins forces with her new friends—including an ex-cop and a former pathologist—to clear her name. Witty, fast-paced, and plenty surprising, Craig’s cracked cozy goes down smooth. It’s a delightfully twisted romp. Agent: Gordon Wise, Curtis Brown UK. (Feb.)