Murder in Retirement

A year after their introduction in A Permanent Retirement , the delightful denizens of Oklahoma's Timberdale Retirement Center are again involved in murder, this time as an addendum to a mystery weekend which backfires, leaving a real corpse. The Center's assistant manager Laura Michaels is knocked unconscious in the basement just before the second act of the drama. Meanwhile, extravagant showman J. Turner Redwine, principal actor and founder of the Redwine Players, is discovered shot to death on the set. Timberdale resident Colonel Roger Rodgers is held for questioning: the Colonel had been previously bilked by Redwine and his gun is the murder weapon. Laura, who returns to consciousness without memory of her assailant, who was probably stronger than the feeble Colonel, decides to help deputy sheriff Aaron Lassiter investigate. Again, the broadly drawn Timberdale residents--ersatz detective Maude, artistic self-centered Ellen, pretentious retired judge Emil Young, director and crossword aficionado Mrs. Epperman and addled handyman Still Bill Mills--are the real stars, adding bursts of humor like small fireworks to the story. (Jan.)