By Debbie Stone and Gini Cunningham
Gini: The Sunset Years… describes a mystery tale about Agnes Sharp and her friends, the residents of Sunset Hall. The Hall includes a cavalcade of characters plus a busy turtle named Hettie and pup Brexit.
While living day by day is their “job”, somehow, they become entangled in murders – at the home next door and in the village a few steps away. Readers wander from place to place including a disguised trip into a care facility where “care” is elusive. Although a little long, even though I do like a good long read, primarily the books entertains as well as teaches about solving mysteries.
There are super quotes in the book. When attending the funeral of a neighbor Agnes opines, “There [i]s nowhere you could feel more alive than at a good funeral.”
Her reasoning? The seriousness and solemnity and also that attendees leave emotional shells behind and give things away about themselves. Perhaps it is realizing the fragility of life and the acceptance that death happens in the end – and I do not mean to be facetious here.
Agnes admires the sunlight spilling into the room, glancing off the flowers while knowing that good food abounds after the service. Maybe thinking about saying good-bye under bright circumstances enhances inner strength.
Another quote from Bernadette, a Sunset Hall occupant refers to Sparrow, a sort of handyman who behaves more like a burglar, leaping out of the window as opposed to using the door.
When lamenting his low wages she states, “And he only steals from senile people who are guaranteed not to notice. If nobody notices, it’s not a real crime.” In the book this offers a chuckle, however, I know many who believe that if you do not get caught lying, cheating, or stealing, then you are not guilty of misbehavior.
This might mean “buying” an outfit and wearing it, then returning the item for a refund. Or not mentioning to a clerk the extra items added to your bag or served at your table that you were not charged for. This can get silly such as the time I drove back to a store to give back a pen I had inadvertently taken, but then again, the pen did not belong to me.
Debbie: Are you a person who can “DNF” (did not finish) a book or are you a staunch “finishist”? I would have happily set aside The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp” had I not been committed to my friend Gini and the Great Basin Sun. It isn’t that I hate the book - it just isn’t for me, right now. I don’t like the characters as much as I had hoped to - too quirky for me so I just had a hard time following along.
Originally published in German, perhaps the translation didn’t roll over for me. I also listened to this on audio and maybe it translated better onto a read page.
I am making excuses, but in reality, there is a slew of fiction at the moment where senior citizens are the protagonists. Some are really good like Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series. I love his characters. I just couldn’t replicate that feeling for Swann’s characters.
The storyline is a bit dark and deals with some serious medical issues such as dementia and mental illness in an odd way - maybe too much humor? Maybe not enough?
The story has a complicated plot, which as Gini reminds us, it’s hard to talk about without giving away the resolution. But then again, maybe it is just not my time, my mood, because there are certain things I like about the book.
I love hearing from the various senior perspectives. The author does a good job of making them feel like real people and not just caricatures of seniors. He doesn’t try to sugarcoat the hardships of the elderly. I love the dog Brexit and the tortoise Hettie and the quaint small English village (who doesn’t love a quaint English Village?). There are some great quotes and many spots in the book made me laugh; some made me cry.
Is it a cozy mystery? A physiological mystery? Let me know what you think because you’re going to have to read it to discover what really happens. And again, book reviews are only opinions so this may be the book for you!