Beyond Bingo: A Novel

by Joan Drummond Miller, Julie Houy, Carolyn Livingston

Vi, 71, spirited but increasingly forgetful; Katherine, nearly as old and twice as inhibited; and newly married, former old maid Sophie join forces in the quiet town of Pacific Grove to supply Katherine's dying friend Rita and her cancer victim friends with marijuana to ease their pain. In their act of mercy, cooking "bongo brownies" and other cannabis-spiked food for medicinal purposes, the three women each have personal epiphanies. But the women's activities unwittingly connect them with Mafia drug trafficking and murder, and suddenly the old ladies have more to worry about then mere involvement with illegal drugs.

188 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2000

Reviews

[Robbin Henson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It probably isn't everyone's cup of tea but I loved the story of the senior ladies helping one of their own by supplying Marijuana to their friend who was dying. It is a big issue even 23 years after they wrote this. Can't describe more about it without giving it away...but I felt it was worth the read.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, the concept of the book was fun. It is nice to think of three women getting together to write a pot based mystery touting the virtues of medical marijuana and featuring three women of a certain age.

The book itself, however, reads as if written by three friends who had a lot of fun but perhaps not as many literary skills as they thought. Characters are fairly shallow and the plot is pretty predictable.

But..it was printed in 2000 or so, a bit ahead of its time, and probably a great local seller.

[Mary Ahlgren]

Didn't finish. Liked the cover though.