Best Place to Die

October 15, 2012
A devastating fire at the Nillewaug Village Assisted Living Community has repercussions both personal and professional for Lil Campbell and her best friend and now lover, Ada Strauss, in Atkins’s pedestrian second mystery set in Grenville, Conn. (after 2012’s Vultures at Twilight). The suspicious fire leaves five dead, including administrative director Delia Preston, and 600 homeless, including Ada’s mother, Rose Rimmelman. On the plus side, Lil, who writes a column for the Litchfield Sentinel, sees a chance for a major news story. The story grows quickly when the medical examiner determines that Preston was killed before the fire, and Village CEO Jim Warren is arrested for fraud. Ada and Lil take in Rose as well as Alzheimer’s patient Alice Sullivan, while Lil uncovers links to sordid secrets in Grenville’s past as well as a cleverly concocted scam. A contrived ending may leave some readers unsatisfied. Agent: Al Zuckerman, Writers House.

November 15, 2012
A pair of lesbian lovers must uncover the dark secrets of a picture-perfect village to solve a murder. Lillian Campbell, widow of a respected local physician, and Ada Strauss, another widow who has relocated from New York City, are slowly exploring a budding relationship when disaster strikes. Both own condos in a beautiful Connecticut retirement community. Ada's mother, Rose, has recently and reluctantly moved to nearby Nillewaug Village, a well-regarded assisted living complex. Her reservations are tragically justified when a fire breaks out at Nillewaug. Part-time journalist Lil records the horrifying scene as they search for Rose. They find her helping Alice, an Alzheimer's patient whose grandson is one of the nurses on duty, and also stumble upon the body of administrative director Delia Preston, who appears to have jumped from the roof. Once her unfortunate accident is rebranded as murder, suspicion spreads that the fire may have been arson started in the overcrowded apartment of Dr. Norman Trask. The story becomes more complicated when the FBI arrests the complex's CEO, Jim Warren, for Medicaid fraud just as he's about to flee the country. One of three football heroes who had put their town on the map with a series of state championships, quarterback Warren and his less mentally gifted friends have become wealthy and respected men. But when Lil starts to investigate, she discovers a dark past that the locals would rather forget. As they continue to dig for clues, Lil and Ada are both outed and put in physical danger. The second in Atkins' new series (Vultures at Twilight, 2012) provides plenty of suspects, some complicated crimes and a conflicted pair of sleuths.

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2013

Both smoke alarms and sprinklers fail when a dramatic predawn fire engulfs an upscale assisted-living community, sending scores of disoriented elderly out of their home, including Ada's mother, Rose. The fire is ruled to be arson--and then murder. Aspiring journalist Lilian documents the crime scene, and realizes that getting the hard-hitting story matters to her. Ada--her lover--supports Lil's pursuits while juggling household responsibilities for Rose and Alzheimer-riddled Alice, one of the fire victims. Lil stumbles onto an ongoing Medicaid fraud investigation that may explain why an administrator and an elderly physician died in the fire. Someone's anger has been simmering for decades, and this case is all about revenge. VERDICT This winning second entry (after Vultures at Twilight) in a thriller series you simply must try will have you throwing out any assumptions you might have about gentle seniors. Psychiatrist Atkins uses his background to good effect, employing numerous psychological motives and creating a satisfyingly twisted plot.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2012
The sound of sirens at 4 a.m. awakens Lilian Campbell and her friend and lover, Ada Strauss, who quickly realize that Nillewaug Village, an assisted-living facility, is on fire. Ada had recently persuaded her elderly mother, Rose, to move into Nillewaug, despite Rose's unwillingness to leave her Lower East Side apartment for Connecticut. Lilian, a journalist, accompanies Ada as they rush to the burning facility to check on Rose and soon discovers what could become a big story. Meanwhile, the police have found the body of Norman Trask, a retired surgeon who collected antique clocks and had an apartment full of old parts, solvents, magazines, and rags. Could an arsonist be at work? The author effectively mixes a fast-moving plot with commentary on important social issues.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)