Death in the Sunshine is the first book in Steph Broadribb’s Retired Detectives Club series.

It features four retired law enforcement officers—Moira, Philip, Lizzie, and Rick—who live at The Homestead, a sprawling, high-end, 55+ retirement community in Florida. Moira is a retired undercover detective chief inspector (DCI) from London. Philip is a DCI too, and his wife Lizzie was a crime scene investigator (CSI). Rick is ex-DEA.

Marketed to retirees as an ideal, crime-free place, The Homestead is rocked by a series of burglaries and then shocked by the murder of a woman at one of its lap pools. When the local LEOs seems less than dedicated to solving any of the crimes, the four protagonists come together to do it for them.

But the closer they get to solving the case, the greater the personal danger becomes—especially to Moira. And while the physical danger is increasing, so is the likelihood that the club members’ personal skeletons will tumble out of the closet. This is especially true of Moira and Philip, both of whom would like to keep their closet doors safely closed and locked.

I give Death in the Sunshine four stars. The plot kept me turning pages, I’m interested in the characters’ secrets, and the solution of the crime is plausible, if a bit perfunctory, when the crucial clue appears near the end of the novel. It was an entertaining read, good but not great.

Broadribb’s sophomore effort in this series is titled Death at Paradise Palms and releases November 29, 2022. I am invested enough in Moira’s character especially to want to read it. I hope it doesn’t disappoint.

Book Reviewed
Steph Broadribb, Death in the Sunshine (Seattle, WA: Thomas & Mercer, 2022).

P.S. If you liked my review, please click “Helpful” on my Amazon review page.