This is a wonderful mystery about retired detective Clifford Shaw, who after many years, reluctantly returns to his hometown to rent a room from his old friend Hans. The room comes with strings as it is a shared home for five senior citizens and Cliff has to decide if he wants to buy in or not. A young man is murdered and Cliff gets drawn into the murder investigation with some unexpected help from his new roommates. There are lots of suspects for the group to investigate and each roommate contributes to the investigation, resulting in an unexpected but nice ending. These characters are all very well written and each have their own quirky personalities. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

The Limestone Manor by Jonny Thompson

My Thoughts /

First and foremost, a huge THANK YOU to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Author, Jonny Thompson's third novel, The Limestone Manor is a terrifically fun cosy mystery (which I hope will be turned into a series) that follows retired Toronto police detective, Clifford Shaw. Eighty-two-year-old Cliff returns to his hometown of St. Marys - a town he once swore he'd never go back to - at the invitation of his long-time friend Hans. Hans, who owns the yellow brick house, (lovingly known as Limestone Manor) is using the rambling old manor house as a sort of share house, which he shares with six other retirees.

The story opens with Cliff arriving at St. Mary's by train. It's been a while since he last visited, leaving St. Mary's some fifty years earlier. Approaching St. Mary's station, an announcement over the speaker system causes a small amount of concern: 'However, we're experiencing some delays at this stop for anyone continuing on with us to Stratford, and we apologise for the inconvenience.'

When the train finally pulled into the station and Cliff disembarked, he found he was immediately surrounded by the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police). Trying to surreptitiously listen in to the many conversations going on around him, Cliff managed to deduce that someone (or something) had fallen from the tracks and into a creek. What he couldn't work out from the conversations was if that someone (or something) jumped or was pushed and whether they were now dead or alive. Cliff is questioned by the OPP and then escorted by an officer to Limestone Manor.

With similarities to 'The Thursday Murder Club', Cliff, together with the retired residents of Limestone Manor get together unravel the mystery of the body in the lake.

Thompson has written a cast of wonderful supporting secondary characters. The other residents of Limestone Manor - Kitty, Sol, Bunty, Hans, and Mrs Chen are wonderfully described and each have their own unique personality quirks. This is another case of underestimating the capacity of our elders! 'Remember son, it’s a gift to be young but it’s a privilege to be old.'

The mystery itself is well plotted and moves along at a clipped pace, with enough red herrings and twists to keep you from guessing the plot ending. Thompson's writing flows well and the ending of one scene seamlessly segues to the next. Once you start, you'll be wanting to finish this in one sitting.

I was not particularly enthralled with this book. Although I liked the characters well enough, I was never really able to get sucked into the mystery, preventing me from caring very much about the outcome. However, if this author writes another book in the series, I will give it a go.

I really enjoyed this book and finished it all in one evening. The characters were a group of senior citizens living in a house together and a murder happens in their small town. The characters were relatable and funny. They all begin to slowly unravel the situation and each character’s personality really shines through. When the main character was talking with a young cop who was calling him old and and being dismissive of his point of you He told him “You know you make these old references as if it’s somehow a negative. But you forget I’ve lived nearly three of your lives, so whatever you think you’ve learned during your minute existence on this planet is barely a drop in the bucket. Whereas myself, and the people who live here have done it all tenfold. Remember, son it’s a gift to be young but it’s a privilege to be old.” This really resonated with me, so I immediately stopped to write it down.. This quote fit so perfectly in this story and really made me think. Just because a person is older doesn’t mean they don’t know what they are doing.and can’t put the pieces together to solve a mystery. I hope this book becomes a series because I would love to learn more about these endearing characters..If you love cozy mysteries than this is the book for you.