Mrs. Plansky's Revenge

April 1, 2023

Despite her millions, retirement isn't quite what Mrs. Loretta Plansky had hoped it would be. Her beloved husband, Norm, has died; now she's alone in her condo in Florida. Her children occasionally call, but only to try to get her to invest in some outlandish scheme. Her 98-year-old father is demanding, and Loretta's memory is a little shaky. It's not surprising when a phone call wakes her at night and the young man at the other end of the line claims to be her grandson Will, who needs access to her bank account. The next morning, Loretta learns her bank accounts are empty and she's been scammed. When the FBI tells her they won't be able to recover her money, but she does learn the cash was transferred to Romania. Without telling her family or the FBI, Mrs. Plansky gathers her courage and flies to Romania to get her money back. Along the way, she will deal with the U.S. embassy, a journalist, and Romanian tough guys. Don't underestimate an angry grandmother. VERDICT Fans of Richard Osman's "Thursday Murder Club" series will appreciate the latest addition to the ranks of older sleuths, by the best-selling author of the "Chet and Bernie" mysteries.--Lesa Holstine

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 8, 2023
Edgar winner Quinn (a pseudonym for Peter Abrams, author of the Chet and Bernie mysteries) launches a new series with this sprightly adventure featuring 71-year-old Loretta Plansky, a rich Florida widow. She and her husband, Norm, made millions by inventing the toaster knife (a device that toasts bread as it slices), and she now spends her days playing tennis, dealing with the expensive rest home that cares for her 98-year-old father, and shrewdly sidestepping investment pitches from her grown children. Late one night, Loretta receives a phone call from someone claiming to be her beloved grandson, who says he’s been arrested for driving while intoxicated and needs bail money. Loretta turns over her bank details, and the following morning, discovers that all of her accounts have been cleaned out. The FBI tells her there’s nothing they can do to retrieve the three million dollars she’s lost: their only clue is that the perpetrators are located in the small village of Alba Gemina, Romania. With financial pressure mounting, Loretta sets off for Romania herself, determined to shake down the criminals who took her frailty for granted. Mrs. Plansky is a wonderfully memorable heroine, full of wit and equally plausible as an ace tennis player and a motorcycle-driving detective with Romanian gangsters hot on her tail. Readers will be eager to see what Mrs. Plansky gets up to next.

July 1, 2023
Everyone wants money from Loretta Plansky: her daughter, Nina; her son, Jack; the nursing home where her father lives; and her grandson, Will, who was just arrested with a DUI. Except that wasn't Will who called Loretta in the middle of the night looking for bail; it was Dinu, a Romanian teenager who blithely uses his new English skills to con older Americans out of their money for his uncle, the vicious Dragomir. When Loretta discovers three million dollars gone--everything she earned in a lifetime with her late husband, Norm--she heads to Romania to get her money back, much to the bafflement of the FBI, the secret service in Romania, and a journalist she meets there. Alternating perspectives between Loretta and Dinu, Quinn's latest is a departure from his Chet and Bernie mysteries (Up on the Woof Top, 2023), the start of a new series, and a delightfully madcap caper. Readers will root for 71-year-old Loretta as she stumbles onto clues and, despite a less-than-stellar memory, finds the gumption to follow them. A treat for cozy fans.

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