Old people were dying at an alarming rate at La Vida Boca, a posh assisted living facility in Boca Raton, Florida. With its sterling reputation, dedicated staff, and top-notch medical care, none of the deaths are considered suspicious, but when members of the poker club start to die under strange circumstances, attorney Jamie Quinn finds herself once again embroiled in a mystery. With help from … from her new friend, Jessie Sandler, and her favorite P.I., Duke Broussard, Jamie uncovers a crime that took place forty years earlier. Can she stop the killer in time? Or is she in danger of becoming the next victim?
more
When Jamie signs on to conduct monthly “end of life care” seminars for residents of and extended care facility called La Vida Boca, she gets a lot more than she expects in this light, funny cozy mystery. Duke, Nick, Grace and the regular crew are back for this one and so are a whole new bunch of residents at the seniors’ home.
Legal beagle Jamie with her amateur sleuthing efforts has become one of my favourite cozy mystery solvers over the course o this series, and I loved this one at least as much as the rest, especially since it provides a whole lot of happy endings – at least for those who manage to survive till the end.
Every Jamie Quinn book continues the tradition started at the very beginning with book one, Death by Didgeridoo. These stories are fun but with good solid mysteries, a lot of suspense and clues to follow, and characters that are well-developed, quirky and interesting. I have enjoyed getting to know these characters more with each appearance. I am sure you will love Kip and Aunt Peg and Adam and Jamie’s father and his wife and Duke and Jessie and the dogs and Grace and maybe even Nick as much as I do. Jamie is wry, self-deprecating, unintentionally humorous, and 100% lovable. Family, friends and boyfriend,-soon-to-be-fiancé Kim play major roles throughout and her dedication to them and to justice is evident. But Jamie sure does manage to get herself into some interesting situations. She’s a worrier but a doer and doesn’t sit by and wait for things to happen. A little frustrating for those who care about her, but so much fun for us.
Each story is fast-paced but full of depth and detail and addressing contemporary issues, albeit with a laugh out loud approach at times. In Jeopardy in July Jamie is hanging out with the old folks. Old people are dying too fast even for old people at a fancy assisted living facility in Boca Raton, Florida. Leave it to Jamie to end up right in the middle of a crime from forty years ago, once again uncovering clues and suspicious activity and putting herself in serious danger. Just when she was starting to think about a career change. First – solve this crime and stay alive while doing it!
Jamie Quinn is one of those characters that you love from the start, set your purchase preferences to auto-buy and sit back and escape into well-plotted, well-developed suspense and hilarity. It will be a different case or mystery or murder but your favorite characters will all be there in your favorite setting doing your favorite things. Jamie always makes me smile and laugh but the danger feels real, as does Jamie’s dedication to the truth. I have loved that girl from the start and her story can go on and on and on and I will eagerly await and devour each installment. I am living life with her.
I was thrilled with the ending of Jeopardy in July – and I was saddened because it might be the end of the series as originally planned. I fell in love with Jamie Quinn right off the bat, when I read the first book and every subsequent book has been better than the last, if that is even possible. Jamie has gone from a young woman in despair grieving the loss of her mother to communicating with the father she never knew, reconnecting with Kip, being there for her friends, investigating, loving the law but maybe not all that much, and hanging out with really crazy, scary characters.
As noted this might be the end of the series as originally planned, but if we campaign loudly enough perhaps we can convince the supremely talented author Barbara Venkataraman to keep writing about Jamie forever. If she will promise to do that I promise to buy the books forever. I received a copy of Jeopardy in July from the author but I was not required to provide a review. All opinions are my own. I can’t recommend this book and series highly enough.
A fabulous (romantic) cozy mystery series!
My binge reading spree of this series must be delayed after this reading this story. Bummer. I understand that the sixth story is in development. Yay! FYI… It is best to read this series in order so as not to reveal spoilers from earlier books. Even so, each book reads great as a stand-alone story.
A little background on the cast of characters… Jamie Quinn is a family law attorney in a small (one person) practice. She attended law school with her BFF, Grace Anderson, who is a lawyer in a prestigious securities law firm and has awesome connections. Duke Broussard is a playboy and P.I. who, besides being a client and friend, Jamie keeps on retainer for his creative investigative skills. Nick Dimitropoulos, State Attorney, appears to always be at odds with Jamie. Kip Simons, Jamie’s current and also first high school boyfriend, an outdoorsman and adventurer. Guillermo Franco, a Cuban activist, also brought into the storyline from Jamie’s past. Ana Maria Suarez, a surrogate mother, always ready with an encouraging word or a hug if Jamie needed one.
Jamie discovers even more about her lineage from several sources. This is a great continuing and intriguing storyline that runs between the books of the series. No spoilers here. This storyline alone is worth reading the series.
The love bug has bitten and many, but not all, of the relationships are good. Some are even better than good.
Jamie is not satisfied as a family law attorney. What would make her happy… and still pay the bills? She has a lot of thoughts, just no direction. When Jamie is making a home visit for a divorce mediation at a five-star assisted living facility in Boca Raton, Florida; she is soon disappointed that one of the clients is carried out on a stretcher before they have a chance to meet. An unexpected opportunity arises from that visit. She is offered to conduct monthly seminars to explain living wills, health care surrogates and family powers of attorney to the residents and then help them fill out the forms. Sometimes a gift just falls in your lap. Sometimes easy money can be deadly.
Since I am going to have to wait on the sixth book for a while, I am glad that there were a couple of nice surprises at the end of this story. Did I mention how much I love this series!
Barbara Venkataraman is a gifted storyteller in my favorite genre of cozy mysteries. This book, and series, has an extraordinary cast of characters and more than one mystery to be solved in each story. It is not your typical whodunit. Romance, along with drama from friends and family alike are added to enrich the story. If you enjoy an entertaining, well-written, fun, and easy read; this book is for you.
Jamie Quinn, divorce lawyer, is back and as sarcastic (in her mind) and funny as ever. I know it might seem odd that having a career in divorce law can be fun, but this is the lightest, funniest, most humorous book yet. The laugh out loud kind. I bet we’ve all known someone or a case of “thought I’d seen it all” divorces. Jamie’s just tired of seeing it all. She needs a new kind of law helping others and aiding care facility residents understand all of their legal mumbo jumbo forms is just the thing.
This is a story and a plot where we begin to see ourselves at some point in time and it makes you even laugh a little at yourself. It’s cleverly written, and you find you begin to know the cast of characters just by the author’s description of their antics and personalities. Sometimes I had a feeling I could see them.
This is Book 5 of the Jamie Quinn Mystery series. I don’t think I’ve missed any and I’ve loved all I’ve read. There most surely must be another coming in the future.
4 out of 5 stars to Barbara Venkataraman’s Jeopardy in July, the fifth book in her Jamie Quinn mystery series. I’m starting to love this series! It’s simple, direct and easy-to-read, but it makes for such a fun experience.
[image error]
Why This Book
The author and I connected months ago and I began reading her series. When the newest one came out, we chatted again and I was quick to jump on this read. I added it to TBR in late March when it was released and found myself propelling it to the must-read rather quickly. And I sat down at the end of my day today and finished it in less than 3 hours!
Overview of Story
Jamie Quinn has been a family law attorney for about ten years, growing tired of the boring cases that pass her desk. Though she’s had fun working on the unexpected murder cases over the last few years, those aren’t ones she comes across very often. And her boyfriend is stuck in Australia for a month longer than they expected, leaving her facing the world on her own. When she takes on some extra work at the local senior facility, providing advice about wills, inheritances and long-term care. But when something seems amiss with too many deaths at the facility, Jamie’s hot on the trail again.
South Florida. Forged paintings. An artist with a potential passion to do the right thing. Unfamiliar family connections. A mysterious flower that causes death, appearing as though it’s a foaming mouth. And that’s just 1 of her newest cases. How will Jamie figure it all out? With the help of bestie Grace, and Grace’s state senate candidate boyfriend, who annoys the heck out of Jamie. As she gets closer to the clues, along with PI sidekick Duke, Jamie’s sure to find a future in crime fighting this time!
Approach & Style
Barbara Venkataraman’s style is absolute ease. The main character is a fun and quirky lawyer, one who has a witty and snappy tongue, but always comes across as someone you wish you knew. The book has so much humor, it’s hard to stop giggling sometimes. It’s not all-out crazy laughter, but a subtle hint of “this chick is cool and I wanna know her” type humor. And her banter with her favorite PI, ladies’ man Duke Broussard, is dynamic. I love their scenes together, even if it’s not about the case. Long-term, I kinda want them to end up together.
I read this as an e-read on my iPad through Kindle. The point of view stays on Jamie the whole story, following her antics across her own family drama and her various cases. In this one, two of her cases collide when art forgery meets death at the senior care facility. Chapters are short, quick to ingest… always humorous… and they leave you constantly wanting to click forward to the next one. And the author publishes a few a year, which should be enough, but I’m always wanting more!
Strengths
Jamie’s a true heroine. She’s funny. She’s smart. Flawed. Tragic. Strong. And represents us all.
Duke’s such a hoot. He’s over-the-top and warrants a good slap in the face… or a little fun on the side… hard to tell sometimes.
The plot is straightforward, but has a few fun jaunts along the way. It is easy to follow, leaves you wanting to solve it on your own with all the information at your fingertips.
Jamie’s search for her own love and family hops along throughout the story, and with each of the five books, she gets a little closer. I love following this side-story.
Open Questions & Thoughts
I wish these were longer. Barbara Venkataraman’s gonna hate me for saying this, but it always ends a little too soon. I wish the plots were a little more complex and a little longer, just to draw out the fun.
Jamie just falls into her situations all the time. I think it’s a good thing, but it can also be a problem… as in too coincidental; however, the way book 5 ends shows a lot of promise for changes to Jamie’s life that I think could be of a great benefit.
Final Thoughts
When I first started the series, I thought it had potential. As I read each story, my biggest concern was they were too short (about 200 pages). As I made the journey from book 1 thru book 5, I found myself really looking forward to reading each book. It’s an uncomplicated and focused read, taking you on a fun journey through a likable character’s personal and career growth. It’s not about how complex the plot is or how much the author can shock you. It’s just a good laugh-out-loud read for a few hours. And I’m quite fond of them!
I think this is my favorite Jamie Quinn book yet. Through no fault of her own Jamie gets mixed up in an art forgery and then finds out the culprit may be one if the residents at the retirement center where she just started doing legal work.
The residents are funny and full of life (well not all of them) and the staff is wonderfully strange. The repeating characters from Jamie’s life are all there and they are just as funny and quirky as always.
These cozy mysteries by Barbara Venkataraman are really good. Her characters are ever growing, so you don’t know from one book to the next what new challenges they will take on. The books are worth the read just to see what Jamie does next and the mysteries are tightly woven, in my opinion.
Jamie Quinn goes to La Vida Boca, a 5 star assisted living facility in Boca Raton, Florida to see clients, Shirley and Clarence Petersen. Unfortunately, Clarence was taken away by ambulance and later pronounced dead. There, Jamie meets Herb Lowenthal, who keeps to himself, but they hit it off. Herb tells Jamie that she reminds him of his daughter. He informs her that she is hired, but she has no idea what that means.
When Jessie Sandler, owner of Precious Paws, shows up with Marley for the weekly pet therapy, Jessie shows Jamie around the facility. Jessie suggests to Jamie to go work at La Vida Boca, since the present lawyer is retiring.
When a former client, Jeff Rappaport shows up asking Jamie for help concerning the will she wrote up for his dad, who left an original Chagall painting for his kids’ inheritance, except the painting isn’t an actual Chagall. Jamie sends Jeff to P.I. Duke Broussard.
When Jamie and Duke take the painting to be looked at by an appraiser, they are told it’s one of many paintings by an artist and a scheme. When Jamie learns some information regarding an investment group and the copied painting pointing to La Vida Boca, Jamie decides to call Nick Dimitropoulos, State Attorney for advice, which leads Jamie being told about how the FBI have been looking for a man to crack an art scam. Jamie is about to become an FBI informant, much to Nick’s amusement.
While Jamie is dealing with a new job, helping to uncover an art scam, she learns that Kip wants to go to Guam, so counting the weeks until she see him seem to have gone up in smoke. She’s not very happy with him. Also, after trying to surprise her father that she was going to go see him, he delivers some news of his own that dash her spirits.
Another great book in the Jamie Quinn Mystery series! I loved the ending, it made me smile. All good things come to those who wait.
I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.
I think this is my favorite Jamie Quinn Mystery yet! Jamie is getting a little tired of her family law practice and looking for something to break up the monotony. She takes a side job at an assisted living facility helping the residents with forms like power of attorney. Little does she know that this will land her smack in the middle of a much bigger kind of case. Kip is still out of the country, so it is Jamie and her former client and PI Duke to solve the crime.
I love how the author keeps you laughing at and with Jamie in her adventures. Trouble seems to find her no matter what she is doing. Barbara keeps you guessing at the who done it right up to the end. There are references to things that happened in the former books but each story is complete and you can read as stand alones as well. If you are looking for a light, fun read grab a Jamie Quinn mystery and sit down for a laugh.
Jamie Quinn is looking for a new career path where she can help people make their lives easier while making her job easier. She thinks she has found the perfect job advising senior citizens at a retirement home when some of the men in a group of friends start to die. Jamie can’t help letting herself get pulled into the investigation. In her regular legal practice, one of her client’s has asked her to help find out about an art forgery that he inherited recently.
Following the trend with the previous books in the series, this book is an entertaining well written cozy. This is the 5th book in the series, but can definitely be enjoyed as a stand-alone mystery. Jamey is independent, intelligent, caring at the same time insecure and a pessimist especially when it comes to her closet relationships (Kip and her father). These characteristics make Jamey a very relatable and interesting protagonist. Several of the recurring secondary characters are very likable as well. The mystery is well crafted with twists and turns to keep the reader engaged and entertained.
I would recommend this book to mystery lovers, especially cozy mystery fans. I was given a copy of this book in hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and in no way have been influenced.
Jeopardy in July #5 – The Jamie Quinn series is addicting. Sadly, I’ve reached the last book available at present, but I thoroughly enjoyed all five books. Again, this is a well written and intriguing story, with humor and multiple on going story lines. The main characters remain interesting with realistic dialog and behavior. You don’t realize it by the relaxed writing style, but Jeopardy is fast paced and intriguing with good suspense.
Reading these books in order keeps the fabric of the stories intact and understandable. The author does a good job in highlighting past events without doing a Gabaldon-style rewrite, so you can still understand what’s going on without having read the previous stories, but you miss so much. 4*
Jamie Quinn Mystery Collection: Box Set Books 1 – 3: I enjoyed these books by an author new to me. I had been collecting her books over the years and finally decided to read them. Entertaining and funny and good suspense are a few descriptors to pop into my head. The main characters are a perfect fit: two female lawyers (they’re likable); one Cajun PI; and a couple of love interests. With each story, most of these characters grew more likable and complex. The other main characters are added as the stories go along. Grace and Duke are the perfect characters to make this series full of interest and humor.
There are many stories being followed along with the main plot. A continuous series that doesn’t have any cliffhangers; just moves along a time line. The story lines hold the reader’s interest and there’s humor throughout the books. There’s no crazy situations, like that lovable Plum character, but realistic happenings. There’s no silly/stupid dialog or formulas, just plain entertainment. The writer’s style is laid back, almost as if you’re on the porch gossipin while sippin yur iced tea. Well written and quickly read, but still substantial enough to make reading these books worthwhile. Needs a little editing, but nothing that distracts from reading. 4*
Death by Didgeridoo #1 – This is my first read by this author and I like it. A good introduction to a few main characters of the series. Well written and easily read, fast paced and interesting; it was easy to sit down and finish quickly. All of the characters are likable, realistic and entertaining; think of Moonlighting for the humor and a male character. 4*
The Case of the Killer Divorce #2 – This story picks up about six months after where Didgeridoo finished. Well written with plenty of suspense, the reader can’t help but enjoy the story. The humor is good and the characters keep developing. 4*
Peril in the Park #3 – This story picks up about six months later from the ending of Killer Divorce. Boy, there’s a neat twist to one of on going the background stories! There’s also a fun surprise involving someone’s dad that makes the future books a must read; we know the ending to that story, but it’s the path taken that interesting. Plenty of humor and everyone has more added to their characters/stories. 4*
Engaged in Danger #4 – Another good addition to the Jamie Quinn series. Well written, funny and intriguing, this suspense filled book with its well thought out, multiple and continuous story lines keeps the reader glued to the pages. There’s a few kinks that the well developed, realistic characters handle, while their dialog is believable. The writing style is casual but entertaining. If you like Evanovich or Elmore, you’ll enjoy Ms. Venkataraman. 4*
This is the fifth book in the entertaining Jamie Quinn Cozy Mystery Series. I recommend to listen to this series in order. I loved to follow Jamies in her adventures! She is such a smart, and wonderful character! I like her relationship with Kip. Duke is an amazing character. The supporting characters are great. The storyline is intriguing, and captivating, filled with mystery, danger, and romance. Fay Annette did a fantastic job with the narration. She has a great range of voices, and the characters were easy to distinguish. Looking forward to listen to Malice in Miami. I love this Series!
I read this series of books one after the other. Such a good series with great characters. I really enjoyed this series and can’t wait for another Jaime Quinn book to come out. The stories are very well-written and the characters pull you in to each story and make you want to see what happens to them. I love Jaime and Duke and now that Kip is back in the picture, I can’t wait to see what happens with them. I highly recommend this series.
Another cute cozy mystery. I really enjoyed this story and how it tied all of the stories together. I loved the ending and it had the perfect amount of twists and turns.
If you like fun, cute, cozy mysteries with fun twists. This book is for you.