Jack Stratton gets stuck flying his King Shepherd, Lady, to Florida with him when he and his human counter-part, Alice, head south for her to meet his parents. Lady wasn't happy with her airline accommodations (or lack thereof) and Jack feels it's obvious Lady will have her revenge. He is unable to warn his parents about the canine--and this is no ordinary lap dog.

According to what I read in Wikipedia, a female King Shepherd ranges from 90 lbs to 110 lbs--so poor Lady needs to lose a few pounds. The extra weight, however, doesn't seem to slow her down, thankfully. His parents reside in one of those senior communities with more rules than common sense and Jack's parents have the usual nosy neighbors that can't miss the over-sized fur ball.

Jack's mother is a member of a neighborhood book club and an unofficial member of a "neighborhood watch" and she asks her son to look into a thief they call the "Orange Blossom Cove Bandit," who is stealing small-time stuff in their quiet retirement community, additionally populated by a neighborhood alligator. Jack is understandably reluctant to become involved until the nature of the crime turns deadly. Jack's parents, their home and specifically his mother, become a target.

Mr. Greyson employs a deep sense of humor in dealing with the seniors of the community and if you've ever eavesdropped a senior's conversation, you'll readily recognize the dialogue. His plot moves with senior precision, involves bingo, Lady, Alice, and the paramedics in the expected order.

It's a clean, fun, and compelling novel and makes Jack a sympathetic character. Alice is manipulated by Jack's mother and that softens her earlier controlling personality, but I'm not sure why she'd meet his parents were she not serious about Jack. We'll just have to wait and see!

This book was offered by the author Christopher Greyson and Greyson Media LLC through NetGalley and it was my privilege to read and review. Part of the well received Detective Jack Stratton Mystery Thriller Series, this is sure to be a favorite. Recommended fun triumphant romp for people of all ages who appreciate a clean, topical read.

Another good cozy mystery with very believable characters. I love Lady- what a great dog.- in more ways than one! the story has a lot of twists and turns with good plot. As a senior citizen i love the spunk of the old folks .

This is the 2nd book of the series I have read (after And Then She was Gone), and I have to admit I pretty much laughed my way through this one! Between Lady (the dog), Jack's mother and the Book Club crew, the laughter kept coming. Living in the South, comments about the heat, mosquitoes and alligators were quite funny as they were so alien to Jack. But putting all that aside, you know who the suspect is from the beginning of the book, but you don't know the WHY, and that is the part that keeps you reading the book, until the spectacular ending. To be this book was different than the previous one, and I could really see this as TV series. I'd love for Jack's parents and their neighbors to come back into play into a future book, as I think Florida was a great setting!

So while this book doesn't come out for a couple of weeks, grab some of the earlier books in the series now, and set this one on the MUST read list!

I loved, loved, loved this book - A definite hit!!!

Jack of Hearts by Christopher Greyson is a fun, hilarious, page-turning thrill ride from beginning to end!

Things take a deadly turn when Jack, Alice, and Lady their oversized dog, are in Florida visiting his parents. A small town thief, the "Orange Blossom Cove Bandit", is stealing from the retirement community where Jack's parents live. Jack's mother and the members of her retirement community book club enlist Jack to investigate the thefts. The mystery seems to be more than what it is - now Jack finds himself trying to stop a deranged killer. Can Jack save the day? On top of all this, Jack is still waiting for Alice to give him an answer to his marriage proposal. Will Alice finally say yes or will Jack end up with a broken heart?

This is the first book I have read by Christopher Greyson, and I can tell you, it definitely won't be the last. Highly recommend!

*I want to thank NetGalley and Greyson Media, LLC for the ARC.

Well, it seems as if I've jumped into the middle of a series again. I have found that with most continuing series, the characters have gotten to know each other over time and there is a lot of background and insider knowledge that you might not get as a first-time reader. Rather like joining a sorority as a senior when all the rest of the girls have been together since their freshman year. You are just not going to get some of the jokes.

The question then arises, does this affect the story? Not in this case. Curiosity about the earlier volumes is certainly there but the tale itself hangs on its own. And I am certain that they all hang together! Feel free to criticize me for my bad pun.

This particular cozy mystery involves a not very gated retirement community in Florida. We know from the outset that a villain is on the loose and killing people. We know that he enjoys killing people and looks for excuses to do so. We also know he is under the iron thumb of his aunt. The main protagonists, however, know none of this and we get to watch them starting with a blank slate, trying to solve the mystery. I can see a separate string of mysteries featuring the book club detectives may be in our future.

Things start out fairly calmly and cozily but toward the end the tension escalates dramatically.
Be prepared for swamps and 'gators, dogs and geriatrics (no children!), guns and garden gnomes. And bingo.

Disclaimer: I found a copy of this book on Netgalley and voluntarily chose to read and review it.