Between the cover, the synopsis, and cover blurb "Godfather meets Golden Girls", I thought this would be funny. The humor did not match my expectations. The first few chapters had some satire and then it became eye-rolling with extremely long chapters, making the story drag. The narrator was unnecessary and confusing. Fans of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum may like it, as it along the same vein of quirky characters with a 55+ senior living community as back drop. Author should rethink the pacing for book two.

The Sopranos meets The Golden Girls in this (mostly) delightful romp involving senior ladies delving into shady business in order to afford their mobile home park lifestyle.

Bernie brings her younger sister Ruby to Florida to join her at her south Florida retirement community. We begin with a prologue that involves drownings in progress, and briefly introduces our main characters. The first half is pretty tame, mostly describing the background of our protagonists, and their how they came to be where they currently are. At midpoint the action really ramps up, there is more explanation into their lifestyle problems, and they become fully fleshed out people that you are totally invested in.

And then the ending. Probably the worst one I've read in a long time. Their troubles are heating up to a boiling point, the tension can be cut with a knife, we circle back to the drownings from the start of he book, and then... the end. I don't mind a good cliffhanger, but at least give a a snippet of closure. Some final explanations of who is who, why they are doing that, and what might happen next. This gives up nothing. It literally just stops. I was prepared to give this 4 stars until I read that last paragraph, for a very good personal reason, and because of my important background in...

See what I did there? Yeah, not a fun way to end anything.

2.5☆

This was okay, from the description I got the impression it would be a fast paced comedy but I didn't really get that while reading.

The characters are quirky and fun and it's interesting to read about older main characters, I find that's pretty rare in books and as a lover of Grace and Frankie that is what grabbed me the most.

The chapters were very long and the writing is not very fast paced so it really dragged.

Overall it had potential but just wasn't what I was expecting and fell flat for me.

The overall story was pretty interesting. But I found it to be confusing trying to figure out what the main characters backstory was that created the situations they got themselves into. And I didn't even realize there was a narrator until the end and then it was hard to figure out why.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this for my honest review. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I tried to like this book but it was just too far-fetched and dragged along. The first few chapters had some humor and then it became eye-rolling moments with really long chapters.

📖: Bone Park
✍️: Sally W Robson
⭐️: 2 of 5

Troupes & Themes:
- Senior Citizens (55+)

Trigger/Content Warnings:
- Language


My Thoughts:
These chapters were soooo long. I hate long chapters. It doesn't matter how good the book is, long chapters make it drag on forever. During chapter 2, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this, and before the chapter was over, I decided to call it quits. By the cover blurb "Godfather meets Golden Girls", I thought this would be funny. It wasn't. The longer I read, the more distasteful it became. It was already more about sex (although the act hadn't happened) than mystery. Not for me.

Thank you, NetGalley, and Book Whisperer for the opportunity to read and review this advanced copy.

This reminded me so much of books like The Thursday Murder Club and I am realising that Seniors solving crime or having anything to do with anything like that is becoming one of my favourite tropes. I loved it

*Thank you to NetGalley and Book Whisperer for providing this book, with my honest review below*

This was a fun read with characters I can only wish to encounter in real life and a plot that delivers for the characters.

Bernie and Ruby have traits I can only wish for when I reach their age! They run into some stumbling blocks but are nothing if not resilient and they drive this plot forward like none other. Excited to learn this is a series because I need to see what happens next!

Thank you again for the ARC, Book Whisperer. It is much appreciated and I enjoyed the read and the opportunity to share my feedback.

Princess Fuzzypants here: The blurb for this book made me think it was going to be a wicked satire but while it did not match my humour expectation, it more than that in creating quirky characters for whom the reader can root. What makes that even more amazing is the two protagonists, sisters who have lived outside the law for most of their lives, are compelling creations.. One sister is a porn legend and the other, unbeknownst to her sister, has a pretty shady and violent history. They both head to the trailer Bernie owns in Florida. The idea is they can live quietly, incognito, so their past can stay in the past.

The fates have other plans. Money that Bernie had planned to fund her retirement has been confiscated. Ruby, in spite of her age, still has whatever it was that made her a star. She is never one to live out of the spotlight. Between them, they find ways to use the skills they had honed while young to find the means to flourish. It does not go according to Hoyle and there are some very serious repercussions both for the sisters and those in their orbit.

In fact, as the book ends, there is some major senior girl power going on and I suspect future adventures for the Grand Mafia. I was disappointed that it was left in such a cliffhanger. It means I am going to have to wait to find out what happens next. Five purrs and two paws up.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

A delightful romp of a crime story about a few senior citizens who live in a 55 years+ community, who have as much energy and passion as their younger counterparts (and a whole lot more imagination when it comes to making money).

Perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, this was a very entertaining and well-written engaging read.