Joining the Redwood Retirement Home came with several caveats for Sheila and Shane McShane. On the one hand, it was less hassle than maintaining an entire household at their advanced age. On the other hand, it also meant that their lives had reached a point of stagnation. At least that was Sheila’s assumption, until the fateful morning their director Billy disappeared from the hedge maze during a day trip. Everyone saw him entering the maze, but he never came out. Has there been foul play? How can octogenarians and nonagenarians, with multiple health issues, be involved in a crime? Can Sheila and Shane sniff out the mystery? Find out the truth in The Redwood Retirement Home Lost Its Director, a cozy mystery by Morgan Mayer.

Mayer presents readers with a perplexing mystery involving a group of highly unusual suspects. The absurdity of the situation immediately caught my attention and never let go as our amateur detectives solved one riddle after another. The novel transcended its genre, becoming a story full of so much heart. Mayer brought the characters to life with a beautiful, heartwarming writing style. The elderly yet spunky residents added drama with their quirky talk and manners. Their physical limitations, along with their gullible and overly trusting natures, made them vulnerable to unforeseen threats. The baggage that came with age and experience left a permanent mark, making some cranky, bossy, or aloof. Yet their vivaciousness and endless aspirations gave life to the retirement home. Families, both biological and found, became important in this novel, ending on a hopeful note. I recommend The Redwood Retirement Home Lost Its Director by Morgan Mayer to anyone who loves cozy mysteries and mind-boggling puzzles. This is perfect for the fans of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club series.

Sheila McShane thought she and her husband Shane had settled into a quiet new chapter when they downsized into the Redwood Retirement Home, but Sheila can't shake the feeling that this might be her last stop in life, and she's struggling to find a new sense of purpose. That struggle gets pushed aside fast when Billy Newport, the center's beloved director, vanishes during an outing to the estate's sprawling hedge maze. Some residents think he simply walked away, but Sheila isn't convinced, and the deeper she digs, the more she realizes that some of the people she's shared meals and hallways with may not be who they seem. The Redwood Retirement Home Lost Its Director by Morgan Mayer follows Sheila as she works to uncover the truth before anyone else gets hurt.

The Redwood Retirement Home Lost Its Director by Morgan Mayer is a genuinely fun cozy mystery, and I loved that the amateur sleuth at the center of it is a woman in her eighties who refuses to be underestimated. Sheila's journey is such a satisfying one to watch; she starts out feeling like her best days are behind her, and by the end she's proven, to herself as much as anyone, that she's still sharp, capable, and needed. Morgan does a great job of balancing the humor of everyday life at Redwood with real tension once things take a darker turn, and the community itself feels real, full of quirky, memorable residents who each bring something different to the story. There's more than one twist along the way, and I didn't see the ending coming until it was right in front of me. If you love a cozy mystery with a bit of heart to it, and you're happy to watch a cast of older characters get to be the ones who save the day for once, this book is well worth picking up.