Not One to Take to the Pool

Nursing a Grudge by Chris Wells
(Cozy Christian Mystery)

Earl Walker is depressed.  He sits in a nursing home, in a wheelchair, and watches TV in a nursing home facility.  He is awakened from his depression by the well-meaning intentions of a college student who seems to want to jolt his from his depressive state.  While attending a dinner party, Earl is witness to a death that turns into a murder investigation.

Notice how I’ve used the word ‘depress’ a couple of times.  That’s because this is the feeling the book left me with.  Depressed and sad.  Earl and his friends in the nursing home just seem to be pitiful creatures acting out a thinly written play.

Earl and his colleague (I’ve forgotten her name which is just as well because, as a character, she was forgettable), stumble about the whole book attempting to solve the mystery.  Their investigative skills involve racing down hallways in the nursing home and accusing everyone within earshot of some sort of crime, hoping that something might stick.

The clues were largely absent or glaringly obvious; the characters weren’t likable or realistic; the dialogue was stilted; the sleuthing was haphazard and amateurish.  I also didn’t like the ‘religiousy’ tone the book had.  I would like to say it was a Christian mystery, but apart from some vague references to a bible and a couple of scripture referrals, Earl’s tepid conversion to Christianity was confusing.

Definitely not that cozy mystery you want to dive into this summer!