When LaVail and I returned from our winter retreat in Mexico in Early February 2020, our daughter, a physician, met us at the airport and pronounced that we were in lockdown. 

We had heard rumblings while in Mexico about a virus in China, but we had no idea the threat until we were asked at the US border if we had been to Wuhan, China.  “No,” we said, confused, “we were in Tulum and Merida, Mexico.” 

Covid 19 changed our everyday lives, our jobs, our travel, our ability to interact in our communities. Some of us suffered true loss of loved ones; many lost jobs or risked their own lives to save others; many of us found new ways of communicating with our friends and families, through ZOOM or even as pod grandparents maneuvering through the world of virtual learning with our grandchildren, or, in my case, being lunch lady.

While LaVail entered the world of model building, house chores, grandchild mentoring, and overseeing the painful progress of our new garage, I entered the world of Florida retirement communities.

No, I’m not planning a move to Florida any time soon, but my main character from Human Sacrifice, Claire Aguila, is on her way to her second adventure as sous-detective with Roberto Salinas and her sidekick, Madge Carmichael. 

From my office window, I watched winter turn to spring, then summer, fall, winter, spring, summer, and fall again. I watched our old garage collapse and our garage emerge from the snow in our backyard (though still not totally completed).

During that time, I also created a Florida retirement community, The Havens. I have visited several of these communities over the past few years as LaVail and I considered our future retirement, and I suspect that you have too, either for yourselves or as guests of your parents or grandparents.

In Culture Shock, Claire and her daughter visit Claire’s parents (Cristina’s grandparents) in The Havens. Theresa and Martín Aguila are staying at the winter home of Claire’s deceased husband, Aaron.

While Theresa enjoys their winter home, Martin, a Mexican American, doesn’t understand the world of customized golf carts, describing this affluent community as a ‘beige hell.’ Not a man of leisure, Martin snags a part-time job in the maintenance department, where he feels more comfortable with the Hispanic employees.

The Aguilas, in turn, are surprised to find Roberto Salinas and Madge Carmichael on their doorstep, one year after Claire and Madge assisted Salinas in solving several murders in Merida, Yucatan.

This unlikely reunion complicates an investigation of two deaths in the Havens, led by the local investigator, Detective Sergeant Davenport, as Claire and her companions become involved, and, once again, Madge proves to be a resourceful, if unconventional, sleuth.

Culture Shock is now available in print and eBook through Mission Point Press!