★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S MRS PLANSKY GOES ROGUE ABOUT?
Mrs. Plansky and Kev Dinardo (who I think we met briefly toward the end of her first book), win an exciting mixed doubles tournament between a couple of retirement communities. Flush with victory and excitement, they head back to his home to celebrate on his yacht. Their mood is sobered considerably when his yacht explodes in front of them. Kev tells the fire department that it was lightning that hit the boat.

The next day, Mrs. Plansky returns to check on Kev and is told he's not available. The person who tells her this seems...off. But she accepts him for who he claims to be. Mostly. But when she can't find Kev and it looks like his home has been ransacked.

When she factors in the fact that she didn't see any lightning and that Kev seems to have been involved—at least a little bit—with her son and his probably criminal associates...all sorts of bells go off in Mrs. Plansky's head and she starts to do a little sleuthing.

Things get interesting—and perhaps a little dangerous—after that.

Also, I should mention that the alligator on the cover is not just there for decoration.

YOUR RESULTS MAY VARY, BUT...I JUST HAD NO PATIENCE
When I started writing this post, I was afraid I was going to have to walk back something I said last year when I wrote about Mrs. Plansky Gets Revenge. So I went back and read that post. Turns out, I agree with myself. Last year, I wrote:

I loved most of the characters (even the bad guys). And even...when I didn't like the characters, I appreciated the way Quinn wrote them. The one exception is her father, who lives in a nearby assisted living facility. I'm not sure that we needed Mrs. Plansky's father as a character—I think he was supposed to be both comic relief and just one more source of financial pressure for her. I don't think the comedy worked all that well—and Quinn could've given us another source for the pressure.


It turns out that I have an even dimmer view of her father as a character this time (as a person, I'm just as impressed). I didn't find him, his antics, or his behavior amusing at all. I found scenes that he was in tiresome at best—and I don't think Mrs. Plansky came across half as well in them as she does in the rest of the book.

I hope that I'm alone in this and that the rest of Quinn's readers don't get what I'm saying. I just don't see it, and hope that the events of this book take him off the board for most of the next book.

MRS. PLANSKY'S CHETTIFICATION
I write frequently about Quinn's other ongoing series, the Chet and Bernie mysteries. And Chet is one of my favorite characters in detective fiction—and one of my favorite dogs in fiction. That said, we don't need another Chet. And there are times in this book that I think Mrs. Plansky got too close to it.

She's under stress, she's dealing with injury and confusion (and possibly a concussion at one point). But there are times when the omniscient narrator gives us a look into her thought processes and she comes across as distractible and erratic as our beloved canine hero. That carries over at least once to a conversation she has with a human.

I'm not saying it's not realistic, nor am I suggesting that it's wrong to think that a woman in her seventies might not be as wholly lucid as she was a decade or two ago—or as lucid as she wants to be. It's just...when she reminds you of a non-human character...it's not good. Particularly when the book usually shows her as strong and capable—determinedly working through a world that's ready to dismiss her because of her age.

Quinn's capable of better.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT MRS PLANSKY GOES ROGUE?
This was not my favorite book by Quinn (nor was it my least favorite), and I wasn't as enchanted by Mrs. Plansky this time. But let's not for a moment think that means I didn't have a lot of fun with this book. Also, I'm more than ready to see what Quinn has in store for her. (There's no way that he leaves this here; at the very least, Kev needs to get some stability in his life)

I do like the...I don't want to say growth, that feels out of place—the development of Mrs. Plansky's character. She's gained some good confidence in herself after her Romanian adventures. This doesn't mean she's impervious to self-doubt or braver than she should be. But she knows—and can prove—that she's capable of more than what most people think she is. She can see this through—although she knows she needs help.

There were some good twists—some surprises that I don't know that I fully enjoyed, and a couple that I did. And I did enjoy this read—and most people who met Mrs. Plansky in the first book will, too. And I'm very glad to see that she isn't the victim of anything—this time she's just someone in the wrong place at the wrong time who decided to do something about it.

I do recommend this to the growing audience for senior citizen amateur sleuths out there (more than I would most others in the subgenre), it's fun, and Mrs. Plansky is a great character that you cannot help but root for—in her investigation and on the tennis court.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Tor Publishing Group via NetGalley—thanks to both for this.

Thank you NetGalley & Tor Publishing Group for an early copy of Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue! The plot mainly involves Mrs. Plansky solving the case of an exploded boat, a missing tennis partner, & her elusive son. Mrs. Plansky fits perfectly into the “old people who solve murders” budding genre. Think Columbo, Only Murders in the Building, Thursday Murder Club, etc. If you liked Nita Prose’s The Maid, you’ll like this too! I enjoyed the character dynamics and relationships in this book. Following the plot and the actual location of the characters was difficult most of the time. I’m not sure if it was my own reading experience or the actual writing style, but the book felt as though it could’ve used more signals when we jumped from place to place. The ending also felt disconnected and rushed. I had so many questions as to the relevance of various plot points. Overall, the story fell flat for me even though I enjoyed the characters. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

This is book 2 in the Mrs. Plansky series. I enjoy Spencer Quinn's books, especially his Chet and Bernie series. What's not to love about a dog narrating a book. Mrs. Plansky is an older woman living in a retirement community who loves tennis and solving mysteries. When her tennis partner, Kev, has his beautiful boat struck by lightning and destroyed the police accept his story . The only problem is Mrs.Plansky didn't see any lightning, just an major explosion.

Mrs Plansky Goes Rogue by Spencer Quinn is the second in the series. I found the first one highly entertaining but this one seemed not as much so. Too many words. Too many things happened that didn’t seem to have a bearing on the story. Mrs Plansky had too much trouble communicating and put seniors in a rather bad light. The whole storyline of her demented father is mostly extraneous. To be fair, I found it kind of a slog, although I love the character and the idea of the story. This kind of quirkiness is sometimes attractive in a younger person; not so an older one.

Mrs. Plansky had just delivered her tennis partner to his home, a lovely house with a boat dock and a boat. As they were standing there, the boat exploded. Everyone agreed it was a lightening strike, but Mrs. Plansky was not as sure. She had heard a boom, then seen the flash. Next a series of weird things happened: Kev seemed to have disappeared; a very odd man named Mitch took over for him; when Mrs Plansky broke the code to his house alarm and entered, the place was torn apart but when she returned with a police office in tow, it was perfect; her son, Jack, was nowhere to be found. So her search began.

I was invited to read Mrs Plansky Goes Rogue by Tor Publishing Group. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #TorPublishingGroup #SpencerQuinn #MrsPlanskyGoesRogue

A quirky, entertaining mystery that grabs you right from the start and keeps you guessing until a satisfying conclusion-if you enjoy light mystery novels, this one is for you.

A couple of summers ago, I read and loved Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge and knew back then there was going to be a sequel, and I couldn’t wait. Well, I am here to tell you it was worth the wait. Spencer Quinn has returned with another delightful book in his cozy mystery series. In her second adventure, 70-something widow and the most unlikely detective Loretta Plansky once again shows us that age is just a number and she is still as bold and as feisty as ever.

Quinn’s writing is charming, and he easily blends cozy mystery tension with wit and humour. He writes Mrs. Plansky as a compelling character who is very human, flaws and all. She also has a mind of her own and keeps the cobwebs away by doing crossword puzzles. I love her attitude and lack of patience for nonsense. She is smart and caring, and I cheered for her every step of the way.

The best part of the book is the fast pace. There are plenty of red herrings, and I was never bored. Loretta is 100% the star of the show, and she brings a unique perspective to the story. This is a lighthearted mystery, as most cozies are, but it is also very intelligently written, and it goes to show that not all heroes wear capes or are young; they’re just young at heart.

I really wanted to love this one. Mrs. Plansky is such a refreshing, no-nonsense heroine, and the premise (mystery! yachts! Florida weirdness!) promised another fun ride. But this sequel just didn’t have the same charm or sharp humor as the first book—or Spencer Quinn’s beloved Chet & Bernie series. I found it to be more annoying than amusing most of the time.

The plot takes some wild turns with pirates, alligators, crashed planes, but the pacing dragged in places, and the humor felt muted. Loretta still shines as a character (honestly, more feisty retirees in fiction, please), but the spark that made the first book so enjoyable seemed to dim a bit here.

Still a decent mystery with a unique lead, but not quite the delightful romp I was hoping for. A solid read, just not a standout.

Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue shows quite the unusual antics of a Senior citizen. Her energy is boundless and her determination is admirable. Totally unbelievable, and yet engaging.

Loretta Plansky is living in Florida. She's 71 years old, a widow, and the mother of Jack and Nina. Her 98-year-old father, Chandler, lives with her after getting kicked out of assisted living for being overly argumentative and for having a very active romantic life, juggling more than one woman at a time. He's now dating his aide's mother. After Loretta and her doubles partner Kev Dinardo win their club's Sixties and Over Mixed Doubles Tennis Championship, they head to his waterfront house to celebrate. Soon after, Kev's yacht explodes. He claims it was struck by lightning, but Loretta doesn't buy it, as she didn't see any lightning. When Dev goes missing, Mrs. Plansky, as she is known, starts searching for answers. When her father reveals that Jack has been working with Dev on a business deal, the situation becomes even more concerning, as Jack is also missing. The clever Mrs. Plansky is now on the case, and no one is going to stop her.

When I decided to read 𝗠𝗿𝘀. 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗸𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲, I didn't realize it was the second book in a series, following 𝑀𝑟𝑠. 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑘𝑦’𝑠 𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑒. However, it didn't matter that I hadn't read the first book, as this one stands on its own. Spencer Quinn, the pseudonym for crime fiction author Peter Abrahams, has created a delightful character in Loretta. She's witty and stubborn. And she can still compete on the tennis court! This book is a light and often humorous cozy mystery, with some darker aspects. If you enjoy quirky characters and cheer for those who are young at heart and not ready to slow down, check this book out.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Tor Publishing | Forge Books, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the second book in the Mrs. Plansky series by Spencer Quinn, with the audiobook perfectly narrated by Petrea Burchard, who really brings Mrs. Plansky alive. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Mrs. Plansky is fresh off of winning a thrilling senior tennis championship with her doubles partner, Kev Dinardo, and is gearing up to celebrate with him on his yacht. That is, until the yacht is destroyed in a fire. Kev claims the fire was caused by a lightning strike, pure bad luck, but there's one small problem—Mrs. Plansky didn't see any lightning. Then Kev goes missing, as does her son, Jack. Does her 98-year-old dad know anything about all this?

Once again, it's fun to inhabit Mrs. Plansky's world for a while, and it's nice to see an older woman portrayed as vibrant and capable. Mrs. Plansky excels at tennis, takes care of her dad, and still has time to solve a mystery or two - what's not to love? I would definitely recommend reading the first in this series, but this one would work as a standalone as well. The audiobook narration was perfect, and I ended up mostly listening to it. Quite entertaining and I'm looking forward to more escapades from Mrs. Plansky!

Mrs. Plansky is back in the fun Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue by Spencer Quinn.

"Mrs. Plansky is celebrating her mixed-doubles championship win with her tennis partner, Kev Dinardo, when his yacht goes up in flames. The fire investigator said it was lightning but Mrs. Plansky didn't see it and only heard a boom. Now Kevin is missing and his house has been ransacked. Her dad mentions that he introduced her son, Jack, to Kev and Jack is not answering his phone either. there are strange men hanging around. No one will give her answers but Mrs. Plansky will go wherever she needs to, to find them."

Mrs. Plansky is no stranger to travel and travels by boat and plane to some exotic locations - looking for Kev and Jack and answers to her questions about the little golden statue she found on the ocean floor - right where Kev's boat was supposed to be. You get a good idea where the story is going and Quinn's humor makes it fun to get there.
There's an alligator named Fairbanks that makes an appearance and seems protective of Mrs. Plansky. Don't underestimate him.
I love a story with an older MC. Mrs. Plansky is living her best life. Another fun story from Spencer Quinn.

I like the mystery aspect and Mrs. Plansky (and her dad) are great characters. It just seemed to drag on and on. I am not sure I will read another one. Of course, I didn't start with book 1, so that may be the issue.

Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue is a sharp, witty mystery that follows an older, often-overlooked woman who proves she’s anything but invisible. Mrs. Plansky is observant, clever, and thoroughly engaging as a protagonist. I really enjoyed seeing a mature character take center stage in a genre typically dominated by younger sleuths.
This is the second book in the series, and while I didn’t realize that until after I finished it, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment. There were only a few moments where I felt slightly out of the loop, but nothing that disrupted the overall narrative. It works well as a standalone, though reading the first book might enhance the experience.
The plot kicks off with a bang—literally. After winning a doubles tennis match with Kev, Mrs. Plansky heads to his yacht to celebrate… only for it to explode. When Kev goes missing and her own son may be connected to the mystery, Mrs. Plansky takes matters into her own hands. The story that unfolds is filled with twists, danger, and clever deductions, making it a fun and satisfying mystery.
However, there were a couple of issues that pulled me out of the story. One character uses the phrase "had a nice powwow," which is culturally insensitive, and another reference to Confederate general Stonewall Jackson as a “great fighter” made me uncomfortable. These moments may not strike every reader the same way, but I found them worth mentioning.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book. Mrs. Plansky is a standout character, and the pacing and plot kept me engaged throughout.
Thank you to Forge Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Seventy-one-year-old Loretta Plansky is a widow who misses her late husband, Norm, every day. After Norm's death, Loretta buys a condo in Florida, where she resides with Chandler—her cantankerous ninety-eight-year-old father—along with his home health aide, Lucrecia, and Chandler's lady friend. Although Loretta wishes that her argumentative dad would stay in an assisted living facility, he prefers getting on his daughter's nerves on a daily basis.

Loretta, who is a good athlete, and her tennis partner, Kevin Dinardo, come from behind to emerge victorious in a competitive doubles match. Loretta drives Kevin home, and is shocked when, shortly after they arrive, she sees Kevin's boat explode. Subsequently, Kevin disappears, and adding to Loretta's concern, her son, Jack, is also missing. The first few chapters of Spencer Quinn's "Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue" are rambling and slow-moving. Fortunately, the story picks up steam when Loretta endangers her life to get to the bottom of a possible crime. Throughout it all, we are entertained by Loretta's hilarious musings.

In this farcical novel, we meet treacherous villains, an intrepid female reporter and pilot, a good-hearted fisherman, and a detective who refuses to take Mrs. Plansky seriously. The plot is preposterous; Loretta's determination to conduct her own investigation, sheer madness; and the heroine's ability to emerge unscathed from perilous situations, nothing short of miraculous. What makes this book so much fun is Loretta's self-deprecating manner coupled with her chutzpah and courage; passages of humorous dialogue that are filled with non-sequiturs; and a hectic conclusion that vindicates Mrs. Plansky's suspicion that Kevin and Jack were involved in something sinister. Aficionados of unconventional tales in which the main character is too old to be gallivanting around like Nancy Drew will likely enjoy "Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue."

I have read all of SpencerQuinn’s Chet and Bernie books and enthusiastically picked up this new series.

His characters are the heart of his writing, and Mrs. Plansky and her father are both well-crafted and jump off the page.
I enjoyed the book, but found myself skimming over large sections of descriptive material. This is something I rarely do in a book…..particularly in light fiction. Reflecting on my reading experience, I would have to say the “ site descriptions” felt like filler and the “action sequences” felt like cinematic direction. This didn’t affect my overall favorable impression of the book, but just were distractions for me.

If Mr. Quinn hopes for a mini-series, the material is here. If he wants to build a series as successful as Chet and Bernie, he has some work to do.

Spencer Quinn has created another great character in Mrs. Plansky. In this second book in the series, this smart and strong widow is presented with a mystery and must confront danger to safe both her tennis partner and her son when they get involved with some shady business partners. This is a strong story with intrigue and danger and very interesting characters. Mrs. Plansky is surrounded by interesting characters and there are some laugh-out-loud funny scenes.

I enjoyed the first book, and was happy to get my hands on an ARC of book 2. It was just as much fun as the first one, though I was surprised by how much of the cast from the previous book wasn't in this one. The dad continues to be an unlikable pain in the ass, but considering how many books like this have the father being somebody the female lead needs to save the world, having him be part of the problem was an appreciated switch.

Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue by Spencer Quinn is the second in the series and follows Mrs. Plansky, after she and her tennis partner Kev Denardo win the senior tennis championship. Later, celebrating at Kev's house they watch as his yacht blows up and sinks. While Mrs. Plansky tries to figure out where her son Jack and Kev have each disappeared to, she also does a little free diving where the yacht sank, breaks into Kev's house and lots of other shenanigans. With good characters and lots of humor this is a great read.

I enjoyed Mrs Plansky Goes Rogue more than the first title in the series. Not sure if some of the lengthy drifts off topic are intentional to create the characters or a need for better editing but sometimes it is a bit off-putting.

Mrs. Plansky is my new favorite literary heroine. I'd follow her anywhere — even if it was just shopping or out to lunch or a game of tennis. But fortunately she tends to get herself involved in much more—interesting—situations. I love everything about this book: the quirky characters, the humor, the insights into (and empathy for) getting older, all while being thoroughly engrossed in a plot that kept me turning pages when I should have been asleep. More please, and keep 'em coming!