ABOUT THE BOOK

A late-night call is all it takes for rookie lawyer Corrie Locke to kiss her day job at the movie studio goodbye, and do what she does best: flex her sweet P.I. skills and go undercover to find a senior who’s missing from a posh retirement community. One small stumbling block: skirting past security to gain inside access to the exclusive Villa Sunset. Time to call in the heavy artillery. Besides former security guard turned legal assistant-now wannabe P.I.-Veera, Corrie relies on a secret weapon: her mother, a surprisingly eager addition to Corrie’s team. Armed with enough pepper spray to take down a band of Navy Seals, Mom impersonates a senior to infiltrate the Villa, Corrie and Veera in tow. Turns out the job’s not as easy as they’d thought. These seniors have tricks tucked up their sleeves and aren’t afraid of using them.

The action gets dicey when the missing senior case turns into attempted murder by a criminal mind who’s always one step ahead. Corrie’s hot on the trail, but finds more than she bargained for…when her mother becomes a target.

  • Publisher : ‎ Level Best Books
  • Available : March 29, 2022
  • Pages ‏: ‎ 288
  • Genre : Cozy Mystery, Women Detectives/Sleuths

Southern California Mysteries

My Thoughts

Though cozy mysteries can be lots of fun to read, they don’t often pop up in my stack of books to read. In the case of Gambling With Murder, I was immediately drawn to the eye-catching cover and title.

Though I wasn’t aware that this was the fifth book in a series, I didn’t have any trouble knowing what was going on.

When a senior at the retirement villa goes missing Corrie and her friend Veera are determined to find some answers. But they can’t just waltz into the villa since neither meet the requirements, they come up with the perfect plan: Corrie’s mom can step into the role of a senior.

So with Mother in tow, the amateur sleuths, begin snooping.

My Concerns

While the plot was entertaining, it quickly started bothering me that dialog propelled the story. And with so much dialog, the tags of he said, she said, Mom said, I asked, he replied, etc. began to jump out and become very annoying.

Final Thoughts

If the characters had been fleshed out and the story written in a different format, I would easily recommend it. As it is, I’d say, check out other reviews. There are many good ones, which tells me that what bothers one doesn’t bother another.

You be the judge on this one. It didn’t work for me.

My thanks to Lola’s Blog Tours for a gifted copy.

Rating

About the Author

Like her heroine, Corrie Locke, Lida Sideris hails from Southern California and worked as an entertainment attorney for a film studio. She has written numerous magazine and newspaper articles, a poem or two and a teleplay. She shares her home with her family and an assortment of dogs and chickens. She was the recipient of the 2014 Helen McCloy/Mystery Writers of America scholarship for mystery writing. She is very excited to also call herself a picture book author, a long cherished dream. Her children, a naughty Dalmatian and the recent fires near her home served as the inspiration for her children’s book.

Author links:

– Website: https://www.lidasideris.com/

– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lidasideris

– Twitter: https://twitter.com/lidasideris

– Instagram: https://instagram.com/lida_sideris

– Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lida-sideris

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2 Comments

  1. Hi there Debbie!

    Well written and honest review! I’ve just read and reviewed this one as well and had a few similar thoughts on this one. I also didn’t read the rest of the series.

    Have a wonderful day and a good week ahead!

    Elza Reads

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