A Most Deadly Retirement

Laura Michaels #3

by John Miles

Residents of the Timberdale Retirement Center are having a fine time sneaking out to the convenience store at night for candy and cigarettes, until they begin to be assaulted by something deadlier than sugar or nicotine on the darkened woodland path.

298 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1995

Reviews

[Rita Chaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A Most Deadly Retirement" is the third book in the Laura Michaels series written by John Miles. Miles' protagonist, Laura Michaels, runs the day-to-day operation of the Timberdale Retirement facility. Laura dates a local deputy sheriff, Aaron Lassiter, who's involved in the investigation of recent center happenings. Something strange is going on as one of the residents, Violet, was discovered dead on the path leading from the center to the convenience store a short walk away. Soon after, another resident was found dead, also in the same wooded area. This book is a decently-written mystery that had me trying to figure out who the murderer could be. I appreciated the character development, especially of the colorful center residents. However, I think Laura's relationship with Aaron could have been developed more to bring an interesting side-story into the mix. Overall, I would have rated this book 3-1/2 stars if I could.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laura Michaels is the assistant manager of the Timberdale Retirement Center. One of her residents walks down to the local "Jiffy Grub" convenience store via a dirt pathway down the hill. She is found dazed and hurt when she is discovered missing. She claims she saw a red light and went to investigate when she was struck from behind. When she dies very suddenly, Laura and her sweetheart, Aaron Lassiter, try to find out who is responsible. This is a pretty good story except that the victim states that her assailant was using a weed wacker. It was very obvious that it was a metal detector but that fact is not made known until the very last page. Give the readers a little credit for having a few brain cells. The characters are a little irritating. The manager of Timberdale could be very quickly eliminated. I did enjoy some of the other residents though.