This was a better than expected book. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it and how much I liked the characters and empathized with some of them. Don't be put off by the description of this book, it doesn't do it justice and is misleading. You won't regret reading it! Seriously.

Bone Park is a new crime novel by fictional author Sandy W Robson that provides an intimate look at life and death in a Florida retirement community. Set in 1991, the story follows four women who want to live their golden years in blissful relaxation but instead it turns into a wild ride.
Bone Park is a page-turning action story that brings the realities of aging to the forefront in an engaging, insightful way. I highly recommend it to those looking for a compelling armchair trip to 1990s Florida.
Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I had so much fun reading this book. I can only hope to be as exciting at that age. Looking forward to book two!

Filled with vivid, idiosyncratic characters and intriguing subcultures, Bone Park is an entertaining twist on the emerging "senior thriller" category.

A fun book with humour and crime and people over 55. I enjoyed the book, found it quite entertaining and fun. It is a good length for a book, not to long so I could sit down and enjoy a fairly quick and easy read.

With quirky characters a good story and of course solving a crime, this is all you need from a book that will entertain and make you smile. 3 1/2 stars from me. Will see what the second book holds and hope it continues to be entertaining and fun.

Thank you NetGalley and Book Whisperer for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This definitely gave me the godfather meets golden girls. It kinda has the same feels as “Killers of a Certain Age” but it was definitely unique! I’m very excited to read the next book and enjoy more from Sandy Robson! I really enjoyed this book and I would love to see more like it in the future.

Real Rating: 3.5* of five

Decently entertaining, and while I *abominate* the use of long, promotional subtitles that read like advertising copy written by an overeager intern, I can't fault this one for accuracy.

Approached with the expectation of having some good-spirited chuckles with your revenge fantasy fulfillment, this is a very successful read. The hole in ones heart left by <i>The Golden Girls</i> and the yawning gap of Jessica Fletcher's, (of <i>Murder, She Wrote</i> fame) endless supply of keen observation and devotion to justice are herein plugged. My very favorite thing about the read was the series title: <i>Grand-Mafia Series</i>! Apt, appropriate, and very much on brief. Book 1 will not, and should not, be book only, I predict.

I’m giving 1* only because I DNF’d it at 10%. That’s so much earlier than I usually stop but I started this book on 2 separate occasions and I just couldn’t get into it.

There was nothing I found offensive about what I was reading; I just found it told me a lot about nothing and I wasn’t enjoying it

** I received this ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review **

Thank you Net Gallery for this ARC and the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.
Well, I was expecting humour but what this book lacked in humour it made up for in action.
Sisters Bernie and Ruby hadn't spoken in 30 years but they decided that it was time for them to shelve their differences and settle down to a genteel retirement in Cicada Hollows, a 55+ retirement trailer settlement. Bernie and Rose couldn't be more different, Rose was a faded porn star legend and Bernie had a nefarious past but a past that left her with money to support their new lifestyle.......until it didn't, the money wasn't there.
Bernie comes up with a plan, they will set up a business. Bernie approaches a shady character from her equally shady past and there the riot begins. Bernie ropes in Ruby and witless Opal, another resident roped in only because she had access to a car,and the business was up and running, with precise instructions from Bernie they each knew how to stay clear of the law until..........
The author has painted a good picture of these zany characters, the trailer park with it's snooty residents, the curtain twitching, the binoculars at midnight, the battle to keep their husbands in check when the flirty, glamourous ex porn star was parading her wares. All in all a good read, a little drawn out at times but it does have my pet hate, a cliffhanger finis that I wasn't warned about.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Brief synopsis:
Bernie and Ruby are sisters that have reconnected after 30 years of no contact. Their lives took them in different directions yet maybe not so different after all?
Due to their recent circumstances these sisters are now living in a 55+ community called Cicada Hollow, trying to make ends meet under the watchful eyes of their snoopy neighbours.

What worked well:
I really loved the premise of this book, the setting and the characters.

What didn't:
I just couldn't get invested until close to the end. The chapters were very long and the ending did not answer any questions which is a bit frustrating because the last 15% of the book got me really interested and then left me hanging with barely explanation.
As much as I wanted to like this book, it didnt hit the mark for me.
Perhaps more suited to an older reader?

Cute fast read. Older women will love this book. Retirement communities will never look the same to me. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

Sadly, I could not get into the characters in this book or the whole plot really.

I'm usually pretty open minded but I feel like the author left out a lot of details and I had moments where I just couldn't follow along. I also hated the many disses towards cops throughout the book. The chapters were extremely long and drawn out so it really dragged.

The parts of the book I enjoyed a bit are when Ruby meets Benny and their story and Opal Rose!

I think it had potential but unfortunately did not meet my low expectations. I finished the book only because it was an ARC from NetGalley and wanted to leave an honest review without spoilers.

Thank You to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced reading copy (ARC) of Bone Park.

Retired women need to find a way to make money. They get recruited to make deliveries. The job seemed simple. Go to Miami and pick up a package, deliver it to another location and get paid a lot of cash. There had to be a trick.

What a fabulous read!

This is the first book in a new series called “The Grand-mafia Series”. It’s billed as “the Godfather meets the Golden Girls” which is fairly accurate, although I would add Carl Hiaasen with a feminist twist also somewhere in there.

I just loved the main characters - badass Bernie, ex-Union mobster, and her sister Ruby, the famous ex-porn star. Both are in their late fifties, on the run from trouble, heading for new trouble in Florida as they lay low in a Senior’s trailer park, the “Bone Park”. At the start of the book, Bernie, desperately needing money after the FBI has frozen all her assets, decides to go back into business with a former mobster associate and friend, making unspecified “deliveries”. Since she can’t do this without even a car to make the deliveries with, and with a gruelling schedule for the deliveries, she recruits her sister, who is glad to give up sleazy waitressing and the occasional trick for money (especially now that she has a wonderful twenty year old boyfriend), and religious neighbour Opal, who needs money for a gambling husband and also happens to have a car. But this turns out to be just the beginning of a messy gang war with many twists and turns and hinted-at mysteries, which we’re not even close to deciphering until the novel ends with a cliff-hanger. All I can say is, I hope the next book in the series is released soon because I need some answers!

Besides from being a mafia adventure, there is sweet romance, many well-drawn quirky characters, discussions of what it means to grow old, and a very strong “sisters are doing it for themselves”-vibe.

Great fun and highly recommended.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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.