Deadly Gold Rush

Indie Retirement Mystery, #2

by

Landis Wade

A complex but compelling plot with engaging, lovable main characters!

Deadly Gold Rush is the second book in author Landis Wade’s gripping Indie Retirement Mystery series featuring the residents of a senior living community in Charlotte, North Carolina, who are trying to enjoy their lives but are kept busy solving one mystery after another. In this latest adventure, Harriet Keaton’s twin brother, Joey, is released from prison after serving 20 years for a crime he didn’t commit. However, he soon finds himself behind bars again when the body of one of the men framed him all those years ago is found in the basement of his family home, and the floor above it collapses, revealing the dead man covered in gold coins. Harriet enlists the aid of her friend, Craig Travail, also an Indie resident and attorney, to help her brother, who knows more about the murder than he’s saying. 

With its complex, compelling plot and engaging, lovable main characters, I was absorbed in the story from start to finish. I enjoyed the retirement community setting, with its cadre of older, and sometimes more mature, characters and the many experts in various areas of knowledge among the group, some only a couple of years removed from the workforce and careers in those specialties. I enjoyed how many of the characters had evolved into free spirits, depending on the freedom granted them by their advanced age or their marginalization in society as the forgotten elderly. Several romances are blossoming, as well as a slow-burn romance between Harriet and Craig that I was definitely rooting for. And who knew North Carolina was the epicenter of a gold rush before California’s? 

The plot moves steadily forward as Harriet, Craig, and their friend, Yeager, attempt to prove Joey’s case while Joey himself steadfastly refuses to tell all he knows. The investigatory phase of the story gives way to a riveting courtroom drama as Craig and another Indie resident and former judge unite as Joey’s legal defense team. Complicating life for everyone are a series of calculated financial shenanigans aimed at the Indie and the residents by the powerful Standish Corporation and their legal tool, Robert Elkins, who is out for revenge against the trio who caused him to lose his license to practice law in book one. I was glued to the story, wondering if they would be able to get to the bottom of things, find justice, and save the day for the Indie and their friends. 

While this is the second book in the series, readers do not need to have read the previous one to enjoy it. Enough backstory is mentioned to set the stage for the present tale without spoiling the first book for those who are enticed to look it up. 

I recommend DEADLY GOLD RUSH to fans of cozy mysteries with historical storylines.

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