Retirement has never felt so deadly
Welcome to the idyllic yet eccentric retirement community of The Ocean’s Edge—where retirement has never felt so deadly.
Disco is dead, there’s a serial killer on the loose, the coffin dodgers are solving cold cases, and only the neighborhood cat knows where all the proverbial bodies are buried.
When sharp-tongued sugar heiress Diana is ousted from the empire she helped build, she retreats to a posh 55+ paradise expecting peace, maybe even a pool boy. Instead, she finds a ragtag group of retirees with a knack for solving cold cases—and a disturbing knack for attracting new ones. She quickly finds herself entangled with this quirky yet capable team of senior sleuths: a psychic, tarot-reading twin duo, a retired detective, a conspiracy-minded tech guru, and a nurse who might just talk to animals.
Among tarot cards, a talking cat, and dark web dives, this misfit crew uncovers more than just bingo night secrets. Because in a place this sunny, the shadows run deep, and someone at The Ocean’s Edge has blood on their hands.
As the group begins investigating cold cases, darker truths emerge, uncovering clues that tie back to mysterious pasts, hidden traumas, and residents with more secrets than memories.
Hilarious, heartwarming, and deliciously twisted, The Retirees is a witty, tightly woven, charming, cozy mystery that reminds us it’s never too late for redemption, reinvention, or revenge—and that sometimes the most unexpected heroes come with walkers, wisdom, and wildly colorful personalities.
About the Author
Leah donates the profits from her books to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Upon learning that her daughter Ashley was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (while still in the womb), Orr knew she wanted to do something special. With some input from her mother and three daughters, it was decided that she'd write books to benefit the CF Foundation. The Orr Family has raised over $1,400,000 in the past 22 years to help find a cure.
Leah's mission to help cure Cystic Fibrosis has been featured on ABC’s Health Watch, NBC Today South Florida, ABC Today South Florida, CBS South Florida, CBS This Morning Virginia, NBC The 10! Show Philadelphia, Fox 4 News Morning Blend, The Daily Buzz, and Lifetime TV’s The Balancing Act. She has also been featured in publications such as Forbes Magazine, Medical News Today, The Boston Globe, The Miami Herald, and The Sun-Sentinel. Her daughter Ashley was also a recipient of Oprah’s generosity in The Big Give.
Popular mysteries by Leah Orr include: The Executive Suite, The Bartender, The Champagne Toast, The She Shed, and The Fruitcake. Her popular children’s books include: Messy Tessy, It Wasn’t Me, and Goodnight, Molly.
Orr and her husband were recently nominated as one of Florida’s Finest Couples by the CF Foundation and included in “In The Spotlight” on CFF.org. Leah was also nominated as one of Broward County’s top 100 Outstanding Women. Orr grew up in Boston, MA, and graduated from the University of Miami.
An American “Thursday Murder Club” with a twist!
The Retirees by Leah Orr is a lighter-weight Thursday Murder Club-style mystery-thriller set in an upscale fifty-five-plus community on Florida’s Treasure Coast and proved to be a lot of fun. After her unceremonious removal as the chairman of the board of the sugar empire her grandfather started, well-heeled new retiree Diana moves into The Ocean’s Edge, an exclusive and grand fifty-five-plus community. She immediately attracts the attention of a group of amusing senior residents enjoying their special ‘coffee’ in the country club, who invite her to join them the following morning after she gets moved in. Diana soon discovers that the small group also has a special hobby: examining cold cases at the behest of the local police department, under the leadership of one of their own —a bored, retired former detective. The group already has a growing record of successes clearing old cases, and Diana is all on board, pleased to lend her own skills and high-level connections to their resources. All is going well with their new cases until a resident of the community dies under suspicious circumstances, similar to a couple of previous deaths at The Ocean’s Edge.
Diana takes to her forced retirement like a duck to water, and with the friendships and excitement her new pals bring, she quickly settles into life at The Ocean’s Edge. I appreciated how she leveraged her considerable influence, wealth, and the negotiated perks of her severance from the sugar company to aid in solving cases. One of those perks includes her personal driver, Jeb, whom she has counted as her best (and perhaps only) friend for almost 60 years and is starting to view in a much more personal light.
The story unfolds from a few interesting points of view. Besides Diana’s viewpoint, there’s that of the unnamed serial killer who lives among them in plain sight and the very special narrative of Mr. Anderson. Diana’s voice is witty and snarky at times as she transitions to her new life, while the serial killer provides an eerie running commentary on his latest vigilante mission, offering glimpses into his past and how he came to be where he is at the time of the story. The cases the group reviews are simple yet intriguing, and their investigative techniques are unique. The banter among this quirky group had me laughing out loud on several occasions. I was hooked from the start and gladly read it start to finish in one sitting.
I recommend THE RETIREES for readers of mysteries and
thrillers, fans of more mature amateur sleuths, and Richard Osman’s Thursday
Murder Club.
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