Another terrific entry to the “Elderly Detective fiction” genre (think Richard Osman’s “Thursday Murder Club” series, Deanna Raybourn’s “Killers of a Certain Age,” Steve Martin/Martin Short’s “Only Murders in the Building”). Go septuagenarians!

This is a sequel to “Secret Lives” and again 75 year old Ethel Crestwater uses her age as a cloak of invisibility. Returning is her young sidekick, her double-first-cousin-twice-removed, Jesse, a university student, who is taking lock-picking lessons from Ethel. She’s a retired FBI agent turned boardinghouse landlady — and her tenants (mostly young people in law enforcement) are her family. One of them, Brooke, a law clerk for the first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (a relative youngster at 48), was mugged while her companion, another law clerk, died. The backpacks containing court papers of Robert (the victim) and Brooke disappeared. Ethel has a LOT of connections (Brooke’s uncle is a DC homicide detective and former boarder) and after surveying the circumstances, she decides to, well, meddle.

It’s eventually apparent the attack does involve a current case before the Supreme Court, where the Chief Justice will most likely be the tie-breaker. Ethel is a delightful sleuth — she has the wits and guile of people half her age (or a third of her age) and the story is better when Ethel is in that part of the story. We do get asides for the various nefarious characters who are working to conceal their crimes, but Ethel is the bright spot in each chapter. The legal case is a bit complicated (with lots of interested parties) and those parts can so slow as they get explained.

Audiobooks work best with fewer characters and “Dangerous Women” might just have a tad too many to keep track of. However, the narration was bright and discerning — this is still mostly like a police procedural and as long as you don’t take frequent breaks, the story flowed.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Brooke has blue eyes and the Chief Justice has brown, but that’s it.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO There’s talk of environmental concerns on a large scale, but nothing seems out of place or season.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media (audiobook), Poisoned Pen Press (book) and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed the story of this audiobook quite a bit - great plot with timely situations - but I was distracted by the narrator. It could just be personal preference, but the narrator's different voices for people were off-putting. I didn't know Dangerous Women was a sequel, but I did not feel one time that I needed to have read the first book to enjoy this one, which is great!

4.5⭐️

This is the second book in a series (#1 can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60394833-secret-lives) but my first book by Castrique. My main takeaway: I LOVED Ethel! A septuagenarian woman who’s former-FBI but still bad-@ss enough to show everyone else in any law enforcement role up? She was perfect, and the whole plot entertaining and filled with suspense and political intrigue. What a fun, quick read! I will definitely look forward to following along with Ethel’s future adventures.

Patrick Lawlor did a great job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Mark De Castrique, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for providing this ALC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

I didn't know this was book two and hadn't read book one, but it didn't affect my enjoyment of this story.

Ethel is a 75 year old retired FBI agent and her and cousin Jesse try to get to the bottom of the murder of the Supreme Court's Clerk.

This is a well written, fast paced read. I loved Ethel and all all the other well developed characters. I will definitely be looking for more books by author Mark de Castrique.

Thank you to #Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the copy of this outstanding book!

This is my first time reading (listening to) something by Mark De Castrique. This book was engaging and fun.
Two law clerks working for the Supreme Court are brutally attacked, resulting in one death and one in an induced coma. This turns into a high-profile investigation with a lot of players involved and a big conspiracy underfoot.
Enter Ethel...a seventy-five year old, highly intelligent, straight shooting retired FBI agent and her double cousin twice removed, Jesse. Ethel and Jesse help investigate the case (off the record). The audiobook is very entertaining. Ethel is a fantastic character. I love her spirit! This is definitely an enjoyable listen for those who enjoy political crime mysteries.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced audiobook.

Dangerous Women was the first book I read in the Secret Lives series and I found it easy to follow along despite not having read the previous book. A cozy mystery/political thriller with an unlikely protagonist, 75yo Ethel Fiona Crestwater is such a lovable character. Though I enjoyed the narration, I found that I felt a little disconnected with it, and think I would have appreciated it more with a female narrator, considering our main character. The voices were fun but I did find them to be a little over the top at times.

This was my first Mark De Castrique book.
This book is very political. I do not love some of that, but I did enjoy the book overall.

In a case deciding the future of clean energy, everything hinges on how the chief justice of Supreme Court will lean. DANGEROUS WOMEN stirs up the perfect cocktail of ingenious spy-craft and political intrigue of Thomas Perry's The Old Man brightened with the charming, uncanny energy of Killers of a Certain Age . This urgent, cleverly plotted high stakes thriller is set in motion by botched attack on two law clerks leaving one dead and the other in a coma. The ensuing cover up leaves a string of bodies and too many players at cross-purposes. It also leaves Chief Justice Clarissa Baxter with a target on her back. We'll need an off the grid hero with friends in high enter retired FBI agent-turned-boardinghouse landlady, Ethel Fiona Crestwater (legend) and her double-first-cousin-twice-removed Jesse Cooper (sidekick). Although in her mid-seventies, Ethel is no bumbling amateur sleuth; she's a seasoned pro with razor-sharp instincts and Bond-worthy skills. College-aged Jesse brings tech savvy and boundless enthusiasm, along with an innate talent for intrigue. Together, the unlikely duo will face malicious back-stabbing political sycophants, conniving lobbyists, and a motivated assassin bent on removing the Chief Justice from the equation—along with Ethel, who stands defiantly between the hitman and his payday.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I was honestly pleasantly surprised with this audiobook. I have only done two audiobooks before this one, yet I was able to be engaged by listening and enjoying the story.

The story wasn’t bad! I wasn’t sure that I was going to 100% love the book, but I definitely give it a 4 star rating easily. Plot and storyline was easy to follow, easy to enjoy, and I think I’ll be trying more books by this author.

If The Thursday Murder Club and The Pelican Brief had a baby book it would be Dangerous Women. A political thriller with an exceedingly smart septuagenarian main character, Ethel Crestwater is the real deal.

A retired FBI standout, Ethel uses her wits and connections to ride roughshod over the bad guys. Was heaps of fun to read.

Narrated by Patrick Lawlor who did a fantastic job navigating us through this story. Great variety of voices.