Someone is murdering the retired ladies of the lunch club. Jack McCall, ably assisted by Nora Burke and Max Logan, is hired by the governor—the brother of one of the victims. At the start it seems a cushy Nice weather, good pay, and an attractive Florida State cop is assigned to assist Jack. But, in typical Jack McCall fashion, this murder case quickly turns screwy.
Other Books in the The Third Coincidence, a Jack McCall Mystery The Blackmail Club, a Jack McCall Mystery Game of Masks, a Jack McCall Mystery
I was born in Washington, D.C. From there my life likely mirrored that of a lot of my readers. We moved around. I got some education. Played some sports, and got some more education. Prior to becoming a novelist, I worked as a financial analyst determining the value of companies. But let's talk about my current and final career, writing mystery novels.
As a writer, I conjure up occurrences designed to quickly bring the story to a roiling boil. Along the way, I invent people. Victims and villains and heroes are needed, as well as a supporting cast. I make these people fun and interesting so you will welcome them and introduce them to your friends. Primary characters need habits and tics and talents, the qualities that bring them to life and make you love them or hate them. You'll want to see them humiliated or hunted down, be sucessful or seduced.
My mysteries offer you the opportunity to be challenged to find the villain from among the suspects. Clues as large as a log or as tiny as a bump thereon are salted throughout the stories. There are distractions in the form of false clues, called red herrings, which point to someone other than the real villain.
Take a journey with me. Laugh. Hold your breath. Cheer. Boo. The characters are rich and the plots are grabbers. I promise that you'll be glad you came along. Some people don't like golf or chocolate or even a hearty laugh. But I'll bet you like some of those things and I'll bet you'll like my mysteries. Yours very truly, David Bishop
Oh my good god, what a pile of crap. Honestly, this guy can’t write at all.
Firstly, the storyline makes no sense- governor of Florida calls in a PI to investigate his sister death because he thinks it’s murder and the police thinks it’s an accident. This is after he’s already called in a state officer to do the same. Meanwhile, 3 other murdered have also taken place seemingly by the same person. All 4 women are in their 70s and are members of the same lunch club. Which has nothing whatsoever to do with the story.
Secondly- and this is the worst bit- is the descriptions. Here are a few of my favourites...
1) ‘she didn’t have a face that would launch a thousand ships, but she had a body that would encourage sailors to swim back to shore’
2) ‘her breasts jiggled with her laugh’ (yes- really!)
3) ‘her skin was stolen from the night sky. She had green eyes for which most women would trade the password to their bank account’
4) ‘like a modern pirate, Eric sailed the waters of rumours, lies and gossip, taking his plunder from the secrets hoarded by those who deserved the hell that came with his disclosures’
5) ‘when she returned, her robe tie had been adjusted to accommodate a widescreen view of her cleavage’
Honestly, the whole book made zero sense. The ending was rushed and explained badly. And it was a total waste of my time. Although, maybe worth it just to realise there are men that really do write women like that 🙄
Really? An investigator who runs his eyes up and down female curves, and instantly the professional woman is hoarse with desire...Hm. Explaining it away later won't work, nor the silliest shoot out/denouement. Utter bilge, with the least convincing portrayal of a person from Yorkshire I've ever met.
What did I like about this book, hmm. Actually it's started out pretty good but it truly turned awful There are so many typos and error in this book that I couldn't hardly even put up with it. The story line is turns totally ridiculous. I would not recommend this to anyone and while make sure that I don't ever get another book by the author.
Th I story may be the last in the series, but I see another book to follow. You had to keep track of who was with whom, where they were & why. Loved it!
Just crass and a non stop bombardment of sexual innuendo. Very sexist in an old fashioned way. Not my kind of book and not worth the effort to finish it.
10++++ stars!!!! This is my first reading this author and WOW!!!! I haven't slept much since I started reading this book. The things people do for fame and fortune and POWER, is just wild. But when you send in the pros to find answers Jack McCall and his team sure pulled it out in the open. This book is a little raw in some spots, but that is life and how it works. I LOVED it. You will not be disappointed!!!! If it is not your cup of tea don't bad mouth the author, just say it is not for you. This was a very well written book, I am getting ready to read the next one.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this mystery and was surprised at the final reve!ations. I had an inkling but was surprised several times during the investigation. Congratulations, David Bishop, on another success!
Jack McCall runs a detective agency in Washington DC. He has Nora and Max who are his two very skilled staff members. They have been asked by the Governor of Florida to travel down and prove that his sister’s death was not an accident, but an actual murder. She was a member of a group of women who were good friends and has a luncheon together on a regular basis.
There have been 3 of the women in this group who have been murdered. And the governor believes his sister is another victim of this serial killer.
Thus begins the adventure.
The plot is very well done. There is action upon action. And the characters are all interesting. Not all likable, but very interesting.
Jack is a bright guy. He has good people who support him. And he pays close attention to the world around him. Never take anything at face value, no matter how sexy that face may be
The mystery is well done. All the clues are there. All the information is shared with the reader. I had some of this figured out, and it added to my enjoyment of the entire story. And I did sure enjoy this story.
If someone is looking for a really well done mystery, this is a book you should try. Mr Bishop is a new to me author, and he is a talented writer.
This feels almost like a 40’s noir film. But, I reckon Florida has too much sunshine.
There is a darkness here and it is all within souls.
The story setup is good, twisted, multi-threaded and keeping readers interested. It ends here. The story is not well developed, shallow, hurried and ridiculous. Some threads are disgusting. A 72 year old lady who had a son with her boss on her first job out of school, her son being called ‘boy’ repeatedly in the book. The ‘boy’ must be close to 50s. Another mid-70 year old lady slept with this so called ‘boy’, saying she regarding the ‘boy’ as her own son. What a joke it is! All most all the main male characters in this book, one way or another, slept with the killer women. What a man! Besides, this book needs a good editing and proof reading. “ appears where it is not needed. There are no verbs in some phrases. In some places, the author messes up characters’ names.
Overall , it was a tightly woven plot, there didn’t seem to be any loopholes, of who the killer could be. The clues or were they a distraction. The motive could be of several things. The secrets were a shock to some, and a few new of them. Checking the people’s background and still one was puzzled. Were the deaths all connect and as such murdered. Could have done with out the British use of the raw language to describe things. The tight plot and with investigator Jack was a winner
Not great. The plot could have been pretty good, but some of the details were ridiculous.
Apart from some suspect British slang lessons given by one of the characters, there was a glaring mistake in a legal premise that if a woman died and their will left all their money to their son, and then the son died a short while later, that the money would automatically go to the woman's brother! What about the father or half brothers of the son? Someone didn't get something right surely.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The plot line was interesting and kept the thought process going for most of the book. I thought the final wrap up was contrived and not strong enough. The humor was not believable nor was the lack of depth in the characters. Of course the lead characters are beyond handsome and beautiful. Would it be unthinkable that maybe an author would write a lead as a normal guy , good at his job. Thought I would have liked the book more. The ending and lack of finalization left me flat.
I enjoy this style of writing: good use of adjectives and one-liners without disturbing the flow of the story. I almost missed reading this because I thought it was a cozy mystery by the title “Ladies Lunch Club...” I’m glad I read farther. This has been an enjoyable mystery/ thriller, not quite noir but gritty indeed. I’ll look for more by this author, especially in this series.
Set in a Florida retirement community but with connections stretching farther than you can imagine, this book will lead you from the governor's office to D C. to the state police to MI 6. Suspects abound as do motives. You will be on the edge of your seat right up to the end. This is a most enjoyable read.
The characters were interesting and the murder mystery was very clever. The reader was led in many different directions before finally learning who was guilty and why. The reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 was it seemed to go from conversation to conversation, frequently without any action in between. This slowed the book down making it dull at times.
The author does a great job holding you in suspense too the end of the story. Found the story intriguing a suspenseful right to the end . There were chapters I couldn’t put down and others where I had no problem leaving for a snack or bed, to be picked up the next morning. Would recommend this book to the dedicated mystery reader. Thanks Mr. Bishop,
I STOPPED READING AT 8% TO SEE IF THESE HOLIDAYS REALLY EXISTED. . .DANG-IT THEY ACTUALLY DO. CHUCKLE LOL! GREAT MURDER MYSTERY I WANTED TO READ THIS IN ONE SITTING BUT MY EYES REFUSED TO COOPERATE AND I FELL ASLEEP. THE CHARACTERS WERE SO LIKABLE AND THE STORYLINE JUST KEPT ME SO INVOLVED. LOVED THIS, WILL BE READING MORE OF MCCALL & CREW 5+++*stars. ;D
The detective agency is hired by the governor to investigate the death his sister - was it an accident or murder? Lots of players muddy the waters, but Jack and his team eventually piece the facts together.
Plot keeps urging you to assume you have solved it. A grand bait and switch again and again. Interesting cast but a bit of a stretch to have DC PRKVATE I
Loved all the angles, the.twists.and turns, the senior.ladies lunch club members--the characters were phenomenal. The.list.of suspects and the.connections, or.not This book will keep you.guessing. Enjoy!
The title “Ladies Lunch Club” night suggest a cozy mystery, but don’t be fooled. This is a well written mystery with well defined characters and lots of solid twists and turns.
Very good book. I first thought I knew who the killer was, but all the clues pointed to someone else. I did figure the who was, but the other players really led me astray.Excellent
I've read several David Bishop novel and I have to be honest this isn't a favorite. Other then the lead character, jack I really didn't care for the other characters. Bishop does keep you guessing as to who is doing the murders however.
A captivating read with a lot of twists and some interesting characters with motives galore. The perpetrators sort each other out leaving Jack to mop up the remainder. Back to DC and onwards and upwards as they say.
Number 4 in a series but I didn't get any sense I was missing anything. Jack McCall is called in to solve a series of murders in a retirememnt community. Well developed mystery. Previous volumns probably show how Jack's team was put together.
First McCall book I've read. Attracted the Ladies Lunch Club aspect. Found it to be fast moving , complicated. I didn't catch on until almost the end. Great read.
This novel puts an improbable women’s luncheon club in the center of political ambition, perhaps as high as the Presidency. Unbelievable, until this point in time.
A GREAT Whodunnit! Keeps You Guessing Right to the End!
I really liked this book... Great mystery right to the end. Great characters, Great location, Great story. I didn't want to put it down, I kept waiting for the next murder to eliminate possible suspects... 5 Stars 😄