Thank you Barbara Ross for this delightful new cozy series! I love Jane Darrowfield and look forward to her next book with great anticipation. This has all the elements of a great cozy series that we cozy readers love. Much appreciation to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. I have deemed this one of my favorite books of 2020 !.

We are introduced to Jane Darrowfield who is a recent retiree has enjoyed her time off but has become bored with gardening, card games, her clubs and endless social visits. She gets a certain reputation among her club members that she has a special talent for solving problems. Soon she is requested to assist with finding the reason behind dissension at a senior community where arguments are breaking out among residents and staff. When a horrendous murder occurs Jane is one the case and soon up to her ears in clues. By solving this sleuth she will find she is a savvy investigator . With her first paid investigation behind her Jane is ready to take on the world. This is just so delightful. I love Jane and how she i portrayed as savvy smart and fun . The supporting charcters are all likable and I will enjoy seeing how the next book develops Jane and her friends. A very fun read. Review cross posted.

Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody is the first book in Barbara Ross’ Jane Darrowfield series. This is a well-plotted murder mystery with a fun cast of well-developed characters. The story moves at a steady pace, with no shortage of potential villains. I’m looking forward to reading the next installment in this series.

Jane Darrowfield is a divorced retiree with one estranged son and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She enjoys gardening and getting together with her long-time friends, Irma Brittleson, Phyllis Goldstein, and Helen Graham, to play bridge, but she’s learned that retirement isn’t fulfilling. Since she has the tendency to be a busybody who believes some people lack the skill to have difficult conversations with acquaintances and neighbors and has stepped in to help them resolve their problems. When Irma learned that Paul Peavey, the executive director of Walden Spring, the lifecare community for active adults fifty-five plus in Concord, Massachusetts was having some issues with the social dynamics in the community, she recommended he contact Jane to intervene and help him fix things. He agrees to pay her a daily fee and requests that she temporarily move into one of their vacant condos. After only a few hours in the community, Jane realized the seniors behaved like high schoolers with clique mentality and sensed hostility between groups of people, and made a couple of suggestions regarding two of the group leaders, Bill Finnerty and Mike Witkowski. When Bill turns up dead on the golf course the next morning, Paul asks her to stay, and she decides to try to identify the culprit. As she snoops around and asks questions, Jane discovers some shocking secrets about many of the residents. While screening dates for Phyllis, Jane meets Harry Welch, and when he asks her to accompany him for dinner and a movie, she accepts.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

In Which Undercover Assignment Brings Problems.....
Jane Darrowfield, retiree and amateur sleuth gets her first paid assignment - she is now a professional busybody no less. An undercover assignment brings all sorts of problems for our busybody - but surely nothing that she can’t handle.....?....until, that is, a gruesome murder lands in her lap. Great fun from start to finish and perfect escapism.

A year into retirement.and Jane Darrowfield is bored. She has already accomplished all that she had set out to do but what now? Well when a friend comes to her for help with a sticky issue and Jane is able to fix things she soon becomes known as the go person for problems. Jane doesn't mind though, she loves being there for her friends. She soon learns that she can actually make money and at the same time help others out. She soon gets asked to help at a local 55 and over condo community, it seems the residents are quite immature.and in need of a.reminder of their age. She moves in and hopes that she will be of help, things are actually coming together that is until.one of the major problems is found d murdered. Jane goes from trying to get the residents to act like adults to looking for a killer. Will she be able to put all the pieces together or will the killer get to her first. This was a fun read with a great main character who shows that she is only a number!

Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody by Barbara Ross is the debut of A Jane Darrowfield Mystery series. Jane Darrowfield is retired from the telephone company and her only son lives on the west coast. After organizing her house and traveling, Jane is at loose ends. Playing bridge with her three friends does not take up all her time. Jane has discovered that she is good at solving problems and word has spread within the town. Now Jane has a paid assignment. She needs to uncover why the various cliques at an over 55 community are at odds with one another. Things go well until one of the ring leaders turns up dead. Jane Darrowfield is a spirited main character. She is smart, notices details, and likes to be active. I like that she is an older protagonist. Jane has her three friends (Helen, Phyllis, and Irma) with whom she plays bridge regularly. Phyllis enlists Jane’s help in weeding through the men interested in dating her since her own judgement is not to be trusted. Phyllis has created profiles for the two of them on a dating site and arranged coffee dates for Jane with the top matches. I found the dates to be entertaining. I just loved the baristas reactions. I thought Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody contained good writing, it was just the right length, and it had a steady pace. The mystery was interesting with a variety of suspects. Jane questioned people, followed leads, and searched for clues. It was fun solving this clever whodunit. I look forward to the next A Jane Darrowfield Mystery. Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody is charming cozy mystery with a gone golfer, suspicious suspects, surprising secrets, a crafty killer, and a smart senior sleuth.

Old people behaving like much younger people is a refreshing take on the traditional cozy. I enjoyed the mystery and found the characters delightful and humorous.

First book in a new series by Barbara Ross Jane Darrowfield

Jane is a 55+ retired women looking for something to occupy her time, so she started helping her friends with their problems. She is surprised when Paul Peavy, and manager of Walden Spring, a 55-and over community comes to see her and ask her to help him out. He wants her to come and use her skills at the community. It seems the community has developed into high school and the petty things that go on there. All the back stabbing and little cliques.
So when a murder occurs she really has to be a busybody. In a place where everyone has secrets and love to play dirty pranks on each other, that won't be easy. With all the twist and turns and all the characters it was hard to figure out who the killer was, but it was fun tagging along snooping with Jane and some of her friends to catch who ever it was.

I can't wait for the next book in this series to see who she helps next!

This is the first book in a new series by one of my favourite cozy writers. Jane Darrowfield is a retired professional living alone, playing cards with her best friends and enjoying life as a single woman. She has gained the reputation as someone who can solve problems for those who are uncomfortable with confrontation. One friend recommends her to the manager of a seniors residence and he hires her to come and live at the residence and help him stop the fighting between the residents. She finds the solution to be simple and he takes her advice. The next morning, one of the problematic people is found bludgeoned to death on the golf course. Suddenly, the petty fighting has become murder, and Jane is right in the middle.

I enjoyed this book. Jane is a sensible woman who isn't afraid to confront people and ask questions. I found it was a little longer than necessary and a couple of chapters could be removed. But I will read more in this series if they are written.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy.

Jane Darrowfield is retired and has just begun a business where she helps people with difficult situations. In this novel, she is called to a retirement community near her to figure out how to remedy friction between various groups of residents. She moves into one of the model units so she can immerse herself in the environment, and soon discovers that the cliques that exist are much like those she experienced in high school. Shortly after her arrival, a murder occurs and she becomes involved in solving the case. On the surface, characters in this book are quirky and yet stereotypical of those you'd find in a high school setting. But Jane soon finds out that there are other things lurking beneath the surface. There's also just a little romance sprinkled in, but it doesn't get in the way of the mystery. I enjoyed this read and look forward to more books in this series.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

It's a cozy mystery in the best way. Retired busybody Jane gets hired by a manager for a retirement village to try to sort out difficulties among the residents. She moves in, disguised as a potential buyer, and on her second day a person gets murdered. From there on she's very busy indeed.

I liked that Jane wasn't perfect and she had relationships that were broken, like the one to her son.
Also, I enjoyed the whole story. You know what you get when you buy a cozy mystery, great entertainment and a good time.

JANE DARROWFIELD, PROFESSIONAL BUSYBODY by Barbara Ross
The First Jane Darrowfield Mystery

After taking early retirement Jane Darrowfield traveled, worked on her garden, and organized her photos; enjoying all the things she didn't have time for previously. Then she started helping friends with little problems. Working in the corporate word prepared her dealing with life's little conflicts and annoyances and Jane discovered she was good at it. Yet she hesitated when asked to solve a problem at a 55 plus community, especially when the director was so vague about what the actual problem was. But when he didn't balk at the fee she requested, Jane decided to look into the matter. What she found was not so much an active community for older residents, but high school revisited, with its cliques and mean-spiritedness in residents closer to 70 than 17! Will Jane be able to sort out the root cause of the problem before things at Walden Spring get even more out of hand?

As a woman of mature years myself (although I couldn't live in Walden Spring just yet) I enjoy seeing seniors treated as real people. There are rivalries, jealousy, insecurities, and romance whether one is 20 or 60. While the majority of the seniors here live in a 55 plus community, they are not exiled or put out to pasture. Rather they're living intense, active lives. The fact that several of these people are acting more like juvenile delinquents in just icing on the cake. I especially like Jane and find her an immensely likeable protagonist. She's smart, capable, and knows when to ask for help.

JANE DARROWFIELD, PROFESSIONAL BUSYBODY reminds us that life doesn't end after 50...unless there's murder! The first book in this new series has an ingenious plot, interesting characters, and equal parts fun and danger!

Jane Darrowfield has a growing reputation of solving personal problems for her friends and friends-of-friends.
One day she gets a call from the director of a 55-and-over condo community with a need for her services.
Jane goes undercover at the community to find a troublemaker, but ends up looking for a killer.

Looking to keep busy and mentally active after her retirement from the corporate world, Jane interferes in several potentially sticky situations with positive results. Her results lead to her hiring to investigate the unpleasant interpersonal cultural at a senior community. While there, a body is discovered on the golf course and Jane feels duty bound solve the mystery. This new series is a winner, well-plotted with interesting characters that I look forward to meeting again.

I loved this book. Was bummed I had to put it down for a few hours to have lunch with friends. Jane is a wonderful character and while busy body is her " title" , there is a reason for that and it should not be construed negatively.

The summary provided by the publisher sets this book up perfectly so no need to rehash.
This is the first book in this series and while some time is spent world building, it does not take away from the rhythm of the story. We get to follow along with Jane as she follows the clues and investigates anomalies and sightings of potential suspects . One by one, the threads are resolved. It was a very good mystery and kept me guessing for some time.--and once I guessed, another twist!



Looking forward to further installments.

I received an ARC from Kensington via Net galley and all opinions are my own.

Review submitted to Amazon and is pending approval.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

What a delightful, solid first in this new series! I very much enjoyed it and am looking forward to more. Jane and the other characters, especially those at Walden Spring, offer a variety of personalities and backgrounds. The setting as drawn by the author has charm and history. The mystery is confounding; it seems there could be several suspects but narrowing it down to one is not easy. I was quite surprised at the full solution!

Jane has been retired from an upper management position just long enough to not enjoy having so much free time. She helped friends in recent months by intervening with gentle confrontations that her friends are uncomfortable doing. She plays cards regularly with the group she has been with for decades. One of the bridge players refers Paul, the executive director of nearby Walden Spring, a 55+ active living community, to Jane with a slightly more challenging problem.

There have been ongoing battles between two factions of people at Walden Spring. Mike and his biker friends are in control of the game room, and others are afraid to go in. Bill and his golf buddies appear to rule the golf course, and only a bribe can get a tee time unless part of his group.

Jane visited to see the dynamics, looking forward to a challenge. The steep fee she suggested to Paul doesn’t hurt, either! He wanted her to move into one of the guest condos on the property where prospective buyers stay to blend into the community to make recommendations. Jane learned a bit about the dynamics during lunch in the dining room. The tables of residents were divided as if they were in high school! There was the table of arts and dancers, where Evangeline, a friend of a friend of Jane’s sat. There was a table with 4 couples coming from the tennis courts, another for table for couples, yet another for single women. Mike and his biker friends took another table. Another is comprised of Bill, Doris, his lady friend, Candace, a lady who dressed in track suits, and several well-dressed and made up ladies. When a disagreement broke out between Mike and Bill, it quickly deteriorated to a food fight.

That afternoon, Jane went on a mission for her friend Phyllis. Phyllis signed Jane up for an online dating service with some characteristics of each lady. Jane is to meet four of the best candidates for coffee, then introduce the acceptable ones to Phyllis. The first three men were quickly eliminated. The fourth one, Harry, was a man who Jane wanted to get to know better for herself rather than Phyllis! Harry is the first man she has felt anything for since her divorce thirty years ago.

Jane moved into the guest condo at Walden Spring; the community is impressive. Late that afternoon, when having drinks with Evangeline and her friend Maurice, another spat broke out over the noise of the revving motorcycles of Mike and his friends. The next morning, Bill was found dead on the golf course. The sprinklers had been on all night, washing away any evidence that the killer might have left behind, and no weapon was found.

The residents are an eclectic group of folks, people from all walks of life. Jane was adept at getting to know people, including the realtor, head groundskeeper, and those who might have been closely affiliated with Bill. His wife was at the long-term care unit at the property, suffering with Alzheimer’s. We learn much about Bill as Jane asked questions about him and most of it isn’t pretty. Harry, who wants to get to know Jane better, is uneasy about her staying there, but Jane doesn’t want anyone try to take care of her.

This mystery is a page-turner, with humor, comradery resulting from decades of friendship, and community of those who live in proximity. I appreciate the average age group of the primary characters, their maturity, and their depth of character. I was surprised at the detective who wanted to visit to learn what information Jane gleaned as he kept an eye on her. This challenging mystery kept me guessing! The end brought several surprises, and all loose ends were tied up. I highly recommend this solid first in a new series!

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

This is an excellent start to a new series by an established author. I loved everything about the book. It has humor, excellent characters, and plenty of red herrings. I actually sat and read this in one sitting. It pays to be a busybody! I will certainly be waiting for the next book in the series.

Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody by Barbara Ross
Book #1: Jane Darrowfield Series
Source: NetGalley and Kensington Books
Rating: 4/5 stars

Jane Darrowfield has a gift, or maybe it’s a curse, perspective matters! If you need someone to know the unvarnished, cold, hard truth, ask Jane. Jane doesn’t shy away from the truth and no matter how awkward the situation, Jane faces it head-on and without fear. Make no mistake, Jane isn’t cruel or unkind, she’s just brutally honest and her friends have come to appreciate and rely on Jane for her skills.

With many years of retirement looming, Jane has recently discovered that her skills can be useful on a wider scale. Though she’s never considered herself to be a professional busybody, an opportunity has presented itself that will allow Jane to put both her sleuthing and unvarnished truth skills to the test. The administrator of a local senior living village has contacted Jane about a “little” problem he needs her particular kind of help with. It seems the seniors have formed cliques and there is unrest in the village. Jane’s job will be to suss out the problem and advise the administrator on his best course of action for all involved.

Senior living cliques?? Really?? 😊

So as not to blow her cover, Jane temporarily moves into the village under the guise of a prospective buyer. It doesn’t Jane long to see the clear divide among the seniors and what needs to be done. The biker gang needs to start sharing the game room and the cool kids need to start sharing the gold course. As Jane reports her findings, she expects to move back home and be done with the whole dumb mess, but before she can pack her bags, the local lothario is found dead on the golf course and Jane is asked to stay on.

Murder is so far out of Jane’s depth, but busybidying isn’t and she determines to stay on as asked and find the killer. What harm can asking a few questions do, right? As it turns out, most people don’t care for pointed and/or seemingly prying questions because most people have something in their past, they aren’t all that proud of revealing. Jane is nothing if not persistent and as she continues to poke and prod, people begin to open up to her. What Jane discovers is far beyond her wildest imaginings and far more dangerous than she ever could have anticipated. Her new beau wants her to drop the whole thing and move home, but Jane isn’t about to be benched when she is so close to undercovering the truth.

The Bottom Line: What a fun ride this first-in-a-series book turned out to be! Jane is plucky and bright and more than willing to help correct a situation. Her forthright nature makes her perfect for professional busybodying and though the process can be painful, it is also useful and honest. Jane doesn’t see any reason for subterfuge or dishonesty and though some don’t always appreciate her efforts they are generally grateful for them, in the end. By the time Jane is done with the senior village, she’s seen two unexpected couples ride off into the sunset, two large cliques broken up, big secrets revealed, and murder solved. Not too shabby for a professional busybody 😊

Typically no one likes a busy body, but you cannot help but fall in love with this character and series. A different take on the cozy mystery which just makes the reader more engaged and invested. A great read, a great mystery all rolled into one.

Jane Darrowfield is a retired, single woman with a little time on her hands. She’s become involved with helping her neighbors solve some minor problems; however, she’s shocked to find someone wants to hire her for this skill. Jane settles into a retirement community where the dynamics seem more like a high school. As Jane tries to feel her way into the community, a resident is found dead on the golf course. Suddenly, the stakes are higher.

This is a great first book. Plenty of time for character development, good story line, and good for some laughs. I look forward to the next in this series.

Having become a fan of the Maine Clambake mystery series written by Barbara Ross (8 titles and another one due out in February 2021) I was eager to read the debut of her new series. From the first chapter I knew I was going to enjoy getting to know Jane and her friends. Her voice and her sense of humor plus her approach to her retirement drew me in and I was hooked. It didn't bother me that it took awhile to get to the murder. There was a lot to set up before that happened - on the golf course with a golf club.
Jane has helped many friends solve life situations that are a bit sticky. She has a knack of sorting things out, like breaking the news to a hairdresser that one of Jane's friends wants to change hairdressers and the sticky part is the fact that the new one has the chair next to her. As they say, awkward. Jane takes care of it. She hasn't taken money for her services until her friend Irma praises her talent to the director of Walden Springs, a 55+ community that is having problems with social dynamics. Paul Peavey really means the residents are not acting their ages and have returned to acting like misbehaving high schoolers complete with cliques and gangs. Jane isn't sure about it but when he asks her how much she charges for her services, she picks a very large random amount and he accepts. Soon Jane moves into one of the guest condos as a prospective resident and then her life really gets interesting. And here she thought that being sucked into online dating by her friend Phyllis was enough to occupy some of her time. Boy, was she wrong.
Besides liking Jane and her friends, the mystery was complex and it kept me guessing from beginning to end. Spending time with an amateur sleuth in the 50+ age group who is clever, intelligent and funny was reading time well spent. I've added the next book in the series, Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door - due out February 2021 - to my TBR list.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.