Sixty In Sarasota

Sun Coast mysteries #1

by George C. King

A mysterious figure sneaks into the sculpture garden of Sarasota's Ringling Museum. Wielding a mallet and chisel, the man commits an unspeakable, but darkly comic crime before escaping with a bizarre trophy. Recently divorced, thirty-something Kathy King is hired by the museum to investigate the crime. Although her previous experience has involved insurance fraud, she jumps at the chance to establish herself in her new surroundings. She interrogates a series of outlandish suspects, including a "cracker" teenager, a movie-obsessed homeless man, an evangelical minister, and a gay basher. Romantic interest also comes her way in the form of her employers' shy representative and a more aggressive local policeman. Kathy's parents live in Sarasota as well, recent retirees who are adjusting to Florida living. They struggle to contend with the exotic flora and fauna, the extremes in climate, the influx of snowbirds, the conservative politics, the dangerous mix of drivers, and the conflict between cultured Sarasota and blue-collar Bradenton. Two of their neighbors pull them unwillingly into a rapidly escalating turf war that parallels the initial stages of the war with Iraq. Both plots intertwine in unpredictable ways, leading to laugh-out-loud confrontations and a surprise ending. It's not just another day in paradise!

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

298 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2005

About the author

I was a Navy brat, attending 15 different schools before going to college. Two of those schools were in the Panama Canal Zone, where I lived from 1955 to 1957. My stay there provided the source material for my first novel, THE YOUNG BALBOAS, a coming-of-age epic that unfolds in the lush Panamanian jungle.

I taught English literature for thirty-two years in Maryland, where I was cited for producing successful scores on the National Advanced Placement Test in English at twice the rate of teachers in other schools. I was also nominated for Teacher of the Year. Outside the classroom, I've been a nationally ranked tennis player, and I fish in bass tournaments in Maine, where my wife and I own a log cabin on the shores of Lake Cobbosseecontee.

Since retiring to Sarasota, Florida, in 2000, I've published five additional novels: SIXTY IN SARASOTA, SEXY IN SARASOTA, SENILE IN SARASOTA,THE RUPTURE, and THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY. The three Sarasota novels are comedy/mysteries set on the fabulous Sun Coast of Florida. THE RUPTURE, a send-up of the rapture, might be described as George Carlin meets Richard Dawkins. An alien travels to Earth from Alpha Centauri to forestall a religious war threatening to engulf the planet and winds up leading a revolt against religion itself. His two secret weapons are stand-up comedy and a fleet of enormous UFOs. My latest novel, THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY, is a paranormal mystery and legal thriller set in Maryland and Maine.

Reviews

[Cilla Savary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sixty in Sarasota is a fast-paced comedy who-dun-it. The characters are interesting, well developed and so definitely memorable. The choice of the names Jack and Jill for one of the main couples was puzzling. There are plot twists that make you re-think where the story is going. There is a nod to Chick Corea with yellow stained glass called Nimbus Yellow (worth listening to, IMHO). It is a lot like real life, where real villains are rare - the characters are a varied mix of good and bad decisions. This was definitely worth reading. I'm looking forward to reading his other books.

Trigger Alert: One of the characters is adamantly anti-religion.

[George King · Rating 5 out of 5]

SIXTY IN SARASOTA is not only an engrossing whodunit, but it’s also a laugh riot. The crime itself, the castration of a seventeen foot tall statue (is that statutory rape?), is performed hilariously in the first chapter. But the reader doesn’t learn the motive of the assailant or his identity until the final pages. P.I. Kathy King, a young sleuth in her thirties, treks all over Florida’s beautiful Sun Coast pursuing leads. Her parents have their own problems—two of their neighbors are sabotaging each other’s lawns, destroying sprinkler systems, and shorting out pool pumps. Just how these two plots are related gradually becomes clear-- but not before a dachshund mounts an armadillo, a homeless man puts on a minstrel show, a Led Zeppelin song is used to ward off feral hogs, mayhem is committed in a Publix grocery store, and a pot-bellied pig bites a man in the buttocks. Sarasota, considered a retirement utopia, will never be the same.

If you like Carl Hiaasen...you'll like George C King, February 27, 2011
By J. Filipowski "Kindle Bookworm" (Winston-Salem, NC)

This review is from: Sixty in Sarasota (Kindle Edition)
I am planning a trip to the Sun Coast and wanted to find a book about, or set in, the area. I stumbled upon Sixty in Sarasota and Sexy in Sarasota and was immediately taken with the author. I tore through both books in the last week and thoroughly enjoyed them. I recommend reading Sixty in Sarasota before Sexy in Sarasota as the story line follows through the two books. Can't wait to read King's other books and hope there are many more to come.

[Linda Nusbaum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm in my sixties in Florida and love to read books set in our state, especially those on the amusing side, but the side story, which basically consists of making fun of, and bullying a vietnam vet suffering from ptsd completely turned me off from this author FOREVER!

[LLona Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sixty In Sarasota has great characters who fit the story perfectly in the Florida retirement community, and the kind of humor to have me laughing out loud through most of the book. There are F-bombs and other colorful language, but not excessive, and not out of place for the situations where they're found. The mystery of 'who vandalized the statue and why' kept me guessing along with the protag right to the end. Great job!

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit crude in places (although not totally unexpected given the book write-up), but generally amusing with a collection of weird and wonderful characters.