CAUGHT IN THE SNARE, the 11th novel in Deb Pines’s Chautauqua Mystery series, is a well-built, cozy whodunnit with reliable tropes kept fresh with dry humor and facts about the setting and its history. As an Agatha Christie-esque detective mystery with the requisite cast of eccentric characters, it doesn’t break any new ground—but it consistently entertains.
Readers needn’t have read Pines’s previous titles to follow and enjoy this one. A handy list of characters is a nice but unnecessary addition, given the assured writing. Pines paints instantly memorable characters familiar and new, and she dispatches quickly what little backstories are needed.
When the aged body of Velma White, the impossibly unpleasant owner of a large house she has branded “Velmaville” and rented to tenants, is found at the foot of her stairs, a fall seems the cause of death. Except it isn’t, and figuring out the killer’s identity becomes the latest project of series star Mimi Goldman and her sidekick Sylvia, who, still plucky at 90, will thrill readers weary of negative depictions of seniors. Other regulars are Mimi’s husband Walt, whose own story arc here will sadly be familiar to many readers of any age.
A long-suffering sheriff’s deputy (eminently polite but firm in his treatment of non-official sleuths) nicely contrasts the duo. More colorful characters include a narcissistic and greedy yoga teacher, Velma’s maligned aide, a creepy chemistry teacher, a socially challenged bird expert, and others. Long-suffering doesn’t mean stuffy, as in this exchange between the deputy and Mimi:
“I remembered that’s your thing: following the money, in case the killer had a financial motive.”
“And love is still your homicide motive of choice?”
“Hopeless romantic,” he said with a shrug.
And then there’s the dog. Mimi and Walt’s son’s shepherd Gerard flunked out of the police academy, but what he lacks in discipline he more than makes up for in enthusiasm. In the meantime, various devices turn evidence-gathering scenes into entertaining reads, such as efforts to pry information out of a severely deaf and slightly daft woman, who offers only enticing bits and pieces that suggest but don’t answer:
“Were you rich growing up?” she asked Iris. “Hell no,” Iris said. Among words Mimi thought she heard were things that sounded like: “the Hendersons’ place,” “corn and chickens,” and maybe “the Negroes.” “Just an outhouse,” Iris added loudly.
Kicky chapter headings, like “Sylvia Stakes Out the Stakeout,” put icing on an already tasty cake. A few quibbles, though: facts periodically dropped in about seniors lean overly didactic. Also, a colossally stupid act by Mimi near the end—needed to set up the sweet final scene—reduces her viability as a seasoned sleuth. But repeat fans are unlikely to be overly troubled by these setbacks, as the book is satisfying overall.
CAUGHT IN THE SNARE, a cozy mystery featuring the sleuth at the center of Deb Pines’s Chautauqua mystery series, entertains with new and familiar characters, a compelling puzzle to unravel, and sly humor.
~Anne Welsbacher for IndieReader