The Mahjong Mavens of Boca Raton

by Ruth E Weiner

Seventy-eight-year-old Mavis rides a motorcycle, smokes a stogie, and swears like a sailor. Eighty-four-year-old Blooma bakes tasty strudel, as long as she doesn’t confuse the sugar with the salt. Nothing satisfies sixty-eight-year-old Gertrude who complains that the early bird specials aren’t early enough. And seventy-two-year-old Winnie stands as rigid as a clothes hanger on a designer rack. Thrown together at the Boca Raton Senior Center because no one else will play mahjong with them, the four misfits form a fragile friendship. When Jayne, a beautiful younger woman joins them unexpectedly, the women vie for her attention. But Jayne has a secret. When Jayne’s motives are revealed, will the outliers rise above their individual differences and accept each other, warts and all?

234 pages, Paperback

Published February 3, 2023

Reviews

[Linda]

Dumb. Not wasting my time to get through it

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a 75-year-old, I loved the idea that senior women were the protagonists of this fun novel. I figured out Jayne's secret way to early. I would have preferred to have been fooled longer. I hope the author knows the difference between calvary and cavalry. Twice on one page the books says the "calvary are riding to the rescue". Calvary was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's gospels, Jesus was crucified. A cavalry is an armed unit, in this case they seem to be mounted on horses. Assuming this was a slip and not a lack of knowledge on the part of the author, I have more evidence for my hatred of computer editing. If it is a word, the computer is incapable of using context. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[MaryAnn Lockey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Opportunity missed. You have to know your audience. Who plays mahjong? - Retired women who have time on their hands to play and read. We don’t want to be reminded of straw hair and yellow toenails. I didn’t find any of the characters likable. I’m a sucker for the “ quirky characters” description but quirky characters have some like-ability. I didn’t find that with these characters. There was so much room for comedy but it missed the mark.

[Robert Thacker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular farce finds the lonely and neglected women of a Florida retirement community finding adventure, danger, and life itself when a vivacious newcomer joins the group. Bonus: the author manages to weave into the story every Yiddish expression known to man.

[Little Miss Fab 1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely story of unconditional friendship, and women coming if age late in life.