Living with Your Kids Is Murder: A Paul Jacobson Geezer-Lit Mystery

Mike Befeler has brought back Paul Jacobson and his brain that resets his recent memory as he awakens each morning. Paul can remember in minute detail most of his life up to six years ago, but asked him what happened before he closed his eyes and nodded off and he can't remember a thing. This time Paul awakens on a plane, annoyed by a passenger leaning on him he pushes him away then wonders exactly where he is. While he ponders this it becomes apparent to others that the guy Paul pushed is dead. Unbeknownst to Paul, earlier in the flight he had an argument with the deceased which is passed onto the police along with his supposed violence towards that passenger when he woke up. Also unbeknownst to Paul he is flying from Hawaii to live with his son's family for a while, which includes his twelve year old wannabe lawyer grand daughter Jennifer. She reminds him of the crimes they solved together back in Hawaii when she came to visit and of his writing journal to remember the recent past. When he stumbles upon a scam ripping off retirees, Paul is determined to get to the bottom of it. However along the way Paul just seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, time and time again when crimes are occurring. Of course he can't remember if he did any of it or not but reading his journal writing each morning is sure he didn't. Of course the police aren't so sure he's innocent. It's up to Jennifer to remind him, and for Paul to do the legwork in solving each crime to clear Paul's name. It's not a bad story, has a bit of a cheesy convenient doorbell related happenings at the end which the story probably would have been better without. It also lacks something without the other old age eccentric characters from the Kina Nani, Hawaiian retirement complex in the first novel. We know from this novel his next adventure isn't going to be back there, but lets hope there's plenty of other eccentric elderlys on board for the third novel in the series. They just made that book funnier than this one.

Having proven that RETIREMENT HOMES ARE MURDER with the help of a close blind friend Meyer and an Asperger's sufferer Henry, octogenarian Paul Jacobson leaves Hawaii to live with his son Denny, his daughter-in-law Allison and his twelve years old granddaughter Jennifer in Boulder. Paul suffers from a short term memory issue in which he loses all recall of what happened once he falls asleep. Due to Meyer he knows to write down the highlight film in his journal to inform the old geezer what is going on. On the plane he dozed off before jotting anything down that occurred in flight. When he awakens he pushes his row companion off his shoulder only to realize the man is dead. He is the prime suspect in the martial arts chop to the neck death of Daniel Reynolds, a sales representative for Colorado Mountain Retirement Properties. Paul visits the Centennial Community Center to hear a pitch from another Colorado Mountain Retirement Properties rep Randall Swathes. Afterward, he finds the man dead in his car. Paul is the prime suspect. Soon he becomes accused of several other crimes. With his granddaughter as his lawyer, Paul investigates the two homicides while struggling to remember the identities of the two "young" women in his life. The second "Geezer-Lit" amateur sleuth is a fun tale as Paul overcomes his handicap and age through his journal and his courage to keep going while wisecracking all the way including taking shots at himself and his lawyer. The story line contains several crimes besides the murder that either Paul or Jennifer resolve as he seems to step in it all the time. Readers will enjoy this fine cozy summarized nicely by overworked Boulder Police Detective Launo who says Paul is a crime wave as the prime suspect in 25% of his case load and that does not include the homicide on the jet (investigated by Detective Hamilton). Harriet Klausner