Care Homes Are Murder by Mike Befeler

First Line: We made it safely to Honolulu, without the plane crashing and me drowning in the ocean or my old body being consumed by sharks.

Eighty-something Paul Jacobson is on vacation in Hawaii with his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. Everyone's all set to have fun, but if anyone can blunder into trouble, it's Paul. First he finds a dead body floating in the Ala Wai Marina. Then someone is killed at the care home when he's there visiting friends. This old geezer with short-term memory loss is going to need all his resources to get himself out of trouble.

I've enjoyed Mike Befeler's "Geezer Lit" series since the first book, Retirement Homes Are Murder-- probably because the main character reminds me of my own grandfather in so many ways. Paul Jacobson has a bit of a short fuse and tends to shoot off his mouth when he should keep it closed. He also has short-term memory loss. Every morning when he wakes up, he's completely forgotten everything that's happened in the recent past. That last thing alone would turn most people into curmudgeons, but not Paul. In spite of everything, he's been incredibly blessed with a son and daughter-in-law who love him and include him in as much of their lives as possible. His granddaughter thinks he's the bee's knees and loves spending time with him. He's found love for the second time, and his wife doesn't mind waking up every morning to be asked who she is. He's even found a way to cope with his memory loss: before bed, he writes down all the events of the day so that he can read it all when he gets up in the morning. Yes, Paul Jacobson is a wonderful main character, and Befeler backs him up with a strong supporting cast.

For my money, Care Homes Are Murder is the strongest book in the series so far. The Jacobsons see and do as many things as possible, and as a result, the setting of Hawaii comes to life. The mystery itself is truly intriguing, with just enough plot threads to keep me guessing. In fact there were several times that the author set me up to believe that something specific was going to happen. Each and every time I got that idea in my head, nothing happened. Befeler really kept me on my toes.

This is a series that could easily get repetitive-- Paul having to write down the day's events each evening, none of the police believing that short-term memory loss malarkey, and so on. Befeler avoids the repetition, and I particularly appreciated the fact that Paul didn't have the same old run-around with the police.

The humor in this book is what helps put it a big step above the rest in the series. Paul and his granddaughter are a formidable-- and funny-- team of sleuths, and Paul's son's fixation on renting white SUVs is a laugh-out-loud running joke throughout the book. And then... there's the inclusion of a new character referred to as "Hurricane Madeline." Madeline is a force of nature who could easily be turned into a caricature, but Befeler gives the woman depth. And funny! I was almost rolling in the floor with laughter several times. Madeline comes within an eyelash of stealing the book away from Paul, and I hope this isn't the last time I see her.

A mystery that kept me guessing, a tropical paradise for a setting, wonderful characters, laugh-out-loud humor, and the chance to see a vital group of people of all ages who love each other and love spending time with each other. Speaking of love... I love this series, and I can't wait to see what kind of trouble Paul Jacobson gets into next!
 

Care Homes Are Murder by Mike Befeler

eISBN: 9781432828424

Five Star © 2013

eBook, 268 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #5 Paul Jacobson/Geezer-Lit mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Senior Moments Are Murder by Mike Befeler

First Line: I awoke with a start. The head of a woman I didn't recognize rested on the pillow next to me.

This is nothing new for octogenarian Paul Jacobson. Don't get me wrong, the man doesn't sleep around, he has short term memory loss. Each night as he sleeps, his mind does a reset, and when he wakes up in the morning, it's literally a brand-new day. Paul doesn't remember a thing.

In this third entry in the Geezer Lit series, Paul and his fiancée are in Venice Beach, California, preparing for their wedding. When Paul decides to take an early morning walk, he discovers a body floating in the canal, and once the police discover that the victim is someone Paul had argued with, the cantankerous old geezer has his hands full getting himself off the Most Wanted list.

The books in this series are, by design, formulaic. The only way Paul Jacobson has of combating his memory loss is to sit down each night and write down the events of the day so he can read them in the morning. To keep on an even keel, Paul has to stick to a regimen-- a formula-- that works for him, and thankfully it's a formula that works for me most of the time. Author Mike Befeler has created a main character who's smart, observant, and usually sees the bright side of life-- but his temper can get him in hot water.

It's easy to care about Paul Jacobson, even though I've never seen a man more prone to tripping over dead bodies. He also has a sharp-witted little granddaughter who loves him to bits and is always willing to help him out of his legal difficulties. You'd think that most police would look at a man in his eighties who has a few mental problems and then move on to the next person on their suspect list, but Paul doesn't have that kind of luck. The fun of these books is watching Paul extricate himself from these difficulties and go on to unmask the killer. There are always plenty of laughs along the way, too.

I think the thing I like the most about this series is that it shows that no matter our age, no matter our physical or mental condition, we are all capable of making a difference. Paul Jacobson may shoot off his mouth at all the wrong times, and he may find too many corpses, but he has a lot to show us about perseverance, and honesty, and humor.

Senior Moments Are Murder by Mike Befeler

ISBN: 9781432825096

Five Star © 2011

Hardcover, 267 pages

Cozy Mystery, #3 Paul Jacobson/Geezer Lit mystery

Rating: B

Source: Purchased as an eBook through Amazon. 

Living With Your Kids Is Murder by Mike Befeler

Title: Living With Your Kids Is Murder
Author: Mike Befeler
ISBN: 9781597229968
Publisher: Wheeler Publishing, 2009
Paperback, Large Print, 381 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, Humorous Mystery, #2 Paul Jacobson Geezer Lit mystery
Rating: A-
Source: Purchased from Amazon.

First Line: My eyes opened in the dim light.

In this second book in the "Geezer Lit" mystery series, 85-year-old Paul Jacobson has left the nursing home in Hawaii and has flown to Boulder, Colorado, to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and 12-year-old granddaughter. Unfortunately the passenger sitting next to him on the plane is dead by journey's end, and since Paul was seen arguing with him, the folks in law enforcement are looking at him with very narrowed eyes.

It just so happens that Paul has short-term memory loss. Every time he goes to sleep, he wakes up with his mind wiped clean of recent events, so he's not much help when he's questioned-- and it makes him cranky. When he attends a Colorado Mountain Retirement Properties presentation (the company the dead man on the plane worked for), another CMRP employee is killed, and Paul is convinced that the property company is at the bottom of it all. In no time, he and his granddaughter, Jennifer, set out to find a killer.

This series is laced with humor, and at the heart of it is the wisecracking old fart, Paul Jacobson. He's learned to minimize the effects of his memory loss by writing the day's events in a journal each night and then reading it when he gets up in the morning. When he arrives at his son's home, the first thing he does is ask his daughter-in-law Allison what the family's daily routine is, and what chores he can take care of. Allison gives him dog-walking duty, and his walks not only let him get acquainted with the neighborhood and the town, they have a tendency to get him in hot water.

You see, every time Paul turns around, he's being pinned with committing a crime-- theft, chopping down trees, using bad language and gestures around small boys-- the list is long and confirms the fact that he is a crime magnet. Each and every time he's questioned by the police, he can't help making wisecracks, and I can picture the twinkle in his eye as he does it. The police are not amused, but Paul's got a secret weapon on his side: his very bright, very forthright, and very devious granddaughter. The two of them together make quite the team.

The identity of the killer in this book was rather easy for me to deduce, but that's not the focus of Living With Your Kids Is Murder. The real focus is Paul Jacobson himself. Mike Befeler has given us a feisty character with a disability that would make many others in his shoes give up and plant themselves in a chair by the window so they can stare glumly outside day after day feeling sorry for themselves. Paul refuses to do this. He has close and loving relationships with the members of his family, he makes friends easily and helps them as much as he can... he even winds up with two girlfriends, and by book's end is ready for yet another adventure.

Paul Jacobson will not go quietly into that good night, and we readers are the richer for it.

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Retirement Homes Are Murder by Mike Befeler

Title: Retirement Homes Are Murder
Author: Mike Befeler
ISBN: 9780373266623, Worldwide Mystery, 2009
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #1 Paul Jacobson mystery
Rating: A-

First Line: Where was I?

How would you like to be stuck in your own personal loop of Groundhog Day? That's exactly what octogenarian Paul Jacobson has to deal with every single day. When he wakes up in the morning, he can't remember a thing from the day before. His children are worried about him and install him in his own apartment in the Kina Nani Retirement Home in Hawaii. His first morning there, he wakes up, doesn't have a clue where he is, but notices that the trash needs to be emptied. Given directions to the trash chute, he discovers that the reason his trash won't go down is because someone's crammed a dead body in there ahead of him. If that's not bad enough, he's the prime suspect because he had a grudge against the victim.

How on earth can an old man with no short-term memory find a killer? He gets by with a little help from his friends, namely Meyer Ohana, who is legally blind:

"We're quite a pair of detectives, with my memory and your eyesight. Between the two of us, we don't even make one lame-ass amateur."

It is Meyer who suggests that Paul doesn't go to bed until he's written down everything that's happened that day. When Paul wakes up in the morning, he can read what he's written and know what's going on...even if he doesn't remember a thing.

Author Mike Befeler coined the term "Geezer Lit" for his series of mysteries featuring Paul Jacobson, and it's a term that lets you know that there is plenty of humor in the books. Not only are Meyer, Paul and their meal partner Henry funny, but so is the cab driver they use during their investigation, and one way they discover to improve Paul's memory. But it's not all fun and games. These are old people with serious problems. Meyer's family doesn't visit much, and Meyer's health is deteriorating. Paul doesn't take his memory loss and life in a retirement home well. There are some days that he stays in his apartment feeling sorry for himself. There is such a clear-eyed portrayal of what it's like to be an old geezer that it's all too easy for Meyer and Paul to make you laugh while they're breaking your heart.

The only thing in the entire book that I didn't like was the motivation of the killer. It just didn't seem to ring true and was a letdown. But the partnership of Paul and Meyer is the real strength of this book. Sometimes you just can't take the fight out of old dogs, and that can be a wonderful thing.