The Dragon Lady Gets Her Due

The Mah Jongg Mysteries

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Pub Date 10 Nov 2020 | Archive Date 28 Feb 2021

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Description

When the dragon lady down the street invites Sydney Bonner’s husband to join the block’s holiday lighting extravaganza, Syd figures the venture will distract him while she manages Sheriff Rick Formero’s election campaign. But Trip’s merry mission ends abruptly when the diva suffers a dramatic demise.


Marianne, Micki and Kat see a chance to make their amateur sleuthing official with their contributions to Sheriff Rick’s campaign platform. But they’re just as interested in why the skipper of the spectacular light show met her shocking end. Putting their political proposal into action, Syd rides shotgun with Rick as they interview a stocking full of suspects. Serendipity Springs’ secrets come to light as they unravel the mystery against the backdrop of a contentious campaign. From the standoffish widower to the resentful volunteers, it seems everyone on the committee had a problem with the queen of Christmas. As the naughty list grows and the neighbors string the investigators along, can Syd and her friends nail the evil elf before a deadly decorator turns out their lights for good?

The Mah Jongg Mystery Series is set in the fictional central Florida town of Serendipity Springs, Florida. It features four retired women who meet playing the game of Mah Jongg, and from there develop a strong friendship. Two have been married several years and have grown children and grandchildren, one is divorced and one has never been married. In their earlier lives, all had rewarding careers, but that doesn’t mean they’re content to sit back and relax now.
As the series progresses, each pursues new interests, Kat Faulkner as a songstress, Marianne Putnam writing one-act plays, Micki Demetrius as a freelance journalist and Sydney Bonner interior design.
In their community they engage in such activities as a social group for those over 50, numerous stops at the local coffeehouse, classes and other activities at the local community center and even a shopping trip to Naples. Syd's husband, Trip, and Marianne’s husband, Beau, are golf buddies who spend many a day on the course. When not there, Trip is busy seeking to build a new post retirement life, and Beau, a former botanist, is often prevailed upon to join in Trip's latest activity. Sheriff Rick Formero, a widower, intrigued by Kat, presses for her to make more of their relationship and Kat slowly comes around. Micki, burned by her former spouse, isn’t ready for a serious relationship, at least that’s what she claims, but retired attorney, Guy Whitney, also a widower, tries to convince her to think otherwise. Kat has lived a frugal life until winning big in a lottery shortly after her mother's death; suddenly, Kat has money and doesn't know how to spend it. But her pal, Micki, does, even if it's to guide Kat through a makeover and wardrobe change for her lounge act.
The four don't seek out murders to investigate; somehow the circumstances and those affected drag them in. To their surprise, they’re good at investigation. They like investigating homicides, although along the way, following a few lucky escapes from near-death situations, they learn self-defense.
But it takes time for them to sell their skills and special abilities as civilians to the sheriff.
Barbara Barrett is already published in contemporary romance. Like her protagonists, she is retired and is a resident of Florida, although she spends her summers in her home state of Iowa. She is married with grown children and eight grandchildren. She spent over three decades as a human resource management analyst with Iowa state government. Her website is www.barbarabarrettbooks.comSyd and her mah jongg friends.

When the dragon lady down the street invites Sydney Bonner’s husband to join the block’s holiday lighting extravaganza, Syd figures the venture will distract him while she manages Sheriff Rick...


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ISBN 9781948532266
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Average rating from 8 members


Featured Reviews

I was very overwhelmed with the story and honestly could not find a way to get into the story.
I was hoping to enjoy the story, but it didn’t happen.

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Quick, witty fun. I love a cozy mystery and this didn’t disappoint. The books in this series are a quick read yet quite enjoyable. I recommend picking it up.

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This series is based In a made up town in Florida. It has a group of four retired women who like to play mah jongg. The group is great at investing items and incidents but sometimes they are unlucky at the task. Characters are interesting and help keep the story line flowing. Look forward to more in the series

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A quick and fun quirky cozy mystery about 4 friends in Florida who solve mysteries. Nice to see a bit older characters and love the banter. Would recommend this book and series.

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I am so looking forward to the ninth installment. The first five books are on my Mt. TBR. The characters in these books are wonderful and I wish more authors wrote main characters like them.

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Although I enjoyed the first two that I read in this series, I realized that the characters were a little 'flat' for me.

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Sydney Bonner and her husband, Trip, are invited by one of the neighbors farther down the block to join in the holiday lighting extravaganza. Since Syd will be working on the Sheriff's re-election campaign, she thinks this is a great project for Trip to take on to keep himself busy. However, the neighbor meets a shocking end and Trip's project turns into a murder investigation with Syd riding shotgun with the sheriff while her other Mah Jongg cohorts dig into the neighborhood dynamics and who wasn't lit up by the extravaganza's leader.

I loved the way that the neighborhood lighting project/murder was cleverly woven together with the election campaign. I just love the characters and how each book seems to highlight a different charaacte4r so that we get to know them better.

But we definitely need more Mah Jongg!

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This book is the eighth in the Mah Jongg Mystery series. The foursome are involved in the Sherriff’s campaign and the investigation of the Queen of Christmas’ death. All this action takes place in Serendipity Springs, Florida.

Did the queen of Christmas get along with anyone? Many twists and turns have the reader guessing as to who committed the murder. I enjoyed the story eventhough it took me a whike to pick up the book.

I was given a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Backlit PR. I am not required to leave a positive review. I chose to do so.

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