The Alphabet Sleuths by Laura Jensen Walker

The Alphabet Sleuths by Laura Jensen Walker is a fun and unique cozy mystery. It tells the tale of a group of friends who must cover for each other when one of them accidentally commits a murder when defending one of the other friends. But when they try to put it all behind them, they realize that it just might be up to them to find out why their friend was targeted.

If you’re a fan of Golden Girls or A Man on the Inside, I think you’ll find this book enjoyable. Keep reading for my full book review of The Alphabet Sleuths!

And if you’re looking for more cozy mystery recommendations, click here.

What is The Alphabet Sleuths by Laura Jensen Walker about?

Disposing of a body is as easy as A, B, C! Introducing the Alphabet Girls, four senior gal pals turned accidental sleuths—The Thursday Murder Club meets The Golden Girls, with a splash of Killers of a Certain Age

At sixty-nine years old, Claire Reynolds is changing things up. She’s volunteering. Learning to rollerblade. She’s rescued a shelter dog. And today, she’s killed a man. It wasn’t on her to-do list, but stuff happens.

Besides, the man in question was strangling her good friend Daphne, and what’s a gal to do? Scream, possibly. Call the cops. Or—at retired officer Daphne’s insistence—call in the rest of their senior gal pals, roll up the body in a blanket, and toss it off a cliff.

The dead man is a member of the local crime family, and if the police get involved it’s not just Daphne at risk, it’s them all.

But the body’s just the start. Soon the Alphabet Girls—Atsuko, Barbara, Claire, and Daphne—must transform into the Alphabet Sleuths, if they’re to keep both their liberty . . . and their lives.

Meet Atsuko Kimura (75, retired journalist), Barbara Wright (age redacted, retired actress), Claire Reynolds (69, retired paralegal), and Daphne Cole (62, retired cop) in the first funny, fast-paced Alphabet Girls Mystery from award-winning author Laura Jensen Walker. (from Amazon.com)

My Initial Thoughts

I’m a huge fan of The Golden Girls, so the premise of this mystery was very intriguing to me. The Alphabet Girls don’t all live together, but they do live in the same retirement community. At first, the story seemed a little too farfetched for me. But as I got to know the characters, I found myself really engaged with the story. Sometimes you just have to suspend your disbelief a little to enjoy things!

The Writing Style

It did take me a little bit to get into this book, and I think that’s because of the writing style. It jumps around from person to person and the end of scenes are a little abrupt. I honestly can’t tell if it’s just written differently, or if the author did that on purpose. It’s hard to tell. So with that being said, I did find my groove after a couple of chapters. But I think the writing style might be hard for some people to get into at first.

The Characters

Claire, Barbara, Daphne, and Atsuko were a fun group of friends to read about.

I liked how each character had their characteristics and background that made them unique. For instance, Claire is a breast cancer survivor and a rabid anglophile who enjoys tea and books. Daphne is an athletic former actress (She reminds me a bit of Rose from Golden Girls, in a way!). I think it’s because she’s a bit flirty. Then there’s Atsuko, a retired journalist who is always ready to help. And finally, there’s Barbara. She had to retire early from the police force after an injury.

It’s hard to imagine them taking on a bunch of bad guys, but they do a surprisingly good job!

Would I Read More?

Yes, I think I would!

This is just a single book, but I hope that is will be the first book in a series! I liked how each of the women was able to use their skills and life experiences to help solve the mystery. There are a lot of funny side characters in this book and I’d love to learn more about them in future books.

In Conclusion

There’s this show on Netflix called Man on the Inside that I highly recommend, which is about a man who goes underover in a retirement home to help solve a mystery. While he’s there he makes a ton of great friends. Season 2 came out not that long ago and it just goes to show that people love this kind of a series. I hope that The Alphabet Girls get the chance to star in more murder mystery books. These are the best books to read when you’re looking for something relaxing to read

Have you read The Alphabet Sleuths yet? Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are! Do you think it will become a cozy mystery book series?