Barbara Ross is one of the first cozy mystery authors I ever read, thanks to her Maine Clambake series, which I absolutely adore. Because I knew her books were always a sure-thing when it came to a cozy mystery, I jumped at the opportunity to read Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody.

This book is no different. Well - no different in that it's good, but it's definitely different in that we have an older protagonist, Jane Darrowfield, who is asked to move into a retirement community to figure things out as there is lots of bickering and antagonistic goings on with the residents.

HOLY COW, was there ever! I died laughing at a couple of parts near the beginning causing my coworkers to wonder what the heck was going on. (Yes - I ended up listening to this as an audio book!) I thought the food fight was hilarious, followed by the gang members (8 of them unless you count Leon with his Oxygen tank in the side car...). Just the mere mention of them (poor Leon - read it. You'll understand, but don't worry - it's funny) had me cracking up.

As usual, there's meddling and amateur sleuthing, but I won't spoil any of it for you here. It's a great read and I can't wait for the next book!

Side notes:

* I want to learn more about Detective Alvarez. He was a good character I'd like to get to know better.
* Someone named Bill died on the 7th hole with a golf club. I had to warn my brother and Dad (both Bills who golf) to be careful on their golf round the following weekend after I read this!

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

If you are a cozy mystery buff then I would highly recommend checking out this new series. I love a good cozy mystery.

Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody and Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door by Barbara Ross are the first and second books in the cozy Jane Darrowfield mystery series. As with most cozy mystery series each book in the Jane Darrowfield series will contain it’s own mystery to be solved within the book so they can all be read as a standalone or in any order if choosing to do so. There will be of course character development that carries over from book to book for those who follow the series from the beginning.

Like most Jane Darrowfield had been looking forward to her retirement and those golden years after working. However, in her first year after retirement Jane has already traveled, organized and planted a garden so now she wonders what next. After helping a friend with a personal problem Jane comes up with the idea to become a personal busybody, someone to go to when you need a hand with things that police or lawyers and such can’t help you out.

Word gets around about Jane’s new busybody persona and she is asked to come to a retirement community and help with some hostilities among the residents. However soon after arriving one of the residents is bludgeoned to death with a golf club and Jane finds herself looking for a murderer. After things are wrapped up at the golf club Jane takes on a new case with her neighbor, a young lawyer who feels as if she might be going crazy. As Jane is looking into all the events in the young woman’s life things take a drastic turn when she goes missing.

The Jane Darrowfield mystery series gained my interest by having an older protagonist in this one and I was happy to find I actually enjoyed getting to know Jane and her new “profession”. This series is another that I’d classify as quirky just due to the whole idea of a professional busybody and it definitely came with some laughs along the way so I really enjoyed the first two books of this series and will look forward to coming back to it in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this cute cozy mystery! The protagonist, Mrs. Jane Darrowfield, solves problems for her friends and acquaintances. She’s so good at it that the manager of a senior living community reaches out for her help. Jane moves in temporarily to try to calm the situation, which has the residents divided into cliques, However, when a resident is found murdered on the golf course, Jane realizes that she is in a unique position to help the police. The characters in this one are fun and quirky, and I had no idea who the murderer was until the very end. This was a quick and enjoyable read, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What a fun read! This main character is a hoot. I laughed a lot, and the mystery was a good one. I like that the main character is a mature woman in her late 50's I'm guessing. A single woman who retired early from her executive profession. She doesn't play games, has plenty of confidence in herself, and doesn't make silly decisions (most of the time). I'm very excited to run across this book and will be recommending it to my friends and book club members. Definitely one you should give a try. I'm looking forward to the next in the series (and hopefully many more to come)!

This was a fun cozy. I liked that we had an older sleuther and I liked the cast of older people. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Barbara Ross, veteran author of fun cozy mysteries, has started a new series with Jane Darrowfield as her protagonist. Jane is a newly retired woman who has earned the reputation of being able to solve touchy problems discretely. In the first installment of the series, Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody, Jane is introduced, as well as her friends. This series is delightful, and while most of the problems she solves involve using common sense, which many people (especially most of the characters in this book) don’t have, she investigates the issues and even solves murders. In this novel, Jane is hired to go stay at a retirement community where there is a power struggle among some of the residents and rather than being a 55+ adult community, the ambience is more like high school. Unfortunately one of the residents is bludgeoned to death with a golf club, so besides working on the residents and helping them mature, Jane is expected to also solve that murder.

Anyone who has read Barbara Ross’ previous books will look forward to this new series, since she is an excellent story teller and has enough of an imagination to make for fun reading. Ross has developed Jane’s character well; most readers will be able to relate, since she is a fairly typical retired lady. The supporting characters are also excellent. This novel is light and positive in most ways, with the exception of a murder, and there is even a little romance thrown in.

Although the protagonist is older, she is an interesting character and is very likeable. This series will be popular, and is suitable for all ages. As with any good cozy, there is no profanity, sex, or violence, which is a nice change from some mysteries. This novel is recommended for cozy lovers.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

This book was delightful! An excellent addition to the cozy mystery genre! I really enjoyed the mystery and setting - it wasn’t something I had read before.

Jane Darrowfield is a recent retiree who enjoys helping her friends with small problems because she is forthright and willing to cut to the chase and say what needs to be said. She is drafted by a friend to help the manager of a senior community deal with cliques that are upsetting the harmony of the community. When someone is murdered, Jane jumps in to help the police because the suspicious seniors are reticent to talk to outsiders; that is, until they discover Jane is helping the police. All in all, a pleasant mystery; easy to solve and the murderer and motive are easy to spot. Jane is a little officious, which is why her sudden moments of emotion are so jarring, and frankly, I'd have liked to see her a little more befuddled entering the dating world after so many years alone. But it's nice to see a group of seniors represented in all the diversity that group entails--not all are befuddled or sickly or have reverted to childlike irascibility. Although I must say, the closer ti get to that age group, the more worried I get about what I'll find among my contemporaries. Jane wouldn't be a close friend of mine, but she's an acquaintance I'd certainly eat lunch with. Recommended.

Release Date: June 30, 2020

Everyone has a friend or family member that just can’t help butting into other people’s lives, Jane has done that for years but now she’s getting paid for it! Everything at Walden ponds is not what it seems, even Jane has moved in under false pretenses. The director has hired her to fix a clique war happening in the 55+ community, should be an easy assignment but when a body is found Jane makes it her mission to uncover all of the secrets hidden at Walden Pond.

This is the first in a new series and I am very excited about it! Jane, Helen, Phyllis and Irma are great lively characters. The mystery plot was well executed but was easier to figure out in the 2nd half of the book. This was a wonderful, fun beach read and I can’t wait to read more Jane Darrowfield mysteries!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

#janedarrowfieldprofessionalbusybody #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #cozymysteryseries #netgalleyreads

This is a sweet "cozy mystery" with an older heroine, which drew me immediately. The main character is a retired woman with a penchant for solving problems, and she ends up working to solve some problems in a posh retirement community that end up with a murder. I found Jane to be quite likeable, but I really disliked the premise that all the retirement community residents were in cliques like high school with the geeks, jocks and so on. TBH, I loathed high school and the idea of people still acting like that 60 years later is so unpleasant to me that it made me dislike reading the book. The elderly people in my life are so much more 3D than these, and I am so glad they don't still act like idiot high schoolers. I have no doubt this will be a delightful series, but I hope the characters end up a little more mature in the next go-round.

There’s nothing better than reading a cozy after my binging darker mysteries. I thoroughly enjoyed checking out this author.

Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody by Barbara Ross is the first book in the Jane Darrowfield series. Jane has barely started retirement and is already out of things to do. She soon finds herself with the job of helping others with sticky situations including a friend with a pint sized pee-er in the garden. When the director of a senior living center approaches Jane for help, she turns into a professional busybody. A murder on the property soon has Jane wondering if she is in over her head. I love, love, love this series. Jane is the perfect cozy heroine. I would give this more than five stars if I could and am anxiously awaiting the next book in the series.

As many have noted, Barbara Ross is the successful author of the New England Clam Bake series. One of the strengths of this culinary cozy series is the character development of her likeable sleuth, Julia Snowden. Jane Darrowfield, her new protagonist, is also an amateur sleuth. It seems at first that Jane and Julia do not have much in common. Julia is young, Jane is retired. Julia is part of a working culinary family, Jane plays bridge, and is a discreet solver of problems that are annoying but not criminal. Yet, both protagonists are clear thinking, intelligent, and independent. Both are open to the world. Both are persons one could enjoy meeting over a bridge hand, or a cup of chowder.

Jane has been given a chance to be compensated for her skills learned as a working woman. She is to observe the social dynamics at a retirement community, Apparently several cliques have developed leaving Jane to wonder if some folks never do leave high school. Using old fashioned High school terms, we have the preppies, the arty crowd, and the bikers. Her tour of Walden Springs ends in a food fight. Jane knows she is needed.

Jane's gifts for understanding human motivations is also part of the B story line. One of her bridge pals has decided to date again. Jane is to 'interview' the likely candidates and report back. Ross uses this subplot to show us another side of Jane and her Cambridge friends. Things turn a lot darker when Bill Finnerty, the leader of the 'preppy' faction is found bludgeoned to death, Jane's services morph into sleuthing.

Ross is a sprightly well seasoned author. She weaves her story, told in third person, combining wry commentary with intelligent observations on life after age 55. As a long time member of the plus 55 group, I appreciate an author who writes skillfully without condensation. All the clues are there for the reader, the author's skillful plotting make the puzzle fair and intriguing. .

Highly recommended.

Full disclosure: I received this review copy from netgalley and Kensington Press in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you for this opportunity.

I love Barbara Ross' books and this is a great start to a new series. Jane Darrowfield is my kind of sleuth. A retired woman, who has great observational skills, trying to keep busy. I love the title of "Professional Busybody". After helping a friend take care of a problem, Jane gets a reputation as a person to call when you need help with a sticky situation. Jane gets a call from the manager of the nearby senior residence to help him deal with a problem. There are a lot of hostilities between residents and he wants Jane to snoop and let him know what is wrong and how to fix it. When one of the agitators ends up dead, she is also involved in the investigation into his death.

I really like Jane and identify with her. She is recently retired, recently widowed and is trying to keep busy. She was not planning to make her busybody status a business, but isn't about to turn down the amount of money offered for the job. She easily integrates into the community and her observation skills are amazing. There were a lot different secondary characters that added to this story, but Detective Alvarez and Harry, Jane's friend are ones that were more developed and I hope will appear in future books. The mystery was interesting and well-developed. There were a few suspects and some red herrings that kept me guessing. I really enjoyed this fun fast cozy mystery and look forward to seeing what is next for Jane Darrowfield.

When I first started this book, it read as if it were a second or third book in the series. The mentioning of past experiences implies the reader should have known what was going on, but in time, it was all explained, leaving the reader ready to find out what Jane Darrowfield is all about.

A year into her retirement, Jane is bored senseless, and if it were not for the problems her bridge club friends found themselves in, Jane would have completely lost her mind. When out of the blue, the director of a local seniors only condominium complex contacts her. It appears there are escalating hostilities amongst the residents, and he was wondering if Jane could move in, in an undercover capacity, maybe she could soothe nerves and get everything back on an even keel. What she didn’t expect were that seniors are no different than high schoolers with their cliques, bullying, and open warfare, resulting in a living nightmare for all involved. Now with a dead man on the golf course, and a growing list of possible suspects, Jane has her hands full, and with the help of a person that no one trusts, Jane sets off on her first official who-done-it, complete with business cards.

The first couple of chapters left me a little uninterested, but within time, and a couple of humorous moments, the characters of Walden Spring caught my attention. Once you allow your mind to accept that seventy-year-olds and seventeen-year-olds are pretty much the same, and can find any number of things to get into, Jane Darrowfield will grow on you.

Jane is getting quite the reputation as a fixer of problems. That’s also known as being a busybody. Her first problem, a theft, didn’t work out so well but helping a friend change hairdressers while staying at the same beauty shop was a success and the nuisance of a five-year old boy peeing in a neighbor’s yard was kind of fun to solve although the kid might have nightmares for a while.

Her friend and fellow bridge player, Phyllis, is on the hunt for a boyfriend. After Phyllis’ last relationship, she says she doesn’t want to find herself in another disastrous match. She convinces Jane to meet with prospective dates from an online service and weed out the duds. The fifth one, Harry, is what Jane considers a keeper. The problem is, he asks Jane out before she can confess to the fact he’s destined for Phyllis. Well, that’s one problem. The other is, Jane wants to keep him for herself.

Irma, another of the bridge players has recommended Jane for a job. It turns out the retirement complex is having some problems with pranks, food fights, and water balloons, causing unpleasantness for the residents and slow sales of apartments for the building owners.

The main two instigators are Mike with his oldster motorcycle riders and Bill, who controls who gets a tee time and when on the golf course. The riders make a lot of noise and control access to the game room. Bill is willing to allow a tee time for the right bribe. The home’s manager, Paul, is a meek man who is reluctant to confront either man.

It doesn’t take long for Jane to zero in on the problems and explain to Paul that confrontation is the only answer. In the meantime, Jane is staying in one of the apartments, pretending to be a buyer. Frankly, the whole thing reminds her of high school with lunch tables for the popular girls, the nerds, and the bad boys—but with wrinkles.

When one of the men is found dead, Jane is on the case. With little physical evidence, the police are baffled. One of the officers is a detective Jane met while trying to solve her first problem. Since he’s on the fringes of the investigation, they agree to share information. It seemed simple enough at the time…

This is the first in a new series and I find it delightful. Jane is able to find out information without offending too many people, likes the change of pace of staying at the retirement home although the food could be better, and enjoys solving a puzzle. She is certainly someone you’d want for a friend, whether there’s a problem to solve, as a bridge partner, or just to meet for coffee.

Ross also writes the Maine Clambake mysteries (8, reviewed here). Book nine, Shucked Apart, is expected in February 2021, available for pre-order now. I hope to see more of Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody, by then too.

This is the first of what I hope will be a series of cozy mysteries, with Jane as protagonist. After retiring, Jane’s friends have often called on her to help solve their problems. As a result, she is known as a professional busybody, and becomes involved at a local retirement home where the residents are in cliques which are fighting with each other. Hired to get to the bottom of things, a murder occurs. It’s great to read a book about an older woman who is capable and fun. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I succumbed, once again to try out a new ‘cozy mystery’ series. This time, luck was by my side, and this particular first book is promising. We have an amateur sleuth, Jane Darrowfield, who sees her preoccupation in terms of her age and labels it in a self-deprecating manner. We are given a birds-eye view of her life, her companions, and her past as the narrative unfolds. The main focus of this story is in two parts—the first being a request to come and identify an issue at a senior residential facility. The second is of a more personal nature which has Jane windowshopping for partners for a friend.
There is constant movement in the story with no relevant information being provided ahead of time which effectively means that we cannot try to guess at the outcome. I had my suspicions but nothing to verify them with till Jane finally puts the pieces together.
The writing was light while maintaining a tether to emotions which made the reading enjoyable.
The hints dropped at the end of this book directly point to more personal revelations in the next, and I look forward to picking it up when I can. There is nothing more I can mention in this review to illustrate the content except saying that despite her slightly advanced year, this is Jane’s coming of age arc which she never got to experience in her youth.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I'm more than happy I read this book because it's the excellent debut in a new series.
I loved the well thought and likable characters, the setting and the solid mystery that kept me guessing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.