Getting Old Is a Disaster (Gladdy Gold Series #5)

The dapper thief has already knocked over six Fort Lauderdale banks, with no end in sight. It’s up to Gladdy and the girls to stop him before he hits the next one. But when a killer hurricane leads to the discovery of a fifty-year-old skeleton, they have to put the bandit on the back burner. With the storm wreaking havoc and a dark mystery swirling around the Lanai Gardens retirement community, Gladdy and the girls are about to confront a ruthless killer determined to bury the past—and them along with it….

Back from schlepping all over New York City, P.I. Gladdy Gold is happy to be on her Florida turf again. Especially now that she and boyfriend Jack Langford are officially an item. But no sooner have the yenta brigade gotten back to their routine—complete with poolside stretching and kvetching—than a notorious outlaw, a.k.a. the “Grandpa Bandit,” issues Gladdy’s detective agency a direct challenge: Catch me if you can.

The dapper thief has already knocked over six Fort Lauderdale banks, with no end in sight. It’s up to Gladdy and the girls to stop him before he hits the next one. But when a killer hurricane leads to the discovery of a fifty-year-old skeleton, they have to put the bandit on the back burner. With the storm wreaking havoc and a dark mystery swirling around the Lanai Gardens retirement community, Gladdy and the girls are about to confront a ruthless killer determined to bury the past—and them along with it….

Publishers Weekly

When a hurricane strikes Fort Lauderdale, it wreaks havoc on the Lanai Gardens apartment complex and launches self-appointed PI Gladdy Gold's fifth mystery (after 2007's Getting Old Is to Die For). Discovered beneath the debris of a building, a long-buried skeleton yields few clues beyond that the victim was murdered, but that doesn't stop Gladdy and her delightful coterie of elderly crime busters from investigating. They're also trying to nab the bank-robbing "Grandpa Bandit" and comforting a neighbor, concentration camp survivor Enya, who suffers repeated nightmares. Gladdy's intermittent romance with retired cop Jack Langford veers close to consummation, but she never lets that distract her from the case. Lakin skillfully combines human comedy and a touch of Jewish humor with suspense while unveiling startling connections and plenty of twists. (Jan.)

After being widowed at a young age with three small children, Rita Lakin began an extensive writing career, which has included staff writing on television programs such as Peyton Place, Mod Squad, Dynasty, and Strong Medicine, as well as creating original series such as The Rookies. She has won an Edgar Allen Poe award for her screenwriting, as well as receiving several other award nominations, and her two original theatrical plays, No Language But a Cry and Saturday Night at Grossingers, are still being produced around the country.