Thirteen Diamonds

Lillian Morgan #1

by Alan Cook

Lillian Morgan is bored with life in a retirement community, but she gets more excitement than she hoped for when a fellow resident drops dead at the bridge table--while holding a perfect hand of thirteen diamonds. Intrigued by the astronomical odds against this happening, she uses her mathematical background plus assistance from her beautiful granddaughter and friends to prove that a murder was committed--but not everybody wants her to find the murderer.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction

172 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2000

About the author

Alan Cook is an author of mystery/suspense novels and young adult/Children's books. However, his latest novel is a comedy, ROCKY ROAD TO DENVER, set in 1968. His novella, DEATH AT MONKSREST, takes place in England in the 1960s and is the third book of the Charlie and Liz series. EAST OF THE WALL takes places in East Germany in 1963 when the Berlin Wall was up. It is the second book in the Charlie and Liz series. TRUST ME IF YOU DARE, the first Charlie and Liz novel, takes place in 1962 in the U.S. and Cuba. YOUR MOVE is the seventh Carol Golden book. A serial killer is on the loose. FOOL ME TWICE is the sixth Carol Golden book. It deals with scams, and we've all been fooled. GOOD TO THE LAST DEATH is the fifth Carol Golden novel. It deals with junk science. HIT THAT BLOT, with a backgammon theme, is the fourth Carol Golden novel. DANGEROUS WIND is the third Carol Golden novel. It takes place on all seven continents. RELATIVELY DEAD and FORGET TO REMEMBER, the first two, are about a young woman who loses her memory and calls herself Carol Golden. His short story, "Checkpoint Charlie," is in the anthology, MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA PRESENTS ICE COLD: TALES OF INTRIGUE FROM THE COLD WAR, edited by Jeffery Deaver and Raymond Benson. PICTURELAND, is a Young Adult novel that takes place in a dystopian world. DANCING WITH BULLS, his first children's book, takes place at Knossos Palace on the island of Crete 4,000 years ago. YOUR MOVE is he seventh Carol Golden book, in which Carol is asked to help track down a serial killer. RUN INTO TROUBLE has won a Silver Quill award from the American Author's Association and was named best Pacific West book by Reader Views. It is about an ultra-marathon along the California coast in 1969, during the Cold War. But is the Cold War about to heat up? HONEYMOON FOR THREE, has received a Silver Quill award from the American Author's Association and was named best Mountain West book by Reader Views. WALKING THE WORLD: MEMORIES AND ADVENTURES has been named one of the "Top 10 Walking Memoirs and Tales of Long Walks" by walking.about.com

Reviews

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mystery at a retirement community. Give a senior a mystery to solve and some will surely sink their teeth into it--or it may come back and bite them! When a very popular man collapses and dies in the first hand of a bridge game, all are devastated, especially the women. The death is blamed on anaphylactic shock by a severe allergy to shellfish. Not everyone assumes the death is accidental. Bring on Lillian and her friend Tess, who are determined to prove it was murder.

Alan Cook has done a lot of unusual research to bring us this murder mystery. Mental games, a "perfect" bridge hand, friends and suitors all combine to solve the mystery...or to confuse it. Complicated connections in Lillian's own life adds both to the mystery and to her stress and her peace of mind. Several missteps along the way make the story more enjoyable. This is a quick, easy and entertaining read. I love the puzzle-solving aspect of the book, and I always enjoy learning something new. A touch of romance, a different way of looking at the lives of retirees, this is not a nursing home--this is a vibrant retirement community with individual apartments and individual interests all of which play a part in this quirky yet human book.

[Vijay Fafat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A murder mystery set in a retirement community in Chapel Hill, NC. During a bridge game at the club, one of the members, a Nobel-laureate in Economics, keels over and dies after receiving a perfect hand of 13 diamonds. An old mathematician, Lillian, who is present at the table, suspects this was a well-planned murder and starts unraveling the mystery (which turns out to be related to embezzzled funds and death bequests). Along the way, she explains a bit of combinatorics, a game of strategy involving toothpicks and binary arithmetic, a ball-weighing problem, a substitution code and remarkably, the Konisberg Bridge problem which is part of the solution to identify the murderer (spelled out using City of Bridgeton).

[Jeanne SF Phelps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun

Lots of twists. Not much about bridge but all about people who play bridge. Good to see multi generational book too.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death by shellfish. Gerald was highly allergic to shellfish so who put it in the casserole the bridge team ate and did they do it knowing he had an allergy? People are speculating on possible suspects especially those on the lunch committee. To top it off, Gerald was dealt 13 diamonds in his bridge hand right before he choked.

Much to the dismay of some of the residents and her son, Lillian is doing her own sleuthing. Gerald was a ladies man so perhaps there was some jealousy. Perhaps it was payback for something that happened years ago. Something Gerald took sole credit for. Along the way, Lillian works on math problems and on solving a strange code.

I like the characters and the story line.

[Paula Ratcliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lillian Morgan is deep into trying to solve a murder of a fellow resident Gerald at her retirement community. But someone doesn't want her to solve the murder, they even go so far as to have her removed from the community. Lillian doesn't stop there, she won't stop til she figures it out. With the help of her friend Tess and Wesley they figure out that something isn't right with the director of their retirement community, and it's up to them to figure it out.

Loved this book it was cute seeing an older woman crack a case instead of the younger ones we usually read about. I enjoyed the humor and math analogies in this story. A great cozy mystery!

[Ann]

I!ve put this book back on the shelf for the retirement home. Although the average rating is 5 which is pretty remarkable, I just could not get into the geriatric setting. It just did not have universal appeal in my opinion, despite the fact that the initial tease appeared to be that it was a mystery based on a bridge game. I stopped reading it after about 10%.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little Miss Marple-like story, funny and entertaining. The setting is primarily an assisted living facility, with the main character a retired mathematician/professor, Lillian. Lillian enlists the help of her friend Tess, and a few other bridge playing friends to help solve the murder of a fellow bridge player. Math puzzles and Lillian's extended family add to the entertainment value.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good geezer cozy. If you like solving puzzles - you will love this.

[Nev Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars.Not bad whoduit in the Agatha Christie style

[Marilyn Groves · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a great find for 99 cents! Cozy (and very clean) mystery

[M-J · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyable - liked the characters - good intrigue - hoping this is a series

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

good story - writing is a little rough

[Amber Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my usual dark mystries but it was a very very very cute and good read. I really enjoyed it!

[kramox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read, I liked this one alot.
At some point it was getting a bit booring, but I got over it.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so the title refers to a bridge hand, not real diamonds. The story mainly takes place at a retirement community. The residents are not senile and in fact tend to be highly educated. This in and of itself is unusual. But can you imagine the fun you could have living with a group of friends, going to yoga, playing cards, etc? This book is good for those who want a real mystery without a bunch of strong violence, and complex relationships.