Death in the Sunshine by Steph Broadribb was an Amazon First Reads pick back in February. It looked like it would be a fun read, so I downloaded it. The story is set in the proverbial Florida “retirement” community. If you have visited “The Villages” in central Florida, you get the idea. The story is told from the perspective of four main characters. All of them are retired law enforcement professionals. The story starts when Moria, a former undercover DCI with the Metropolitan Police who has retired to Florida, finds the body of a young woman in the pool when she goes for an early swim.
Death in the Sunshine was a light summer read. It’s a riff on the Thursday Murder Club trope, but doesn’t pull it off nearly as well. There is a second book coming. Not sure if I will put it on the reading list yet.
Death in the Sunshine
By Steph Broadribb
Four ex-cops in a retirement paradise. Sure they’ll rest…when the killer is caught.
After a long career as a police officer, Moira hopes a move to a luxury retirement community will mean she can finally leave the detective work to the youngsters and focus on a quieter life. But it turns out The Homestead is far from paradise. When she discovers the body of a young woman floating in one of the pools, surrounded by thousands of dollar bills, her crime-fighting instinct kicks back in and she joins up with fellow ex-cops—and new neighbours—Philip, Lizzie and Rick to investigate the murder.
With the case officers dropping ball after ball, Moira and the gang take matters into their own hands, turning into undercover homicide investigators. But the killer is desperate to destroy all the evidence and Moira, Philip, Lizzie and Rick soon find themselves getting in the way—of the murderer and the police.
Just when they think they can finally relax, they discover that someone has infiltrated their ‘safe’ community. Can they hunt down the murderer and get back to retiring in peace? And after all the excitement, will they want to?
Published March 1, 2022
319 pages (print)