“In life you have to learn to count the good days. You have to tuck them in your pocket and carry them around with you.”
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This was a really fun and surprisingly insightful read. Osman has quick, deadpan, quite British humor which I enjoyed. He did an excellent job of setting up multiple suspects and I had to guess along with the characters. That suspense and uncertainty made the journey of discovery truly enjoyable.

I found the legacy political/cultural mindsets a little off-putting: weird comments about women and various ethnic groups. I get that the characters are reflective of their generation, but it didn’t add any value to the narrative for me.

I loved Chris’ character and how he struggled to value or adequately care for himself. That was a really surprising level of depth for what at surface level is a whimsical retirement mystery tale. This was extremely readable and entertaining. I enjoyed how many layers there were to each scenario.

Osman also addressed some really interesting topics specifically related to aging. How do you decide when your loved ones need higher care? How do you live with the fear and anxiety about the potential decline of your own mental and physical faculties? How do you find joy and excitement in the sunset of your life? I found myself pondering these questions as I read, and thinking about how I would respond were I in their position.

I am looking forward to reading the remaining books in the series and seeing how they compared to this one. Great start so far.